24 January 2004 12:40
NEWS
*** Production of goods and services in the five main areas of the Russian economy - industry, agriculture,
construction, transport and retail trade - increased 7.1% in 2003, according to the Russian State Statistics
Committee.
Output of goods and services in the five main areas in the fourth quarter 2003 was up 8.2% year-on-year, in the third
quarter - 5.9%, in the second quarter - 7.7% and in the first quarter - 6.6%. Output in the fourth quarter was down 9%
from the third quarter.
Russia's foreign trade amounted to $188.524 billion in January-
November, up 25.1% from $150.73 billion in the same period in 2002.
international accord to limit greenhouse gas emissions, and is
scrutinizing its possible effects on the country's interests and
Production in December 2003 was up 8.5% year-on-year and up 4.6% from November 2003. *** Russia's foreign trade
surplus in January-November 2003 amounted to $54.4 billion compared with $41.8 billion in the same period in 2002, the
State Statistics Committee said Friday.
Alexander Zhukov said that it included 72 bills that should be
considered first. Of these, more than 80% are presidential and
These figures are calculated based on the balance of payment method and include customs statistics on the volume of
unofficial trade.
quotas or keeping them as they are. OPEC has a quota of 24.5 million
barrels a day, which was adopted on at the previous conference on
Exports amounted to $121.46 billion, up 26.2% from $96.265 billion, with imports up 23.1% from $54.46 billion to
$67.1 billion. *** A group campaigning for the re-election of Russian President Vladimir Putin has submitted 2.5 million
supporters' signatures to the Central Elections Commission, a spokesman for the group said on Friday. *** The
Interpol National Central Bureau in Russia has confirmed that arrest warrants have been issued for Leonid Nevzlin and
Vladimir Dubov, co-owners of the oil company Yukos . "The Interpol National Central Bureau in Russia has sent
search materials to the Interpol General Secretariat in Lyon," a representative of the Interpol National Bureau
told Interfax on Friday. *** The Yukos situation will not be discussed in the talks between Russian Foreign Minister
Igor Ivanov and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry told Interfax on Friday.
*** Russia is still pondering whether to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, an
economy, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said on Friday. Whether the Kyoto protocol, which supplements the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change, will be ratified or not "is not an issue of Russia's relations with the European
Union, it is of a much broader nature," he said. "Russia stood and stands for the existence of multilateral
mechanisms" but "this issue must be addressed within the framework of the UN. The key to launching the Kyoto
Protocol is not in the hands of Russia alone, but also [in the hands of] a number of other countries," Ivanov said.
*** State Prosecutor Dmitri Shokhin has urged Moscow's Meshchansky court to sentence Vasily Shakhnovsky, former
head of Yukos-Moscow company, to 1.5 years to be served at a prison colony for large-scale personal tax evasion in
1998-2000. "The state cannot be too indulgent to persons breaking criminal law. As for Shakhnovsky, he evaded the
payment of taxes for a truly astronomical sum of over 28 million rubles," Shokhin said. *** The Russian Audit
Chamber revealed during a review that as of the end of last year there was on the federal property register only 3% of
federal state property abroad worth $21 million, while not listed was a property balance worth $2.6 billion under the
jurisdiction of the Foreign, Defense and Railways Ministries and other departments. *** On Friday, the State Duma passed
the basis for its spring session legislative program. Presenting the program, first deputy speaker
governmental legislative initiatives--19 and 40 bills, respectively, Zhukov said. *** On Friday, the State Duma
passed a conciliatory commission version of amendments to mortgage law allowing mortgaged farmland. Commission chair
Viktor Pleskachevsky, presenting a report on the bill, said the document was the first law the fourth Duma will take up.
*** At its Friday plenary session, the Duma passed in the first reading amendments to article 39 of the law on the
privatization of state and municipal property that concern representing state interests to business management agencies.
*** On February 4, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin will talk during 'government hour'
at the Duma on government plans to revisit rates for mandatory driver liability insurance, Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov
announced on Friday. *** A Russian delegation will take part in the next OPEC conference in Algeria on February 10 as an
independent observer, Energy Minister Yuri Nogotkov told Interfax. Abdulrahman Al-Kheraigi, OPEC media relations
officer, said the conference will address changes to existing extraction
December 4. *** The narrow monetary base in Russia stood at 1385.3 billion rubles on January 19, up 13.4 billion
rubles from 1371.9 billion rubles on January 12, the Central Bank reported on Thursday. *** Unified Energy System of
Russia companies produced 635.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2003, up 3%. Electricity consumption throughout
Russia increased 2.9% to 888.2 billion kW/h, instead of the 1.4% rise forecast, UES reported. *** Russian entrepreneur
Alisher Usmanov has increased his stake in the Anglo-Dutch Corus Group to 9.09%, the basis for a fresh wave of rumors
about the businessman's possible interest in a deal for the creation of a joint venture with this company, one of
Europe's biggest steel companies, the Financial Times reports. Corus, which welcomes Usmanov's interest, has
not commented on either a deal or Usmanov possibly becoming a board of directors member. Usmanov is now the group's
second largest shareholder. The British press had earlier reported that he wanted to become a board member. *** Net
profits at Central Telegraph, according to initial figures, quadrupled last year to 110 million rubles, company general
director Vaagn Martirosian has told the press. Company earnings, according to initial data, came to 1.46 billion rubles,
he said.
[Interfax] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
