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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,
Tuesday, December 18, 2001
- Three new volumes of documents from the series "Top Secret: From Lubyanka to Stalin Concerning the National State of Affairs" have been presented at the meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Most of these materials concern the NEP (New Economic Plan) period and mass collectivization.
- Vera Volzhanina of Chelyabinsk won the small-business "Director of the Year" award.
- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov met with his American counterpart Donald Rumsfeld to discuss bilateral cooperation in the struggle against international terrorism, and the US withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The defense ministers also agreed to begin talks concerning the terms and scale of strategic offensive weapons reduction in January.
- A state of emergency has been announced in some regions of the Krasnodar krai, where over a meter of snow has fallen during the last 24 hours.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired a State Council meeting devoted to the development of small business. President Putin noted that it is very important to review the taxation and legislation policies that affect small enterprises, which employ 13 percent of Russia's citizens.
- Yuri Koptev, the head of the Russian Space Program discussed some future developments for the organization. He said that Russian involvement in international space programs will increase, as will ties with the European Space Agency. He also noted that if everything proceeds as planned, South African businessman Mark Shuttleworth will become the second "space tourist" this April.
- Gazprom celebrated the extraction of the 10-trillionth cubic meter of natural gas since the start of operations. On December 20th, the company will present its investment program to the government.
- Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov chaired a cabinet meeting to discuss the 2002 investment programs of the nuclear and electricity enterprises. The Ministry of Nuclear Energy is requesting 34 billion rubles and RAO Unified Energy Systems of Russia (RAO UES) asks for 100 billion rubles of investment.
- President Putin met with Armenian President Robert Kocharian to discuss international security and bilateral relations. There are over 400 joint Russian-Armenian enterprises currently seeking improved mechanisms for industrial cooperation.
- The winter session of the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Council has began in Brussels.
- Three more bodies have been found in the third section of the Kursk nuclear submarine. So far, 71 bodies have been found since the Kursk arrived at the Roslyakovo dock; 65 of these have been identified.
- The Foreign Intelligence Service celebrated the tenth anniversary of its independent existence today.
- In his final statement, journalist Grigory Pasko reaffirmed his plea of innocence. Pasko and his lawyers told journalists that they are positive he will be acquitted. A decision will be made in the beginning of next week.
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