THE NUMBER OF DUMA NOMINEES RESTRICTED
Izvestia, April 23, 2003, p. 3 EV
To date, only 37 political parties of Russia enjoy the right to participate in the federal and regional elections, Alexander Veshnyakov told at regional seminar-meeting dedicated to preparations for the elections in Yekaterinburg. Veshnyakov noted that over eighteen months the federal law on political parties has been in force, there had been held over 70 constitutive and reforming congresses. However, only 51 political parties submitted documents for registration. Only 37 parties have registered branches in the majority of federal subjects and they alone have the right to participate in the elections of all levels, director of the Central Electoral Commission explained. Veshnyakov didn’t rule out that the number of parties enjoying the right to participate in the elections might increase until the election campaign would be officially launched.
DEFENSE MINISTRY CONCERNED FOR RELOCATION OF NATO BASES
Izvestia, April 23, 2003, p. 3 EV
Over the course of Polish Defense Minister Jerzy Szmajdzinski’s visit to Moscow, Russia intends to discuss possible relocation of U.S. military bases from Germany into other European states, a well-informed source in the military-diplomatic sources of Moscow said yesterday. The source reminded that NATO leaders had repeatedly declared that any relocation of additional military groupings in the territories of new NATO member states wouldn’t take place. “We now have information of the plans to move some U.S. military bases to Poland,” the military-diplomatic source stressed.
THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING
Trud, April 23, 2003, EV
Moscow has faced an event which is sure to echo through the leading media agencies around the world: YUKOS and Sibneft, two Russian oil companies, announced reaching a fundamental merger agreement. There is strong grounding to speak about the birth of an absolute leader of the Russian oil industry and the world’s fourth private oil producing company, which is ranking first by the explored resources. The new oil monster was named YukosSibneft. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the present-day CEO of YUKOS is expected to head the new company, while Yevgeny Shvidler, the president of Sibneft will be nominated to a position of chairman of the board of directors.
In Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s words, “merger with Sibneft sharply increases our competitive advantages at the expense of joining up superb managing teams, highly professional labor collectives and high-profitability industrial assets of both companies. The new industrial monster, which has huge production and financial might, will be able to gain more efficiency in the sphere of business management which will approach achievement of our strategic goal – our becoming a leader of the global energy market,” Yevgeny Shvidler thinks.
It is planned to accomplish the merger by the end of the year, in case all aspects of the transaction enjoy approval of the shareholders and the supervising state bodies.
