Russia 100325 Basic Political Developments
RIA: Abramovich to head Russian Football Union board of trustees
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- Yorkshire Post: Russia honours veterans of wartime Arctic convoys with special medals
- Moscow Times: United Russia Tones Down Amnesty Plan
RIA: Abramovich to head Russian Football Union board of trusteeshttp://en.rian.ru/russia/20100325/158307135.html 12:1825/03/2010 MOSCOW, March 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich may head the board of trustees of the Russian Football Union (RFU), a Russian respected business daily said. A member of the pro-Kremlin United Russia told Vedomosti that the initiative to create the board came from both businessmen and the government and is aimed at improving the efficiency of spending funds allocated for sports development by the state and private companies. Abramovich, the former governor of Russia's Chukotka Region, has long ties with football as the owner of Britain's Chelsea Football Club and one of the largest sponsors of Russian football. His fortune is estimated at $17 billion and will enable him to keep the club afloat for another 100 years. A source in the Russian presidential administration said that a board of trustees will be created soon. Another source in the Football Union told the paper the decision might be approved in April. The board will include individuals from large businesses such as Abramovich, who is likely to head the board, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, the Russian Railways (RZD) chief Vladimir Yakunin and co-owner of the coal company Kuzbassrazrezugol, Andrei Bokarev. The Russian energy giant Gazprom's Alexei Miller is also linked to Russian football and heads the St. Petersburg football club Zenit, and RZD's Yakunin takes care of Moscow's Lokomotiv. RFU President Sergei Fursenko's links with Gazprom mean the energy giant is likely to take over from billionaire Roman Abramovich as the main source of funding for Russia's top football body. Bokarev has no ties with football; however, has experience in managing sports projects as he heads the Russian Ski and Snowboard Federation. It is not clear what exactly the board will be in charge of. "Something may be created but it is impossible to say yet which functions the body will have," the newspaper source said. RFU's press secretary, Andrei Malosolov, said that he has no information about the creation of a board of trustees. "The idea to bring influential businessmen into the board of trustees is great," he said however. "This will help to successfully develop football in the country," he continued. A source in the RFU said it will be hard to create the board quickly as certain amendments are needed to be made in the Union's statute during a special conference and that can be done no earlier than May. Yorkshire Post: Russia honours veterans of wartime Arctic convoys with special medalshttp://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Russia-honours-veterans-of-wartime.6178817.jp Published Date: 24 March 2010 British veterans of the Second World War Arctic convoys were awarded medals by Russia yesterday to mark the 65th anniversary of the defeat of Hitler. Twelve representatives of the armed forces and the Merchant Navy received the honours from a senior Kremlin official in a ceremony on board HMS Belfast in London. Russian and British dignitaries paid tribute to the veterans' courage in braving dangerous icy seas to provide a vital lifeline for Britain's Soviet allies during the war. Russia's ambassador to the UK, Yuri Fedotov, said no one could underestimate the contribution they made to the defeat of the Nazis. He told the veterans: "Your dedication, your courage were remembered in our country. I believe that that was an event of friendship between our two peoples. "It has happened quite often when we have real problems in Europe. All Britain and Russia's political differences go away and we unite our forces to fight a common enemy. "That is what happened in the past and that should be an example for today's relations between Russia and the UK." Between 1941 and 1945, some 40 convoys undertook the dangerous 1,500 to 2,000-mile run north of the Arctic Circle to Murmansk and Archangel in Russia, braving attacks from German U-boats and Luftwaffe bombers. They delivered four million tonnes of military equipment to the Soviet Union at a cost of hundreds of ships and thousands of lives. Former head of the Royal Navy Lord West, who is now the Government's Security Minister, said: "There is no doubt at all now of how important the Arctic convoys were in terms of sustaining Russia. "Let's face it, Russia fought the hardest of wars. They lost 20 million people and they ripped the guts out of the German army. We were very firmly their ally. "There is no doubt at all that the Arctic convoys were crucially important." It was not until 2006 – 60 years after the war – that the Arctic convoy veterans were finally presented with special British awards to mark their bravery. The medals yesterday were awarded by visiting Kremlin official Vladimir Osipov, chief of Russia's presidential state decorations directorate, who paid tribute to the "enormous" contribution they made to the defeat of fascism. Among those attending the ceremony were Sir John Scarlett, the former head of MI6, and First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope. The veterans included Gordon Long, 84, originally from Ilford, Essex, but now living in Bromyard, Herefordshire, who went on his first convoy in 1942 when he was just 16 and celebrated his 17th birthday in Russia. He said receiving the Russian medal was a "great honour" that ranked alongside meeting the Queen. Recalling the dangers of taking part in the convoys, he said: "You took it in your stride. In your mind it was not going to happen to you. "You could say that we didn't realise the dangers. You didn't think about it because you had a job to do." All surviving British Arctic convoy veterans will be eligible to receive the Russian medal. Moscow Times: United Russia Tones Down Amnesty Planhttp://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/united-russia-tones-down-amnesty-plan/402485.html 25 March 2010 United Russia has backed away from a proposal to grant amnesty to 333,200 people, including 46,200 prisoners, amid pressure from the Kremlin, Gazeta.ru reported Wednesday. The party withdrew the amnesty bill from the State Duma in favor of an alternative that would grant amnesty to only about 100 war veterans, the author of the new bill, senior United Russia Deputy Pavel Krasheninnikov, told Gazeta.ru. The Kremlin favored releasing about 50 war veterans from prison as part of celebrations for the 65th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany on May 9, a United Russia source told Gazeta.ru. (MT) Itar-Tass: Rustam Minnikhanov to be inaugurated as Tatarstan president http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=14952408 25.03.2010, 04.50 KAZAN, March 25 (Itar-Tass) - Rustam Minnikhanov will be on Thursday inaugurated as President of Tatarstan. According to Tatarstan’s State Council (parliament) speaker Farid Mukhametshin, top guests have arrived for the ceremony. They include among others Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, delegations from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Poland. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev submitted his candidacy for consideration of the republican State Council on January 27. At a meeting with Medvedev on January 22, the head of the region, Mintimer Shaimiev, asked not to consider extending his term in office, which expires on March 25. On March 4 deputies unanimously voted for the candidacy of Minnikhanov.
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