OFFICIALLY

President

Signed a decree awarding the Order of Merit to the Fatherland, IV degree, to Ivan Tretyak. Retired Army General Tretyak was awarded for his great contribution to strengthening the country's defense capability and active work in the patriotic education of youth.

Sent greetings to the participants of the XIII Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement in Malaysia. The message, in particular, says: “Russia considers the Non-Aligned Movement, which unites more than half of the world’s states in its ranks, as an exponent of the collective interests of developing countries in the era of globalization. Russia and the Non-Aligned Movement are united in the understanding that the widening gap in the levels of economic and social development of states is a source of new dangerous contradictions in the world. With this in mind, we highly value the role of the movement in solving such pressing problems as ensuring sustainable development, eradicating poverty and illiteracy, and creating decent living conditions for hundreds of millions of people living in developing countries.”

Had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister of Turkey Abdullah Gul. The parties discussed cooperation in the energy sector, current bilateral issues, and also reviewed the situation around Iraq and noted the need to continue efforts for a peaceful settlement of the Iraqi problem with the determining role of the UN.

Departments

At the Foreign Ministry, Russian and American diplomats began consultations on the issues of strategic stability and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Russian side is represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Mamedov, the American side by US Senior Deputy Secretary of State John Bolton. One of the topics of conversation between diplomats is the ratification of the Russian-American Treaty on the Reduction of Strategic Offensive Potentials. Another topic on the agenda of the consultations is the implementation of the G8 Global Partnership Program. This project involves attracting foreign funds to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, including in Russia. It is also expected that Georgy Mamedov and John Bolton will pay attention to cooperation between Russia and Iran in the nuclear field.

The Ministry of Economic Development believes that the Russian economy has a future growth potential of up to 7-8% per year. However, for this it is necessary to change the structure of economic growth. According to the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation German Gref, the government has identified six priority areas of development. As a result, the share of manufacturing sectors of the economy should increase.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations warns that due to the large amount of precipitation that fell in the autumn-winter period, floods are possible in a number of Russian regions with the possibility of flooding of some territories . In all regions prone to floods, operational groups are being formed, the ice situation is being assessed, and forecasts are being adjusted. According to the head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations Sergei Shoigu, a draft government decree is being prepared on the allocation of financial resources for priority measures to ensure the accident-free passage of floods. Exceeding the long-term average snow reserves is observed in Tuva and Khakassia, Primorsky, southern regions of Krasnoyarsk, Altai Territory, Tomsk, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk and Omsk regions, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Tatarstan and Bashkiria. Floods threaten Karelia, Komi, Arkhangelsk, Novgorod and Vologda regions. There is also a high probability of unfavorable development of the spring flood in the Lena River basin in the Far East; ice jams are predicted on the Pechora, Northern Dvina, and Aldan rivers.

General Prosecutor's Office

She expressed concern about the growth of alcoholism and drug addiction in the country. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the problem of drunkenness is one of the serious factors that negatively affects the criminal situation in the country. The Prosecutor General's Office believes that everything is being done in Russia to increase the scale of alcohol consumption - from widespread and offensive advertising to round-the-clock sales of alcohol. According to the department, in 2002, per capita, including old people and infants, in Russia there were 15 liters of pure alcohol. The Prosecutor General's Office considers the increase in drug consumption, especially among young people, to be an equally pressing problem. According to data as of January 1, 2003, 486.7 thousand drug addicts were registered at the dispensary, while a year earlier this figure was 470 thousand. However, as noted in the Prosecutor General’s Office, the actual number of drug addicts in Russia is about 2 million people.

Parties

Representatives of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Labor Russia, the Union of Officers, the movement “In Support of the Army”, the National Power Party and a number of other groups and organizations took part in the demonstration in Moscow dedicated to Defender of the Fatherland Day. At the same time, activists of the Union of Right Forces, who were not given permission by the Moscow authorities to hold a demonstration, organized a picket near the Ministry of Defense building on Arbat Square with calls to speed up military reform and create a contract army.

Army

The director of the Russian Federal Border Service, Colonel General Konstantin Totsky, was awarded the rank of Army General. Konstantin Totsky graduated from the Moscow Higher Border Command School, the Mikhail Frunze Military Academy and the Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. He served in the Arctic, on Sakhalin, on the Soviet-Afghan border, in the North-Western Border District, and headed the Russian Border Service Academy. He was appointed Director of the Federal Border Guard Service of Russia in 1998, awarded the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, IV degree, the Red Banner, and many medals.

A delegation from the Royal Norwegian Air Force, led by the Inspector General of the Norwegian Air Force and Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force, Major General Thomas Archer, arrived in Russia on a visit. According to the head of the press service of the Russian Air Force, Colonel Alexander Drobyshevsky, during the visit there will be a working meeting between Archer and the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force, Colonel General Vladimir Mikhailov. During their stay in Russia, the delegation plans to visit the aviation technology display center in Kubinka near Moscow, the Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, get acquainted with the educational process of the Gagarin Air Force Academy, and also visit the Air Force Museum in Monino near Moscow. The visit of the Norwegian delegation will last until February 27.

Regions

Secretary of State of the Union State of Russia and Belarus Pavel Borodin denied reports that he was allegedly going to run for the post of governor of the Moscow region. In mid-February, the press secretary of the Union State Secretary Ivan Makushok did not rule out the nomination of Borodin for the post of head of the Moscow region, noting that Borodin had already had meetings with representatives of the public of the Moscow region. Elections for governor of the Moscow region will take place in December 2003.

Based on materials from news agencies and our own information