| The President met with the speakers of the State Duma and the Federation Council Gennady Seleznev and Sergei Mironov. Vladimir Putin discussed with them the course of the autumn session in both chambers of the Federal Assembly, the problems of considering priority bills, in particular the draft state budget for 2004, amendments to the law on citizenship, the bill on currency regulation, and so on.
Government
Instructed the Ministry of Transport to open the Khanty-Mansiysk airport for international flights of cargo and passenger aircraft. A permanent checkpoint across the state border will be installed at the airport. The Government of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug has been instructed to ensure the construction, arrangement and technical equipment of the point with a throughput capacity of up to 100 passengers per hour and up to 150 tons of cargo per day. The FSB, State Customs Committee, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture will provide border, customs, immigration, sanitary-quarantine, veterinary and other types of control of individuals, vehicles, cargo, goods and animals crossing the state border.
Departments
To carry out compulsory liability insurance for management companies and a specialized depository, Russian insurance companies must obtain a separate license , says a letter from the Department of Insurance Supervision of the Ministry of Finance addressed to the All-Russian Union of Insurers. In particular, the letter states that the insurance company has the right to enter into relevant insurance contracts only if all the requirements of paragraphs 7 and 8 of Art. 25 of the law "On investing funds to finance the funded part of the labor pension in the Russian Federation." Licenses may be issued to insurance organizations for voluntary insurance, subject to the requirements of federal law. To obtain the appropriate license, an insurance organization must submit an application to the insurance supervision department in the prescribed manner.
The State Customs Committee (SCC) of Russia reports that in September 2003, customs authorities transferred 66.68 billion rubles to the federal budget. The target set by the government has been fulfilled by more than 100%. Thus, over the nine months of this year, customs authorities transferred 543.29 billion rubles to the federal budget, which amounted to more than 100% of the planned target, the State Customs Committee noted.
Chairman of the Financial Monitoring Committee (FMC) Viktor Zubkov and Swedish Minister for External Relations and Financial Markets Gunnar Lund yesterday discussed mechanisms for interaction between the financial intelligence services of Russia and Sweden. The negotiations took place within the framework of the regular plenary session of the International Organization for Combating the Proceeds of Crime (FATF), which opened the day before, on September 30, in Stockholm. The parties discussed the prospects for the development of the FATF, as well as issues of Russia’s participation in assistance to countries that are currently creating their own financial intelligence units, including in the states of Central Asia. The meeting participants reviewed the mechanisms for Russia's further participation in the FATF activities and agreed to continue contacts.
Since the beginning of the year, about 100 thousand teenagers suspected of committing crimes have been detained in Russia, said Deputy Head of the Public Security Service of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, Police Lieutenant General Nikolai Pershutkin. According to him, following the results of eight months, the country has seen a decrease in juvenile crime. Thus, there were a quarter fewer crimes committed by prior conspiracy and 12% fewer crimes committed while intoxicated. The number of teenagers who re-offended decreased by 25%. Nikolai Pershutkin admitted that over the past ten years in Russia the number of street children has increased several times. However, he believes that most of the figures published by the media are greatly exaggerated.
According to the Central Bank, during the period from January 1 to July 1, 2003, the debt of the former USSR attributed to the administration of Russia increased from $55.2 billion to $55.5 billion. Of this amount, $41 billion was debt to the Paris Club of official creditors, and 3.8 billion dollars - to the former socialist countries. In the first half of the year, Russian debt itself decreased from 47 billion to 43.4 billion dollars. This included $12.4 billion in loans from international financial organizations and $15.8 billion in Eurobonds issued to restructure debt to the London Club of Commercial Creditors.
State Duma
The Duma Defense Committee recommends doubling budget expenditures on equipping troops with modern weapons next year. This was announced by a member of the committee, chairman of the subcommittee on training of the armed forces and their recruitment, Evgeniy Zelenov. “The 22% increase in costs for these purposes planned in the draft 2004 budget will allow the State Armament Program to be fulfilled by only 70%,” he explained, adding that “it is necessary to at least double the costs.” Evgeny Zelenov noted that the defense committee’s proposals were supported by the Duma commission to review federal budget expenditures aimed at ensuring national defense, law enforcement and state security, as well as the budget and taxes committee. The draft 2004 budget also includes insufficient funds for the disposal and elimination of obsolete weapons, according to the Defense Committee.
The Duma Defense Committee has introduced a package of bills clarifying the rules of conscription for military service, said the chairman of the committee, Army General Andrei Nikolaev. The authors of the bills propose to provide a deferment from conscription for military service to citizens who have one child who has been disabled since childhood and is over three years old. “We believe that this measure will strengthen the social protection of families raising disabled children,” Nikolaev explained. According to the general, a deferment from conscription should also be provided to citizens who have a pregnant wife. This should have a beneficial effect on social support for young families, as well as reduce cases of early dismissal from military service. The deputies also consider it necessary to extend the terms of conscription to military service for citizens living in the Far North and equivalent areas.
Regions
Deputies of the State Council of Udmurtia yesterday adopted in the first reading the law on the elections of the President of the Republic in a new edition. The bill, in particular, provides for a reduction in the threshold voter turnout from 25 to 20%. According to the new law, the winner must receive at least 50% of the votes of voters who came to the elections (previously 25% was enough). According to the bill, a contender for the post of President of Udmurtia will be able to start campaigning immediately after notifying the election commission of his intention to run. The term of office of the president has been increased from 4 to 5 years. In addition, the new bill introduces for the first time the concepts of a second round and an electoral deposit. Based on materials from news agencies and our own information
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