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ORT Review
www.ortv.ru
Compiled by Luba Schwartzman (luba7@bu.edu)
Research fellow at the Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology and
Policy
at Boston University
HEADLINES,
Monday, June 24, 2002
- Russian President Vladimir Putin gave his second major press conference this afternoon. The conference was attended by 700 Russian and 70 foreign. Putin's statements included the following:
* Russian government organs must have official media outlets; these should not, however, receive special treatment.
* There should be no place for extremism, Russian chauvinism, or religious strife in Russia.
* There is no danger of significant nationalist radicalization in Russia.
* The strengthening of the multi-party democratic system in the Russian Federation is of utmost importance.
* The government will not make scapegoats of regional authorities for the ineffectiveness of reforms.
* The Russian government needs to give special attention to the development of the Far East.
* Fears of collusion between federal and regional authorities on regional elections are unfounded.
* Regional governments need to have more control of security services.
* A single state exam for university admissions will decrease corruption in the education system.
* Russian energy providers will consider not only their own interests, but also the interests of Russia and its trading partners.
* President Putin has no concerns about Boris Yeltsin's trip to Belarus and the meeting of Russia's first president with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko.
* President Putin has no major disagreements with Aleksandr Lukashenko.
* The integration of Russia and Belarus will follow the model of the European Union.
* Russia will pay more than $17 billion in foreign debts next year.
* Russian-Chinese relations are "as good as they have ever been."
* It would be dangerous and foolish for Russia to remain outside the World Trade Organization.
* Russia will not oppose Estonian entry into NATO.
* Housing and utilities reforms will not lead to higher housing rents and utilities payments.
* The active participation of Russian security services is necessary to the solution of the problems in the Pankissi Gorge.
* Cleansing operations in Chechnya need to be stopped. This will be possible only once the legislative, judicial, and security capabilities of the Chechen administration are strengthened.
* The federal center will not involve itself in the delimitation of borders between Chechnya and Ingushetia.
* Russia welcomes the expansion of the European Union.
* President Putin is positive that visa regime issues concerning the Kaliningrad Oblast will be resolved.
* Attempts to remove Yasser Arafat from the political arena are dangerous and erroneous.
* The privatization of Russian agricultural lands should be conducted in the framework of a single federal law.
* A flat tax in the agricultural business sector would be beneficial.
* Economic conflicts must not become political conflicts.
- President Putin met with Pension Fund Chief Mikhail Zurabov to discuss the progress of pension reform and preparations for the August 1 pension indexation. Liquidating the gap in pension and salary levels is one of the primary goals of the pension reforms.
- President Putin also met with Nizhegorod Oblast Governor Gennady Khodyrev, to discuss socio-economic reform in the region, and -- in particular -- problems concerning communal apartments and the tempos of construction.
- The members of the Federation Council discussed the date they will review energy reform laws. The leaders of a number of groups and factions would like to postpone deliberations until the fall. The laws have already been submitted to the State Duma and Duma centrists want to discuss the issues with the Cabinet in the next few days.
- Russian Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov is in Beijing to discuss the fight against international terrorism, smuggling, and migration issues with Chinese officials. Russia and China will sign important documents on cooperation in the border areas.
- State Duma Deputy Svetlana Goryacheva received a concussion in an automobile accident.
- Flooding continues in Russia's southern regions. About 70 people - 45 in the Stavropolsk Krai - have died as a result of the flooding. A governmental commission headed by Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu will conduct on-site investigative work. The Ministry has established a hotline for information on the flooding.
- Trade and Economic Development Minister German Gref met with representatives of the Duma's centrist factions to discuss the reform of RAO UES.
- Russian and Daghestani security services have found the organizers of the Kaspiisk bombing of May 9th. Eight of the 18 rebels have been arrested. In addition, the six Russian soldiers who sold the rebels the MON-90 mine, which killed 45 people, have been arrested.
- Security service officers searched the Moscow area dacha of Sergei "Mikhas" Mikhailov.
- Vladimir Burkov, a self-taught geo-physicist and former safety technician living in Kostroma, believes that global warming and the recent increase in naval and aircraft accidents have been caused by the migration of the North Pole and the Earth's rotation line.
- Chechen rebels attempted to shoot down a military Mi-24 helicopter. One pilot was injured, but the crew managed to bring the plane to the military base and land it safely. Representatives of the North Caucuses Joint Forces Headquarters assert that the recent hunt on military helicopters is connected to the order, introduced 2 months ago, that forbids pilots to fire back at snipers without coordinating with commanding officers. The order will be cancelled effective today.
- The first parade in honor of the victory in WWII was held 57 years ago today.
- Incumbent Leonid Potapov was reelected for the third term as president of the Republic of Buryatia. According to preliminary information, he received 68 percent of the vote. Bato Semyonov, a deputy of the Buryatian parliament received 24 percent of the vote. Potapov announced that one of his first moves in the new term will be the dismissal of the government. This cardinal move will be part of the reform of the executive structure.
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