19 July 2005
WEEKLY REVIEW FROM IDEL-URAL REGION
Delay Of Nomination Of Nizhnii Novgorod Governor Concerns Publicity�
The council of the Nizhnii Novgorod Oblast Public Chamber appealed on 15 July to President Vladimir Putin to submit to the oblast Legislative Assembly a candidacy for the oblast governor as soon as possible, Regnum reported the same day, citing Chamber�s executive secretary Oleg Rozhko. Chamber members note in the telegram sent to the president that the term of the incumbent oblast governor expires on 8 August while the Russian president should have been propose his candidate by 5 July. �The delay violates the right of deputies to consider a candidacy in time and causes concern among publicity,� the appeal authors said.
�As Oblast Heads Meet Federal Officials
Nizhnii Novgorod Oblast Governor Gennadii Khodyrev met President Vladimir Putin on 11 July and informed him about the situation and prospects of the oblast development, Regnum reported on 13 July, citing the press service of the oblast governor. Khodyrev commented that �the meeting was held in warm and friendly conditions� and he believes Putin was satisfied with his report.
Meanwhile, Nizhnii Novgorod Oblast Legislative Assembly Chairman Yevgenii Lyulin met on 12 July with Russian presidential administration head Dmitrii Medvedev and State Duma Chairman Boris Gryzlov, Regnum reported on 13 July, citing Legislative Assembly spokesman Roman Skudnyakov. The situation in the oblast on the eve of submitting a candidacy for the oblast governor was on the agenda of the meetings that were initiated by Medvedev and Gryzlov.
Local analysts consider Lyulin and Governor Khodyrev major candidates for the post of the governor.
Perm Environmentalist Sues News Agency�
The Perm Sverdlovsk Raion court began on 14 July hearing a lawsuit by local-based environmental activist Roman Yushkov against the author of the Perm project on burning rockets, Yakov Vaisman, and the news agency Novyi region, Regnum reported on 14 July. At a news conference at the oblast administration last year, Vaisman claimed that �the activity of Perm anarchic environmentalists and their leader Roman Yushkov is financed by the U.S. Department of States� and this information was released by Novyi region. Yushkov demands that the statement be decried and he be paid 200,000 rubles ($7,000) in compensation.
Novyi region titled the case �an attempts of pressuring mass media from where we didn�t expect. Mass media have learnt to defend themselves from pressuring by authority bodies [and]� by business. Now it seems like we should learn to defend us from a new generation of revolutionaries, anarchists, and environmentalists.� Novyi region intends to steadily defend the right of freedom of speech in courts and does not plan to change its editorial policy.
�As Perm Deputy Mayors File Legal Persecution Against Internet Newspaper
The Perm Motovilikhin Raion court appointed for 14 July beginning of the hearing on a lawsuit by the deputy mayors of Perm, Ilya Shulkin and Aleksandr Besfamilnyi, against the editor in chief of the �Permskie sosedi� internet newspaper, Konstantin Dukhonin, Regnum reported on 14 July. Speaking in a local radio program in September, Dukhonin alleged the officials of corruption. The plaintiffs sue the journalist for slandering them and seek payment of compensation. Dukhonin�s lawyers claim he didn�t make on the radio the statement he alleged of.
British Kingfisher Builds First Hypermarket In Russia
Construction of the first in Russia hypermarket of the British trade network Kingfisher was launched on 14 July in Samara, Regnum-VolgaInform reported the same day. An agreement on the joint project between the president of the Viktor & Co Megakompleks na Moskovskom company, Viktor Surkov, and Castorama rus General Director Piter Partma was signed in late June in Moscow. Surkov said at the 14 July ceremony that the $15 million cost project will let create 230 working places while 500 construction workers will be involved in building it. He said Samara-based companies will be given priority in supplying goods for the hypermarket.
One of Europe�s largest retailers Castorama is a part of the British holding Kingfisher which is Europe�s first and world�s third-largest �do it yourself� retail networks.
Trial Against Skinheads In Yekaterinburg
Hearing on a criminal case against a group of skinheads alleged of inflaming interethnic hatred began on 15 July in Yekaterinburg, Regnum reported the same day, citing the Sverdlovsk Oblast Interior Board. Police provided evidence that three young men who beat Yakutian students belong to a pro-fascist organization.
Residents Initiate Referendum To Preserve Direct Mayoral Elections In Udmurtia
An initiative group of residents of Udmurtia�s town Sarapul appealed on 11 July to the Sarapul Election Commission to hold a referendum on maintaining direct elections of the mayor, Regnum reported on 12 July. Direct elections of heads of city and town administrations in the republic were eliminated in June by amending municipal charters.
Sarapul became the third town of Udmurtia following Izhevsk and Votkinsk, residents of which actively opposed attempts to restrict their electoral rights. The question proposed for the referendum is the following: �Are you agree that the head of the municipal entity, Sarapul town� is elected in municipal elections on the basis of general equal and direct electoral right.�
Compiled by Gulnara Khasanova