10 May 1999
DAILY REVIEW FROM TATARSTAN
Tatarstan Wants Satellite Television Channel
Amir Guismatullin, the general director of the Kazan Satellite Club, which is involved in creation of a satellite television channel for Tatarstan, held negotiations with potential foreign investors in the project at an international conference devoted to the development of satellite and cable television in Warsaw. He said in an interview with Tatar-inform that the Polish television company Diamar expressed interest in participating in the creation of a land station for the transmission of information to the satellite. He added that the Swedish company Rubicon Systems AB was also interested in cooperating with Tatarstan within the framework of the project.
The executive director of the Satellite Club, Yevgeny Golovin, told Tatar-inform that it is supposed to finance the project through donations and sponsorship from republican companies and institutions, as well as from the Tatar diaspora. He said several foreign and Russian companies have already promised financial support for the project but "we would like all the profit and taxes from exploiting the channel to remain in Tatarstan."
Tatarstan Developing Telecommunications
Tatarstan has moved up to 32nd among the regions of the Russian Federation in the development of telecommunications, while five years ago, it held 68th place, Tatar-inform reported. Last year, more than 100,000 telephones were put into operation in the cities and rural districts of Tatarstan. Every other urban family has a telephone while every sixth rural family has one.
Russian Academy of Sciences Anniversary To Be Celebrated In Kazan.
The 275th anniversary of the founding of the Russian Academy of Science (RAS) will be celebrated on 13-14 May in Kazan. A grand meeting of the republic's scientific world on 13 May will be attended by the RAS's chief academic secretary, Nicolai Pate, and the first deputy science minister of the Russian Federation, Gennadii Tereshchenko. An anniversary session of the Academy of Science of Tatarstan is scheduled to be held on 14 May, Tatar-inform reported.
Bashkortostan To Control Railway Tariffs
The government of Bashkortostan has enacted legislation giving the Bashkir department of the Kuibyshev railway the authority to control railway tariffs this summer, Bashinform reports. The tariffs in Bashkortostan are two to five times lower than in neighboring oblasts. Railway prices were last raised three years ago. Travellers who qualify for reduced rates receive 50 percent off the price of their fare all year around.
Tatarstan Viewers To Watch Bashkort TV
A new 350-meter television tower set up in Bashkortostan's Baqaly district will service ten districts in Bashkortostan and six neighboring districts of Tatarstan. Two programs of Bashkir television will be transmitted, as well as the Russian RTR and NTV channels, Bashinform reported.
Compiled by Gulnara Khasanova