On March 21, the Appeal of the Union of Journalists of Altai, signed by its chairman Sergei Teplyakov, issued the following statement. APPEAL OF THE UNION OF JOURNALISTS OF ALTAI TO THE JOURNALISTS AND MANAGEMENT OF THE FIRST CHANNEL AND THE RTR CHANNEL Colleagues! In November 2004, a campaign to discredit Vladimir Ryzhkov, a deputy of the State Duma, began and is now developing with renewed vigor.

On the night of March 21, the information agency "Bankfax" was robbed - all computer equipment was taken out of the office. The agency suffered both material and serious intellectual damage - the computers contained databases and archives collected by Bankfax for many years. This agency was founded in 1993 by journalist Valery Savinkov. Since 2004, Bankfax has been located in an apartment on the first floor of a five-story building on Depovskaya Street.

In the district center of Ongudai of the Republic of Altai, as a result of the flood, about 80 households located on the banks of the Ongudayka River were flooded. The water entered the yards and flooded the living quarters and outbuildings. On March 24, a REGNUM correspondent was informed about this in the administration of the Ongudai municipality.

The editor-in-chief of the official newspaper of the Republic of Altai "Star of Altai" Sergey Denchik issued an order, according to which Vladimir Trimaskin, the chief specialist of the Committee on Information and National Policy of the Republic of Armenia, was forbidden to enter the editorial office. By the same order, newspaper employees are forbidden to discuss the plans and problems of the publication with Trimaskin.

Yesterday Alexander Kushnarev, the chairman of the election commission of the Omsk region, informed representatives of the local media about the course of the campaign for the election of the mayor of Omsk and by-elections to the legislative assembly (LA) of the Omsk region, which were scheduled for March 27, 2005. As it turned out, Mr. Kushnarev's indignation was caused by mass complaints from 22 candidates for mayor of Omsk, employees of the Popov Radio Plant.

Yesterday in Prokopyevsk, the governor of the Kemerovo region, Aman Tuleev, answering journalists' questions about his plans in connection with the appointment of governors, said that these were "the plans of the president of Russia, not mine." He recalled that "I have always been a supporter of direct elections of governors," but the new law on the appointment of heads of regions is being implemented, because "I am a soldier." When asked whether he himself intends to raise the issue of the

Severstal-Resource, the manager of the Kuzbassugol coal company in the Kemerovo region, intends to participate in all auctions for the sale of attractive coal deposits. Roman Deniskin, General Director of Severstal-Resource, announced this in Belov yesterday. He explained the need for active participation in auctions by the fact that the company's coal enterprises have reserves of raw materials for only 20–25 years of operation.

Nikolai Shulga will act as accused, his colleagues as witnesses On Thursday, the prosecutor's office of the Tomsk region brought to court the case of Nikolai Shulga, a deputy of the Tomsk City Duma. He is accused of taking a bribe in the amount of 2 million rubles.

The mayor's office of Novosibirsk has begun to liquidate the clothing market on Marx Square, the largest on the left bank of the city. On the site of the shopping arcade, by May 9, they plan to erect a monument to the famous military pilot Alexander Pokryshkin. The malls are already being moved to the entertainment center under construction, and they are planned to be completely removed from the square in June 2005, when a new shopping center will be commissioned nearby.

Wednesday evening in Novosibirsk there was a fire in one of the dormitories of the State Pedagogical University (NGPU). One student died in the fire, and another was injured after jumping out of a second-story window. According to preliminary data, the tragedy occurred because of the non-switched off electric stove. Fire in the NSPU hostel No. 2 on the street. Vilyuiskaya, 32, in which about 600 people live, began at about eight o'clock in the evening.

The conflict between drug suppliers from Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk distributors of medicines for beneficiaries continued. Yesterday, Vice-President of FG "ROSTA" Alexander Semenyuk told "Kommersant" about the completion of cooperation with State Unitary Enterprise "Pharmacy". Relations, in his words, were terminated due to overstocking of drugs in the warehouses of the contractor.

Yesterday Krasnoyarsk hosted a press conference for the Siberian Transit Annual Traveling Theater Festival, which will run from May 23 to June 4. According to Tatyana Tikhonovets, a member of the Union of Theater Workers, the time to apply for performances to participate in the festival has already ended. In total, more than 50 performances from 27 Siberian theaters were announced. Most of the submitted works have already been reviewed by the expert committee, however, as Mrs.

Yesterday, the management of LLC "Yenisei Pulp and Paper Mill" responded to the accusations of Rosprirodnadzor of oil pollution of the waters of the Yenisei River within the boundaries of the regional center.

On Thursday, Denis Pashkov, head of the industry, transport and energy department of the administration of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, told Kommersant that the regional authorities "do not consider it expedient for Siberia Airlines to come on the Krasnoyarsk-Norilsk flight." The leadership of the Krasnoyarsk Interregional Air Transport Administration (KMU VT) of the Ministry of Transport of Russia adheres to the same position, sending a telegram (its text is at the disposal of Kommersant) to the

On Thursday, the management of Yenisei Pulp and Paper Mill filed a complaint with the prosecutor's office and the regional police department against the actions of tax police officers who had searched the plant and seized documents the day before. According to the press service of the CBC, the visitors presented documents authorizing the seizure of materials indicating a violation of tax laws.