Officially

President

Had a telephone conversation with the President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan. During the conversation, the heads of state discussed current issues of bilateral relations, including issues of cooperation in the fuel and energy sector. An exchange of views on regional issues also took place.

Held a working meeting with Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, during which plans for the government's legislative activities for the first half of 2004 were discussed. At the same time, more than 20 bills are designated as priorities. In addition, Mikhail Kasyanov informed Vladimir Putin about the work within the framework of administrative reform.

Signed a decree on the conscription of citizens in the reserve to undergo military training in 2004 for up to two months in the Armed Forces, Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Special Communications and Information Service of the Federal Security Service, the Federal Security Service and other military formations. The presidential decree states that military training will be held on a date agreed with the executive authorities of the constituent entities of the federation, with the exception of training, the timing of which is determined by the Ministry of Defense. The government has been instructed to ensure the allocation of funds from the budget for military training.

Government

Instructed the Ministry of Finance and the State Construction Committee to issue 2,384 state housing certificates in December of this year for a total amount of 1 billion 702.8 million rubles. Using the funds provided in the federal budget under the section “Industry, Energy and Construction”, 1,934 state housing certificates will be financed in the amount of 1 billion 382.8 million rubles. Including 1,330 certificates worth 1 billion rubles will be financed for the Ministry of Defense, 350 certificates worth 200 million rubles for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 150 certificates worth 110 million rubles for the Ministry of Justice, 24 certificates worth 16 million for Spetsstroy. rub., for the Federal Service for Life and Welfare of Russia - 80 certificates worth 56.8 million rubles. These certificates will be redeemed in accordance with the established procedure in 2004.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Alexei Kudrin said that the implementation of the agreement on the introduction of the Russian ruble on Belarusian territory from January 1, 2005 depends entirely on the Belarusian side. The Russian ruble will be introduced on the territory of Belarus from 2005 if the corresponding agreement is signed no later than February 2004. Otherwise, the transition to a single currency will have to be postponed until 2006.

Departments

From the beginning of the year to the present, the Ministry of Finance has attracted 132 billion rubles from the domestic government debt market. compared to the volume of attraction planned in the federal budget at the level of 169 billion rubles. This was announced by Deputy Head of the Department of State Internal Debt Management of the Ministry of Finance Alexander Chumachenko. The volume of redemption of government securities this year amounted to 106.4 billion rubles, the volume of internal debt in government securities as of December 1, 2003 was 663.2 billion rubles.

Based on financing data, the federal budget surplus for 2003 could amount to 158 billion rubles, said Deputy Minister of Finance Tatyana Nesterenko. According to the updated budget execution forecast for the current year, the surplus was planned in the amount of 148.3 billion rubles. However, Tatyana Nesterenko emphasized, budget revenues will be more than planned, by about 10 billion rubles. In addition, according to preliminary data, the balance of funds of budget recipients at the end of the year may amount to 10 billion rubles, which will result in a significant share of savings for the Ministry of Finance in terms of undrawn loans and savings in servicing external debt.

The Ministry of Justice submitted to the Central Election Commission lists of political parties that can take part in the 2004 presidential elections and nominate their candidates. This was stated yesterday by the head of the Ministry of Justice Yuri Chaika, speaking at the final annual board of the department. He emphasized that in the beginning presidential campaign, the most important task of the Ministry of Justice is to “effectively interact with election commissions in preparation for the elections.”

Army

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that the 42nd division of the Ministry of Defense and the 46th brigade of the Ministry of Internal Affairs stationed in Chechnya will be transferred to the contract formation principle in 2004. The minister pointed out that the recruitment of contract soldiers to permanently ready units and formations in Chechnya should not differ fundamentally from the conditions under which the 76th Airborne Division was formed. The main difference is the amount of monetary allowance. A private contract soldier in his first year of service in Chechnya will receive at least 15 thousand rubles, while in similar positions, servicemen of the 76th division now receive about 6 thousand rubles.

Based on materials from news agencies and our own information