NEWS

The inauguration ceremony of the President of Tatarstan is held in Saidashev’s Grand Concert Hall.
Among the guests of honour present at the ceremony are: Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Volga Federal District Sergei Kirienko, RF State Duma Deputy Chairman Oleg Morozov, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee for international issues Vasily Likhachev, RT Prime-Minister Rustam Minnikhanov, RT State Council Chairman Farid Mukhametshin, deputies of the Federal Assembly, RT State Council, republican ministers, heads of administration of cities and districts of the republic, public leaders, industrialists, scientists, artists and veterans of the Great Patriotic War.

On March 25, the RT State Council backed conferring authority of the RT President on Mintimer Shaimiev by a majority of the vote. As many as 89 deputies voted in favour, 4 – against, and 1- abstained.

At this very moment, the RT State Council is considering the issue of conferring authority of the RT President on Mintimer Shaimiev. RT President Mintimer Shaimiev, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President in the Volga Federal District Sergei Kirienko, RT Prime Minister Rustam Minnikhanov, members of the Council of the Federation and deputies of the RF State Duma take part in the session.

The committee of the RT State Council for economy, investments and business at today's session by the majority of the vote supported Mintimer Shaimiev's nomination for the post of Tatarstan President presented by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. Opening the session, Chairman of the committee Marat Galeyev emphasised that conferring authority of the RT President on Mintimer Shaimiev is a very important question.

On Saturday, the Presidium of the RT State Council appointed the date of the next session of the Tatarstan Parliament where the question «On conferring authority of the RT President on Mintimer Shaimiev" will be considered. The 13th session of the RT State Council of the third convocation will be held on March 25.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made proposal to the RT State Council on vesting of powers of the RT President under the new procedure in acting RT President Mintimer Shaimiev. The parliamentary session where the candidacy of the head of the republic will be approved is scheduled for March 24.

The State Council of Tatarstan approved the proposal of the RT President to transform the Ministry of Communication of the republic into the Ministry of Information and Communication at the session on March 14. Expansion of functions of the ministry was necessary for realisation of more effective state policy in the field of informatisation and communication.

It was Tatarstan that showed the algorithm of how to prepare sites for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage list – one should work seriously and hard. Chairman of the Russian Committee for the World Heritage Igor Makovetsky gave such a reference to the cooperation between our republic and that international organisation, during the session of the RF Commission for UNESCO. RT President Mintimer Shaimiev and RF Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, the head of the Commission, were present in the session.

On March 11, in the Kazan Kremlin Mintimer Shaimiev told journalists that already in March he would pass a new procedure of empowering as head of the republic through the Parliament of Tatarstan. The agreement was reached in Moscow on March 9 during the meeting of Putin and Shaimiev. This term of the RT President will come to an end in March 2006. Shaimiev said that Putin expressed his wish that the present head of the republic should continue his work on that post.

RF President Vladimir Putin discussed with RT President Mintimer Shaimiev the preparation for celebrations of the 1000th anniversary of Kazan in August this year. M. Shaimiev called the Kazan Metro opening the main event within the preparation works. He also said to V. Putin that on January 1, 2005 the program on dilapidated housing liquidation was accomplished. According to M. Shaimiev, as many as 49 thousand families received new flats. Besides, the RT President noted that on January 1 the new program for social mortgage started. It remarkably differs in its conditions from the Russian national mortgage program: the loan is given for 27.5 years at 8% per year interest.