Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov showed his ability to govern even at his government's last cabinet meeting.
Photo: Sergey Shakhidzhanyan
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Last Meeting of the Current Government
The Russian government in its current lineup met for the last time yesterday. The session had a subdued tone as they discussed the development of the Federal Antimonopoly Service 2008-2010 and preparations by the housing complex for the coming winter. Acting Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, as did several others of the 17 ministers and 4 deputy prime ministers who have had the word “acting” tacked in front of their titles.
Recently-appointed antimonopoly chief Igor Artemyev gave a glowing report on the accomplishments and perspectives of his agency, which Fradkov praised, saying that it was turning into “a unique structure combining intellectual and enforcement abilities.” First Deputy Prime Minister Sergey Ivanov urged Artemyev to prevent airlines from opening businesses at airports, and Agriculture Minister Alexey Gordeev demanded that small agricultural businesses be protected from pressure from large trading companies. When Artemyev promised to hold the “level of collective domination for trading chains no higher than 20 percent,” Fradkov was moved to warn him of the risks of being overly strict.
Minister of Regional Development Vladimir Yakovlev then reported on preparations for the coming winter. That report is traditional, and traditionally leads to heated debate and discussion, as there has never been a winter yet without some scandal connected with public utilities. The discussion this time was an exception. Heating is being provided ahead of schedule where needed. The autumn is expected to be mild and the winter is expected to be similar to the previous winter in severity. The remainder of the session was closed to the press.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Sep. 14, 2007
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