Research & Assessment Branch The Russian Chronologies July - September 2009 Dr Mark A Smith 09/13 RUSSIAN DOMESTIC CHRONOLOGY JULY 2009 – SEPTEMBER 2009 1 July 2009 The head of the commission for the Caucasus and first deputy speaker of the Federation Council, Aleksandr Torshin, criticises the assessment of the situation in the North Caucasus made by the human rights organization Amnesty International. 1 July 2009 President Dmitry Medvedev speaks at a state reception for graduates of military educational institutions in the Kremlin. He discusses military reform. 1 July 2009 Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov discusses with Vladimir Putin the development of seaport construction. Ivanov states: In 1998-99, of the total volume of import and export operations, 75 per cent of our cargoes were shipped through foreign ports, mostly Ukrainian and Baltic ones, and only 25 per cent through Russian ports. Now the proportion is as follows: 87 per cent of all cargoes are already shipped and processed through Russian ports, and only 13 per cent through foreign ports. I think that's fairly good dynamics, and in the foreseeable future we will completely get rid of dependence on foreign ports. This is very important from the economic point of view, and of course additional jobs. 1 July 2009 The head of the Rosnano state corporation Anatoly Chubays addresses the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs innovation policy committee. He discusses the need to develop an innovative economy in the Russian Federation. 1 July 2009 Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev says that alcohol abuse or poisoning causes each fifth death in Russia. 1 July 2009 Gazprom begins drilling the first gas well in Kamchatka. According to the region's ministry of natural resources, the explored reserves of hydrocarbons at this deposit are estimated at more than 10 billion cubic metres of gas and 0.425 million tonnes of gas condensate. The gas field is situated in the northwest of the peninsula in Sobolevsky District. 2 July 2009 Various human rights activists issue a statement calling for the release of the former heads of the Yukos oil company, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev. 2 July 2009 Dmitry Medvedev chairs an expanded meeting of the State Council presidium in Arkhangelsk devoted to energy efficiency. He criticises Russia’s record in energy efficiency. He says Russia needs serious projects in renewable energy resources. We should work on these alternative sources, because sooner or later they will, in their segments, replace the existing traditional hydrocarbons - however sad it may sound to us. Even now, as the largest state in terms of the production of hydrocarbon-based energy, we should think about tomorrow and the day after. Clearly it won't happen in a day, but we know from history that once or even twice every 100 years, there comes an energy revolution: oil, gas, electricity, nuclear energy. One can rest assured that this aim of creating efficient hydrogen fuel will be achieved. Billions of dollars are spent on this - just so as not to buy our oil and gas. So we should also be equal to this challenge. 2 July 2009 Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Zhukov meets Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. He presents data on the situation on the labour market in the Russian Federation. He says that “as of 24 June, according to monitoring data, the overall number of people registered as 1 A Russian Chronology: July – September 2009 Research & Assessment Branch 978-1-905962-75-4 October 2009 09/13 Dr Mark A Smith unemployed was 2,177,000. In one week, between 17 and 24 June, the number of people registered as unemployed fell by 17,000." He says that the number of people registered as unemployed had fallen in 75 out of 83 regions. Zhukov states that since the end of April, the number of people registered as unemployed in Russia had been falling by an average of "about 0.5 per cent" a week. 2 July 2009 An ITAR-TASS report states that Russian gas extraction and exports have fallen in the first half of 2009, while oil extraction has risen during the same period. Energy Ministry figures report that gas extraction in Russia fell by 72 billion cubic metres in the first half of 2009 in comparison with the same period in 2008. Natural gas exports from Russia fell by 55.9 billion cubic metres. Since the start of 2009, 274.2 billion cubic metres of gas have been extracted, of which 216.4 billion were extracted by Gazprom; 45.5 billion cubic metres of gas were exported, which is 71 per cent of the planned level. The deputy head of the management committee of Gazprom, Aleksandr Anenkov, said earlier that the corporation planned to extract 450-510 billion cubic metres of gas in 2009. According to the forecast announced by the head of Gazprom Export, Aleksandr Medvedev, Gazprom would allocate 82.2 billion cubic metres of this gas to be exported. The report notes that Gazprom expects its gas exports to Europe to fall by 18.8 billion cubic metres in 2009 in relation to 2008, from 158.8 billion cubic metres to 140 billion. The Energy Ministry figures states that domestic gas consumption in Russia has fallen by 11 billion cubic metres in comparison to the same period in 2008, to 237 billion cubic metres. In the first half of 2009, oil extraction in Russia rose by 307 million tonnes in comparison with the same period in 2008. Oil exports increased by 2.2 million tonnes. 2 July 2009 Chechen parliamentary speaker Dukuvakha Abdurakhmanov denies claims about his contacts with exiled rebel leader Akhmed Zakayev in Oslo which appeared in some foreign media. 2 July 2009 Prosecutor-General Yury Chayka says he supports the creation of a single investigations committee in the country. 3 July 2009 The Duma adopts in the third and final reading a law that lifts the ban on the access to mass media for parties which lost at the elections and did not pay their debt for free TV air time. 3 July 2009 The Duma passes in the third and final reading additions to the existing law "On state secrets". 3 July 2009 The Prosecutor General's Office Investigation Committee (SKP) resumes the investigation into the murder case of journalist Paul Klebnikov. 3 July 2009 The secretary of the Security Council, Nikolay Patrushev, says he thinks that the task of neutralizing the threat from narcotics is no less important that fight against terrorism. 3 July 2009 First Vice-Premier Igor Shuvalov says that the increase in tariffs of natural monopolies in 2010 will be minimal. 3 July 2009 Dmitry Medvedev signs a decree appointing the prime minister of Ingushetia, Rashid Gaysanov, acting head of the republic until President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov recovers. 3 July 2009 Interfax reports that a Joint Strategic Air and Space Defence Command is created for the first time in the armed forces. The Joint Strategic Air and Space Defence Command is expected to be formed by the end of 2009, its headquarters will be located near Balashikha, Moscow Region, where the headquarters of the 1st air defence corps was previously located. 2 A Russian Chronology: July – September 2009 09/13 All main air, missile and space defence troops and forces were subordinated to the joint strategic command. The Joint Strategic Air and Space Defence Command will be under the general command of the General Staff. The reconnaissance and warning systems of an air or space attack, as well as systems of suppressing offensive air and space capabilities of foreign states, will be based on units of the air force, air, missile and space defence, which are a part of the Space Troops. The general course of creating an integrated system for suppressing offensive air and space capabilities of foreign states should make air defence systems capable of countering cruise missiles and hypersonic targets. 4 July 2009 Deputy chairman of the Duma committee on security Gennady Gudkov (SR) says that direct presidential rule should be introduced in Ingushetia. Acting President of Ingushetia Rashid Gaysanov says that the situation in Ingusehetia is stable, and external rule is not necessary. 4 July 2009 Head of Roskosmos Anatoly Perminov says six spacecraft of the Glonass system will be launched during 2009, and the number of satellites in the orbital group will reach 24. He says Roskosmos plans to launch six spacecraft a year until the orbital group reaches 30 spacecraft. The Glonass orbital group currently numbers 20 craft. Roskosmos is planning to launch a Belarusian satellite in early 2010. 6 July 2009 Criminal cases are launched against the Moskovskaya Neftegazovaya Kompaniya open joint-stock company on charges of tax evasion committed in 2002-2003 and 2006. 6 July 2009 The Federal Service for Veterinary and Plant Control says that it has lifted its ban on the import of pork from the states of Illinois, Pennsylvania, Texas and New Jersey. 6 July 2009 The operational-strategic exercise Kavkaz-2009 which started on 29 June, ends. It was held in the North Caucasian Military District. In total, 8,500 military servicemen, about 200 tanks, 450 armoured combat vehicles, up to 250 artillery guns of various calibres and other combat and special equipment took part in the operational-strategic exercise. 6 July 2009 The chairman of the Public Chamber Commission for the affairs of veterans, servicemen and their families, Aleksandr Kanshin, cites data showing that the number of non-combat losses in the Russian Armed Forces is 15 per cent higher in comparison with the corresponding period in 2008. The number of servicemen who died has risen from 197 to 227.