#1
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,
Friday, January 11, 2002

- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov presented Aleksei Venetsianov's "Senokos" [Hay-making] to Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery. The painting was bought at an action by a British intelligence agent of Russian descent, Viktor Provatorov, who left the painting to the Russian museum in his will.

- Three men who carjacked a Subaru this evening are suspected of belonging to the group of Ingush criminals who were stealing import cars last fall. Investigators suspect that these same men stole writer Mikhail Zhvanetsky's Mercedes.

- The Electoral Commission of North Ossetia has postponed the review of Sergei Khetagurov's candidacy in the presidential election. Khetagurov may be denied registration because he indicated an address in Vladikavkaz as his permanent residence, while he's been living in Moscow for several years. He is also accused of holding two passports. Finally, the tax police suspect that the income and family property information Khetagurov filed is false.

- Sibur Chairman of the Board Vyacheslav Sheremet has been released from custody. Sibur President Yakov Goldovsky and Vice President Yevgeny Koshchitsa will be detained for ten more days.

- In Karelia's Pigmushi settlement, the heating season has not began yet and thousands of people are freezing.

- A representative of the General Prosecutor's office declared that Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov's statement concerning the verdict against journalist Grigory Pasko is an attempt to pressure the court and the security services.

- The Georgian Security Council is expected to make a final decision today concerning Russian peacekeepers in Abkhazia.

- The Russian Emergency and Defense Ministries are helping to repair the flood damage in the Krasnodarsk krai.

- Russian President Vladimit Putin met with Transneft President Semyon Vainshtock to discuss the work along the Baltic pipeline. President Putin noted that it is vital to de-politicize the pipeline.

- The Presidium of the Supreme Arbitration Court has backed up the decision concerning the liquidation of TV-6. The television station's lawyers will file a protest with the Constitutional Court.

- A press conference was held by the General Prosecutor's Office on the eve of its 280th anniversary. General Prosecutor Vladimir Ustinov relayed President Putin's congratulations to the employees of the organ; Advisor to the General Prosecutor's Office, Vladimir Kolesnikov, briefed journalists on the latest major cases.

- Air Force Commander Anatoly Kornukov announced his intention to retire to the reserves.

- Former Ingush President Ruslan Aushev will represent his republic in the Federation Council.

- Train fares are expected to rise by about 30 percent in connection with the higher tariffs set by the Railways Ministry. A ticket from Khabarovsk to Moscow, for example, will cost over 3,000 rubles [$100].

- Three Emergency Ministry trucks carrying humanitarian aid have set off for Tajikistan. They are delivering tents, warm clothing, stoves, and fuel to the victims of the Rogun earthquake.