No one is forgotten

The White House did not ignore the zeal that a whole group of officials showed throughout the spring and half of the summer, persuading the Duma and the Federation Council to approve a voluminous package of priority laws for the president and the government. The government yesterday announced gratitude to everyone “for the successful implementation of interaction with the chambers of the Federal Assembly.”

Deputy head of the government apparatus Alexander Kozlov was praised for his successful legislative activities. Andrei Loginov, the government's plenipotentiary representative in the Duma, earned gratitude for the constructive attitude of the deputy corps. For the same attitude of the Federation Council are the head of the government department for relations with the Federal Assembly Farit Mukhametshin and the deputy head of the regional development department Nikolai Korenev.

The greatest success during the spring session of parliament was achieved by Deputy Minister of Finance Sergei Shatalov and Deputy Minister of Taxes and Duties Sergei Shulgin. Their efforts were crowned with the final product: the main tax laws were sent from parliament to the president for signature, on the basis of which the draft 2002 budget can now be drawn up. Deputy Head of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade Alexander Maslov, who until this spring was unknown in either chamber of parliament, was seen during a discussion of the Land Code and laws related to de-bureaucratization of the economy. Deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Vladimir Vasilyev distinguished himself in his work on amendments to the law on the police, thanks to which the federal center can now appoint regional police chiefs without the mandatory consent of the regional authorities.

Gratitude to the Chairman of the Pension Fund, Mikhail Zurabov, was apparently given in advance. The Duma managed to adopt only half of the bills necessary for pension reform, and only in the first reading.

Victor KHAMRAEV