LEBED FORMS AN OPPOSITION OF HIS OWN
Izvestia, September 12, 2000, p. 2
Leaders of Russia’s donor regions who are dissatisfied with the federal tax policy will meet in Moscow on September 12. Some executives, businessmen, and deputies met in Krasnoyarsk yesterday to protest against the new budget relations and Tax Code. On the initiative of Governor Alexander Lebed, they formed the Union of Krasnoyarsk and their conference became the first mass action against the Kremlin’s new policy based on centralization of financial and assets management.
THE STATE COUNCIL: THE FIRST NIGHT IS COMING
Nash Vek, September 11, 2000, p. 1
The makeup of the council’s presidium indicates that this is going to be a center for the post-Soviet ruling nomenclature. The federal center has found a compromise which will allow it to incorporate into the executive power vertical the regional administrative, information, and other resources and thus compensate for the weakness of the structures of the seven federal regions.
Question: What are governors going to do in the State Council?
Yuri Luzhkov, Mayor of Moscow and member of the State Council’s presidium: I’m grateful to the President for the invitation to sit on the first presidium of the State Council. I think that we will find ourselves very busy. When a new organization is formed to evaluate, analyze, and prepare vital state decisions, all members of its presidium will be very busy. I would like to focus my efforts in the State Council on economic problems. This is what I understand and where I hope to be useful.
Saratov Governor Dmitry Ayatskov: I think that the State Council should be given the right to veto some draft laws, resolutions, and Cabinet orders. Besides, it should endorse foreign and domestic political doctrines, check the prosecutor generals, and so on. The Federation Council used to wield this kind of power, but we – governors – went against the principle of division of power. This time it is going to be a robust executive power vertical under President Putin himself. A similar vertical should be established in the legislative sphere as well where all regional parliaments should directly obey Duma Chairman Gennadi Seleznev.
Magomedali Magomedov, member of the State Council presidium and Chairman of the Dagestani State Council: We discussed the idea of the State Council at the conference attended by the President and leaders of the southern federal region. Everybody backed up the idea. No, I do not object to the idea that the structure will have a recommendatory status for the time being. What counts is that governors will be able to meet with the President and discuss socioeconomic and political issues of the day.
NATO FORCES IN POLAND JITTERY
Parlamentskaya Gazeta, September 12, 2000, p. 1
In the course of a planned exercise two TU-95MS bombers took off in Russia and landed at the Machulischi airbase near Minsk, Belarus. Another pair of the same type of bombers landed in Baranovichi. This was the first exercise of this kind in five years.
Military sources say that NATO Antiaircraft Forces in Poland were put on alert.
AID TO FAMILIES OF SUBMARINERS
Parlamentskaya Gazeta, September 12, 2000, p. 1
Deputy Premier Valentina Matvienko says that the Military Insurance Company paid compensations to families of the submariners who died in the Barents Sea. Along with that, the families have also received money promised them by the President and donations from sponsors.
PREMIER KASIANOV MET WITH MINISTERS…
Rossiiskaya Gazeta, September 12, 2000, p. 1
… and instructed them to “begin work with Duma committees”, explaining the provisions and parameters of the 2001 draft budget recently forwarded to the Duma.
Kasianov: We receive numerous inquiries from deputies in which they ask for explanation of provisions or parameters of the draft budget…
According to the premier, the government has to consult with businessmen on a number of issues related to taxation. Later this week the first sitting of the Business Council will take place. Kasianov reminded those present at the session that the government had planned some moves aimed at improving the current system of taxation, and specifically making some corrections of the first part of the Tax Code.
The premier said that the government and leaders of Caucasian regions had to take additional measures to help displaced persons.
Kasianov: Winter is coming, and we cannot delay. Unfortunately, the number of refugees and displaced people is not going down at the rate we expected.
