#5
ORT Review
www.ortv.ru
Compiled by Luba Schwartzman (luba7@bu.edu)
Research fellow at the Institute for the Study of Conflict, Ideology and Policy
at Boston University
HEADLINES,
Wednesday, November 21, 2001
- Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov has given an official warning to the heads of the Tyumen, Orlov and Smolensk oblast interior ministries concerning not carrying out their duties properly. He declared: It is impossible to restore the faith of our citizens in the organs of interior affairs without decisively putting an end to corrupt practices such as concealing crimes and closing or opening cases without a valid reason..."
- A new stage of troop withdrawal has begun in Chechnya. The first echelon carrying soldiers from the 245th motorized infantry division has left for Nizhny Novgorod.
- In 2004, the Russian Defense Ministry plans to present the plans for switching to a professional army. Such a change has been discussed for 10 years now. In 1992-3 the contract system was introduced into the 210th division on an experimental basis. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov explained that the switch will be costly -- requiring as much as hundreds of billions of rubles.
- The leftist opposition in the State Duma is trying to force the government to make new concessions in the 2002 budget in connection with the low oil prices.
- Tomorrow, the Russian State Duma will review an important packet of Court reform bills in the second reading. The second reading of the bill On the State of the Military has been postponed until December because the Agrarian deputies refuse to vote for the bill until their suggestions for the 2002 budget are taken into account.
- Sociologists estimate that more than 70% of Russian citizens are in favor of Court reform.
- The new All-Russian Centrist Party will hold a founding congress on December 1st. The preliminary name of the party is "Unity and Fatherland." The name, as well as a party emblem and flag, will be decided upon at the congress.
- The Council of Defense Ministers of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) nations is meeting in Moscow to discuss cooperation in the fight against international terrorism, the joint Air-Defense System, and other military-technical cooperation programs. President Putin met the defense ministers at the Kremlin and emphasized the importance of cooperation during a period of struggle against international terrorism.
- President Putin met with Jordanian King Abdullah II and congratulated the entire Muslim world with the holy month of Ramadan. The two leaders discussed the fight against international terrorism and the situation in the Middle East.
- President Putin met with Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov to discuss military reform and the conditions of international financial and trade markets.
- The Federal Ministry of Taxes and Collection celebrates its 11-year anniversary today.
Next Article