Izvestia
Officials reluctant to fund Stolypin monument
Vladimir Putin is personally involved in erecting a monument to pre-revolutionary prime minister and reformer Pyotr Stolypin. In mid-July at a meeting of the organizing committee for the celebration of Stolypin's 150th birthday, the prime minister said that it is the duty of every government official to make a contribution to the monument fund.
The first official to contribute was German Gref, CEO of the state-owned Sberbank. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin also pitched in, as did half of federal ministers and several deputy prime ministers, a source in the organizing committee said.
The source added that among the 200 contributors, there were only 20 to 30 government officials. They would have to sacrifice one month's salary – about 170,000 rubles for a minister – for the monument.
The Ministry of Culture announced the competition for the monument on August 5. The winner will be selected only in mid-December. Applications will be accepted until November 14. All of the submitted designs will be on public display from November 16-30.
Pavel Pozhigailo, president of the Pyotr Stolypin Heritage Studies Foundation, did not rule out that the competition winner could be selected through a public poll.
“To be honest, I would like to choose three to four designs for the monument and discuss them in social networks,” said Pozhigailo. “In other words, let the people choose.”
At present, several options are being considered. One idea is to reproduce the monument to Stolypin that was erected in Kiev in 1912 and demolished in 1917. This monument was also financed with donations.
Pozhigailo believes that the cost of erecting the monument, which was initially estimated at 30-40 million rubles, could be slashed by 50%. The remaining funds in this case would be transferred to other social projects, cultural activities and construction of monuments in other cities.
The cost of materials and author fees could be reduced by bringing in young sculptors.
“It would be nice if the creator of this monument were a young person,” said Pozhigailo, noting that it is his personal opinion. In addition, there is an idea to involve a team of young sculptors in the creation of the monument.
“We will do our best to approach this objectively, discussing and selecting the designs both with organizing committee members and the broader public,” said Pozhigailo.
Konstantin Mogilyov, executive director of the Pyotr Stolypin Heritage Studies Foundation, said previously that well-known sculptors Alexander Rukavishnikov, Salavat Shcherbakov, Lev Matyushin, Ivan Kazansky and Zurab Tsereteli had accepted invitations to participate in the competition.
The competition jury includes Russian Academy of Arts Vice President Andrei Babykin, the Moscow Architecture Committee’s Landscape Architecture Department head Dmitry Vasilchenko, sculptor Alexander Rukavishnikov and Pozhigailo himself.
“We also asked for Ilya Glazunov to be included in the jury,” said Pozhigailo.
Russian film director Nikita Mikhalkov will also support the project.
Moskovsky Komsomolets
Man attacks children, police officers after fight with his wife
Some people drown their domestic woes in alcohol; others smash furniture or leave their wives. Rinat Khairetdinov, 40, deals with stress in his own way – by shooting at children and biting policemen.
The Khairetdinovs’ neighbors describe him as a troublemaker, a drug dealer and an alcoholic, and feel sorry for his wife whom he frequently reduces to hysterics. The woman calls the police almost daily because he often gets violent.
Last Friday, she called to say her husband was threatening her with a gun. However, by the time a patrol arrived to arrest Khairetdinov, she took pity on the violent brawler and withdrew her complaint. After checking out his ordinary pneumatic gun, such as can be purchased in any hunting store, the police left.
A few hours later, Khairetdinov, completely drunk, walked out into the local playground and began yelling obscenities at the children there. When their mothers asked him to stop and leave the playground, the man said he did not need “the pestilent bores” to tell him what to do and “punished” them by started shooting from two guns at random. One of the bullets hit Yelena, 15, who was sitting on a bench with her friend, in the leg.
“The poor girl screamed horribly,” an eyewitness told reporters. “And he said, ‘”It hurts, doesn’t it, you scum!” and threatened to shoot everyone there. Then he turned to the smallest kids in their strollers and started shooting again.”
But this last attack was a bluff because he had no bullets left. Women screamed in panic while men ran out of the building and removed the violent drunk from the playground. However, none of the eyewitnesses called the police, who found out about the shooting incident from the local hospital’s A&E, where the injured ninth-grader was taken.
It was not long before the police identified the attacker. On Saturday morning a police patrol arrived to arrest him. However, as they were escorting him out of the building, Khairetdinov began hitting the 27-year-old police lieutenant, and when the other officer, 25, tried to restrain him, the deranged fighter bit him so hard that he drew blood even through his jacket. After that he was finally subdued.
The bitten policeman has to do a series of blood tests because Khairetdinov may be infected with a disease widespread among drug users. The attacker now faces trial on charges of hooliganism and violence against officials.
A builder by trade, Khairetdinov had served two terms in prison for drug dealing in the past. He is rumored to have been involved in a major gang, where he became addicted. He does not seem to be using drugs now, having switched to vodka instead, which does not prevent him from having a family with a young daughter.
Rossiiskaya Gazeta
Bread prices to grow despite record grain harvest
Bread prices may grow 3%-4% this year and as much as 6%-7% in 2012
Paradoxically, Russia expects to harvest over 90 million tons of grain and has over 22 million tons left from last year. Farmers in some regions complain about grain surplus, which logically should lead to decreasing prices.
Moreover, flour prices, which traditionally follow grain prices, have been falling. According to the Russian Grain Union (RGU), flour prices have decreased by 18 to 500 rubles per metric ton.
Yet bread prices will grow, especially next year, RGU President Arkady Zlochevsky said. “Next year’s budget stipulates a 16% industrial inflation index, which also includes energy costs that are critical for bread prices,” Zlochevsky said. He said the share of grain in bread prices is only 15% and that electricity costs and the need to adjust salaries to inflation constitute the bulk of bread prices.
Prices of baked goods will grow much faster than bread prices because they are not a basic necessity.
Experts say the harvest of cereals will be record high this year. The rice harvest is so large that Russia will be able to export over 200,000 tons. The prices of buckwheat and millet are expected to fall more than the prices of other cereals. Zlochevsky said the rice harvest of 1.2 million tons has been achieved this year not only because of good weather but also due to the increased import duties on raw rice in the last few years, which forced Russian farmers to grow more rice. “This is one of the strategic mechanisms of market regulation which could also be introduced in other sectors,” Zlochevsky said, adding that Russia produced only 250,000 tons of rice 10 years ago.
A food reserve fund could be another factor to help regulate prices on the domestic market. This option has been mentioned by First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov and is being discussed in the media. Zlochevsky said there are two mechanisms for creating food reserves. One of them is the Federal Agency for State Reserves, where unspecified amounts of basic necessities are stored for an emergency, and the other is the State Intervention Fund, which stores grain.
Prices of goods stored in the State Reserves Agency cannot be regulated. During sugar shortages, the commodity was allocated from the agency’s reserves to meet the market demand. These reserves are also used regularly to deal with fuel shortages. However, the Intervention Fund can be used to regulate prices and store not only grain but also other agricultural products such as milk and egg powder, if their acquisitions are approved officially.
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