Tatar-Bashkir Report: September 22, 2005

Shaimiev Sends Condolences On Death Of Mostai Kerim
Tatar President Mintimer Shaimiev on 21 September sent his condolences to Bashkir President Murtaza Rakhimov on the death of Bashkortostan's People's Poet Mostai Kerim, RFE/RL's Kazan bureau reported the same day. Shaimiev said Kerim "had become a classic of Bashkir and Russian multinational literature already during his lifetime." Shaimiev also sent condolences to Kerim's children, saying the death of Kerim is "an irreplaceable loss and common pain for the peoples of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan." A Tatar delegation, headed by State Council Chairman Mukhametshin, will take part in Kerim's funeral on 23 September in Ufa.

Tatneft Accused Of Halting Oil Deliveries To Ukrtatnafta
Poltava Oblast State Administration Chairman Stepan Bulba told a press conference on 21 September that Tatarstan has stopped oil deliveries to the Kremenchug Oil Refinery, which belongs to the Tatar-Ukrainian joint venture Ukrtatnafta, Ukrainskie novosti reported the same day. Bulba said it was agreed with Ukrtatnafta and Tatneft heads during his visit to Tatarstan on 18 August that Tatarstan will fully satisfy the Kremenchug plant's oil needs, but the Tatar side has changed its mind in the wake of the 6 September court verdict that annulled purchase of 18 percent of Ukrtatnafta by Tatneft affiliates, SeaGroup International and AmRuz Trading, as a result of which Tatarstan lost a controlling interest in the venture (see "RFE/RL Tatar-Bashkir Report," 8 September 2005). Bulba added that Ukrtatnafta provided 43 percent of industrial production volume in Poltava Oblast so the oblast will face sharp decline in industrial production.

Nizhnekamskneftekhim Votes For Selling Its Part Of NNPZ To TAIF
An extraordinary meeting of Nizhnekamskneftekhim shareholders has voted to sell to TAIF-NK its stake in the distillates hydraulic purifying complex (KGSD) of the Tuben Kama Oil Refinery (NNPZ) for 3.37 billion rubles ($119 million), Tatar-inform reported on 21 September, citing the Nizhnekamskneftekhim press service. The decision was backed by owners of 63.8 percent of voting shares. The other owner of KGSD, Tatneft, has also announced it will sell its stake to TAIF (see "RFE/RL Tatar-Bashkir Report," 6 September 2005).

Compiled by Gulnara Khasanova

Social Security Reform Gives Choice To Welfare Beneficiaries
Those Ufa residents who through social security are granted free medication largely choose to take cash payments in lieu of the medicine, an RFE/RL Ufa correspondent reported on 22 September. The trend reportedly led to long lines at local pension-fund offices and at doctors' offices where the doctors are authorized to issue special prescriptions. Some 40 percent of all welfare beneficiaries are said to prefer cash payments.

Native Of Bashkortostan Detained On Terrorism Charges
The Udmurtiya branch of the Federal Security Service and Chechen Prosecutor's Office personnel have detained Mukhammad Nabuillin, a native of Bashkortostan who is suspected of serving with militant groups in the North Caucasus, Regnum reported on 22 September. Nabuillin is said to have been hiding in the Udmurtiya's city of Sarapul, where he was arrested.

Compiled by Iskender Nurmi