11 May 2005
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Ukrtatnafta's Observing Council To Gather In Kazan
Ukrainian and Tatarstan's governments agreed to hold a meeting of the joint petrochemical company Ukrtatnafta's Observation Council on 18 May in Kazan, the Volga-Urals edition of "Kommersant" wrote on 11 May.
The council, which is chaired by Tatar First Deputy Prime Minister Ravil Moratov, is to decide on terms for a tender to modernize the Kremenchug oil refinery in Ukraine. Previously, the company's management negotiated with South Korea's LG corporation to invest $200 million into new production facilities at the plant. The modernization is to improve Kremenchug's ability to process high-sulfur oil from Tatarstan.
Urals Energy Gains Controlling Share Package In Zenit Bank
The Urals Energy company is now the owner of a majority share of stocks in the Zenit Bank, "Vedomosti" wrote on 11 May. The bank's management reportedly also gained some 6.7 percent of Zenit's stocks in several recent transactions.
Tatenergo Uses French Cables To Improve Networks
Tatenergo has chosen cable from the French company Toxado for replacing half of its 2,000 kilometers of worn out power supply network cables, the Volga Urals edition of "Kommersant" wrote on 11 May. The $1.6 million project will reportedly allow Tatenergo to save some 9 percent of the energy currently lost during transportation.
Tatarstan Cited As Success In Management Of State Property
In some Russian regions state property agencies are successfully working on the issue of boosting non-tax-related budget incomes, "Rossiiskaya Biznes Gazeta" wrote on 11 May. The weekly referred, for example, to the Sakha Republic, which in 2004 exceeded the forecasted income from the renting of state-owned real estate by 80 percent, while the same agency in Tatarstan managed to exceed forecasts by 75 percent.
Compiled by Iskender Nurmi
DAILY REVIEW FROM BASHKORTOSTAN
FSB Looks Into Anti-Rakhimov Opposition Meeting In Moscow
The Bashkortostan branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB) is interrogating journalists who covered the 7 April protest in Moscow that targeted republican President Murtaza Rakhimov, an RFE/RL Ufa correspondent reported on 11 May. RFE/RL reported that a journalist from Rosbalt news agency was asked by FSB officers on 5 May to confirm the identities of journalists who observed the demonstration. After the 7 April protest, Bashkortostan's opposition submitted a petition to the Russian presidential staff with a purported 107,000 signatures backing Rakhimov's removal.
Compiled by Iskender Nurmi