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ELECTION IN PRIMORYE IS FOLLOWED BY LITIGATION
The past week's session of the krai Electoral Commission examined appeals to the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), submitted by Aleksandr Kirilichev, ex-candidate for Primorye governorship, and Sergei Dudnik, speaker of the krai duma.
Any attempts to appeal to CEC in bypass of the local electoral commission fail so far: all documents are returned to Primorye, and appellants are advised to settle their matters on a local level.
Kirilichev provided data, showing that voting protocols in Nakhodka were falsified, and the session decided to investigate this situation. The chairman of Nakhodka territorial commission declared that he will file a lawsuit against Kirilichev to protect his honor and dignity. And the krai electoral commission will file a lawsuit against Sergei Dudnik, who wrote to CEC that "seeing that the incumbent governor is losing, the krai electoral commission started falsifying voting results".
The electoral commission of Vladivostok City is also facing problems. The mayoral election, appointed for March 26, had to be canceled by acting mayor Yury Kopylov, and the election of deputies to vacant seats in the city duma was appointed for June 18. The city hall and the city electoral commission are going to initiate an amendment to the local law on mayoral election, reducing the required voter turnout from 50% to 35%.
However, Sergei Knyazev, chairman of the krai electoral commission, informs that in a telephone conversation with CEC he was insistently recommended to hold an election for vacant seats in Vladivostok duma on March 26. The new date of this election remains pending. Russian...
VLADIVOSTOK GETS BRAND-NAME VODKA
The Vladivostok distillery has resumed operations after a lengthy procedure of bankruptcy.
In July 1999, the distillery was bought by JSC "Ussuriisky Balsam" at an auction and became its branch. After the reconstruction of production facilities and process lines, its current capacity is 720,000 decaliters.
First products of the revived liquor facility became gin "Ussuriisky", sweet liqueur "Night Vladivostok", bitter liqueur "Hello, Vladivostok", vodkas "Ussuriiskaya Osobaya", "Starorusskaya" and "Forpost Vladivostoka". In the future, the distillery will design its own Vladivostok-related brand names and intends to promote " Forpost Vladivostoka" as the brand-name vodka of Vladivostok City. Russian...
HOUSING WILL COST $100 PER SQ. METER
Vladivostok Chief Architect Andrei Sigidin tells "ZR" about some plans of the city hall concerning apartments for low-income citizens.
In his opinion, through attracting new financial institutions and applying advanced building technologies, prices for new-built housing may be reduced from $400-600 down to $100 per sq. meter. This will be affordable for a larger number of Vladivostok citizens.
The city hall proposes to solve this problem to several construction contractors, well-reputed in Vladivostok, such as "Kosandra". Three land plots, allocated for low-story housing construction, are already in the works.
One of possible sources of financing is mortgage loans. Russian...
RECORD HIGH IN REAL ESTATE MARKET
By data of Primorye registry center, 1,423 contracts of sale, 70 exchange deals, 302 inheritance cases and 41 gift cases were registered in the Vladivostok second-hand housing market during the past December.
The number of purchased apartment units was twice higher than monthly average. The reason for brisk demand in the second-hand housing market is obvious: the requirement to report expensive purchases to tax authorities beginning January 2000, superimposed itself on relatively low real estate prices after the August 1998 crisis.
The breakdown of sold apartments units was as follows: 726 single-room flats, 594 double-room and 355 three-room units and 97 suites with four and more rooms. Major deals include sales of four 10-room cottages and of one 11-room cottage. Russian...
"KAMENSKY" COMES BACK TO LIFE
After several years of idling, the fish processing plant "Kamensky" (Dalnegorsky County) generated during the past year an output valued at 11 mln rubles.
320 residents of Kamenka community were actually re-employed by the plant. Monthly wages average at 1,000 rubles in shore-based divisions and 5-7,000 rubles in the fish catching flotilla. "Kamensky" plans to turn out 30 mln rubles worth of produce in 2000.
LEAD PLANT DOUBLES OUTPUT
Russia's only operational lead-producing facility in Rudnaya Pristan, Primorsky Krai produced 2.2 times more refined lead, extracted from lead concentrate, than in the preceding year.
The plant's repair and construction division resumed operations and repaired roofs and indoor spaces. A contract with the Navy on reclamation of used lead-containing batteries is under way. The lead plant's plans for this year include processing of 8,400 tons of lead concentrate, startup of a bismuth facility, completion of a coke storage site and construction of a complex for reclamation of used batteries.
DISPUTE IN NAKHODKA OIL PORT
A number of the port's shareholders, who collectively own more than 44% of stock, filed a suit against director general Bichiko Lomaya with the Nakhodka Transport Prosecutor's Office.
According to the suit, Lomaya "had taken a number of actions, which resulted in losses incurred by the state, oil port and its shareholders, murder of three employees and one suicide".
Shareholders claim that an investigation be started, legal action taken against Lomaya and his property arrested for compensation of losses.
FOREST EMPIRE
During last years, JSC "Terneiles" has become largest timber producer in Primorye and, in terms of some indicators, in the entire Russian Far East.
It takes the lead in sales of all kinds of timber and goes second after "Flora" (Khabarovsk) in terms of round timber deliveries. The sales and services (shipping to Japanese ports) volume of all enterprises, incorporated by "Terneiles", is estimated at 1,426 mln rubles and their total profit at approx. 160 mln rubles.
The founder of the "forest empire", director general of JSC "Terneiles" Vladimir Shcherbakov is 43 years old. He holds a university diploma of forestry and logging engineer. He plays golf and is a typical workaholic. His subordinates say that he "likes that all things were in perfect order".
"ZR" FILE: JSC "Terneiles" was registered 21/10/1992. Charter capital: 145,592,000 rubles. Number of shares: 582,368; face value: 250 rubles. Its 1,470 shareholders are primarily physical persons. By Shcherbakov's words, there are only 8 corporate shareholders, and the controlling package is diluted. 10.77% is owned by Sumitomo Corporation. Among domestic shareholders, largest packages belong to Vladimir Shcherbakov and other persons.
Terneiles holds controlling interests in JSC "Amgules", "Kemales", JSC "Melnichnoye", Roshchinsky logging company, JSC "Luchegorskles", Vladivostok Furniture Factory, JSC "Plastun". It owns 46% in JSC "STS Technowood", co-founded together with the Japanese partners "Sumitomo Corporation" and "Seven Industries" This joint venture is believed to be one of the most successful foreign-invested businesses. The Japanese side invested about $15 mln, and "Terneiles" provided guarantees for this six-year loan. Nearly all produce is exported by "Terneiles" through its long-time partner Sumitomo, with which it has working for 10 years.
Shcherbakov has managed to set up a complex of state-of-the-art high-tech and steadily performing enterprises. For instance, logging divisions employ about 45 units of machinery from the Finnish company "Timberjack".
"ZR" FILE: In 1999 Terneiles produced 896,000 cubic meters of timber (+148,000 on 1998). Staff number is about 2,500. Average monthly wage is 4,500 rubles. Employees can draw long-term loans for buying houses or apartments.
"Terneiles" cuts timber in three Primorye counties, having richest forest resources, - Terneisky, Krasnoarmeisky and Pozharsky. It has the largest logging ground with an estimated 1.1 mln cubic meters of timber on it and intends expand it to 2 mln. They have submitted an application for permission to do so in this year to the krai administration and plan to develop this vast area during 5 years. Russian...
MORE SMUGGLING IN FAR EAST
The Far Eastern Customs Authority experts predict growth of illegal trafficking of cultural values across the border in 2000.
While 10 and 29 cases of such customs violations were registered in 1997 and 1998, respectively, in 1999 their number grew to 37. Russian and Chinese nationals were involved in most cases (15 and 14, respectively). Smugglers attempted to bring out cultural values to China (15 cases) and Japan (11). Separate cases were registered on the border with Korea and USA. and in two cases illegal cargo was addressed to Israel and Ukraine. Arrested articles are primarily coins (18th-19th centuries), 18th century orders, pieces of meteorites illegally obtained in the territory of Primorsky Krai and items (coins and various articles), illegally excavated at archaeological sites. Russian...
CRIME RATE AT RECORD HIGH
Summing up 1999 results, Primorye law enforcement agencies state that they had much work in the past year.
An all-time record in murders (754 in 1993) was nearly beaten in 1999 - 740 cases versus 682 a year before. According to the krai Interior Affairs Office's press service, the percentage of major crimes has grown by 18% and reached 63% (37,268 cases). Growth was also registered in intentional injury to health involving death of abused persons, hold-ups and robberies (10%). The rate of solved cases grew by 0.2%.
Organized criminal groupings were active in Vladivostok, Spassk, Ussuriisk and Partizansk. The number of economic crimes has doubled: 16 organized groupings were involved in commercial operations in the fields of oil products, timber and alcohol products. 24 organized groupings were specialized in trafficking of weapons and drugs. 803.6 kg of narcotics and materials for their production were confiscated during the past year.
The Prosecutor's Office of Primorsky Krai summed up results of its activity in the field of prosecutor's supervision in 1999: 4,836 law violations were uncovered, of which 1,086 were unlawful legal acts, to which 843 protests were brought.
Protests were brought against 8 legal acts, adopted by Primorye governor and two acts, adopted by the krai duma. 4 formal statements were addressed to the duma and 7 ones to the governor. Two vice governors were given official warnings.
The prosecutor's office of Pervomaisky District sent to the court the case against the chief of the Criminal Investigation Dept. of Pervomaisky District Interior Affairs Office, who beat a suspect to make him plead guilty of a felony. Legal action was taken against 8 officers of Frunzensky District for torturing suspects. Russian...
Copyright © 2000 "Золотой Рог".
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