Russian Businessmen Ride Wave Of Attention On Khodorkovsky Case To Access The West
http://www.businessinsider.com/claims-of-khodorkovsky-ism-increasing-2011-3
Russia! | Mar. 29, 2011, 3:00 PM
No Russian businessman can rise to the top without connections in the government.
But when these connections fail to secure immunity from the law, the Russian government can take on a new role in the businessmen’s narrative—that of persecutor, used as grounds to request political asylum in the West.
In the past few months alone, there have been two such claims: one by Elena Baturina, wife of former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, and the other by State Duma deputy Ashot Yegiazaryan.
After being questioned by the prosecutor’s office with regard to several cases, Baturina hastened to claim government persecution. Yegiazaryan took things even further: Accused of fraud and stripped of his immunity by the Duma, the deputy dubbed himself “the next Khodorkovsky,” claiming he was being persecuted for his political beliefs.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s lawyers have commented that they do not consider Yegiazaryan a political figure.
“To the best of my knowledge, Yegiazaryan has never engaged in any political activity; political activity is not characteristic of him,” said Yuri Schmidt, an attorney for Khodorkovsky. “I know absolutely nothing about his political activity…” said Vadim Klyuvgant, another member of Khodorkovsky’s defense team.
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the eccentric head of the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, of which Yegiazaryan is a member, believes that Yegiazaryan will never be caught, and the U.S. is on his side, reports the Associated Press.
But the Russian prosecutor’s office has received the approval from the Duma for its arrest of Yegiazaryan, and will possibly request to extradite him from the U.S. That would be the first extradition in recent history of a Duma deputy accused of fraud to Russia.
Thus far, Yegiazaryan’s attempts to call himself a human rights activist have been met with skepticism on the part of Russian human rights activists. The presidential council released an official statement declaring that they have no knowledge of any work by Yegiazaryan in the realm of human rights or charity.
We will continue to follow this story as it develops.
By Tatyana Foley, Russia! magazine
http://rt.com/politics/press/izvestiya/officials-earn-average-territories/en/
Published: 30 March, 2011, 03:40
Edited: 30 March, 2011, 03:40
Ekaterina Grigoryeva
Regional officials are being paid one-and-a-half times the average salaries in their regions, while in some constituent territories, this gap reaches 2.5 times. The figures are based on research by the FBK Company, which presented its ratings of the authorities’ “detachment” from their constituents.
On the one hand, residents of the Nenetsky Autonomous Region seemingly have nothing to complain about: their average salary rate is one of the highest in the country: 47,967 rubles (over 1,400 USD). But even against this background, regional officials were able to set a record – in 2010, their average compensation equaled 108,720 rubles (some 3,300 USD). The difference between the “power” and ordinary incomes is 2.27-fold. Meanwhile, although Nenetsky is one of the 10 most “detached” regions, overall it is far from the top of the ratings.
Strangely enough, the last place in the “detachment” rating is held by Moscow – capital officials’ wages exceed the average regional indicators by only 9%. Experts at FBK explain this by indicating that Moscow is home to the offices of some of the leading Russian and international companies, whose employees are highly compensated. As a result, the “ordinary” income is 47,884 rubles (over 1,400 USD), and the “power” income 52,365 rubles (over 1,500 USD). In terms of minimal gaps, the Volgograd region (1.27 times) and Magadan (1.30) follow Moscow.
As the FBK survey shows, officials in all of the constituent territories are earning more than the average monthly salaries in the regions in which they work. In 66 territories, the gap exceeds 1.5-fold, in 23 territories 2-fold. Meanwhile, among some of the most “detached” territories are not only the “rich” regions, but also the subsidized territories. For example, some of the most “modest” officials are in Kabardino-Balkaria, where they earn only 17,343 rubles (some 500 USD). Seemingly, that is not much, especially compared to the Nenetsky region. But this exceeds the average regional level of 12,017 rubles (some 360 USD) by almost one-and-a-half times.
“I agree that officials could earn a salary that exceeds the average wage in the region, but the difference, in my opinion, should amount to 15-20%, and not be a multiple,” says Igor Nikolayev, director of strategic analysis at FBK. “If there are low wages in the region, then why should public servants earn significantly more? There needs to be a correlation to regional indicators. This is logical and correct. If you want to earn more, then work on raising the average wage in the region. This would encourage officials to develop the economic potential.”
Establishing this correlation, acknowledged the expert, is a different story, and is quite difficult: an entire set of questions immediately gets raised related to inter-budgetary relations, anti-corruption measures, and ideas on the reform of the state apparatus in general. Today, at the initiative of President Dmitry Medvedev, a gradual reduction of the number of officials is underway. It has already been decided that part of the savings will be directed toward raising salaries.
National Economic Trends
MinFin holds an auction today
http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text14591
VTB Capital
March 30, 2011
As a reminder, today MinFin is to offer a 4-year OFZ-25075 (YTM 7.24%) and a 5- year OFZ-26203 (YTM 7.51%) for RUB 10bn each. So far, the Ministry has not produced any price guidance. However, we do not expect any significant premium compared to yesterday's close, in spite of some liquidity deterioration.
Maxim Korovin
Pension Fund of Russia's Money To Support Russian Market In April
http://www.bne.eu/dispatch_text14591
VTB Capital
March 29, 2011
Pension Fund of Russia transfers RUB 300bn
31 March is the deadline for the Pension Fund of Russia to transfer the savings portion of the pensions under the mandatory saving scheme. According to Vedomosti, the State Management Company will get RUB 234.2bn, Private Asset Management Companies - RUB 4.4bn and non-government pension funds - RUB 63.9bn. In a way, this money has already started providing support to the Russian equity and bond markets.
VEB may not get all funds in cash
We also note that according to the Federal Law 111-FZ, the Pension Fund of Russia has a right to transfer the savings portion of the pension to VEB not in cash, but in the form of government bonds.
RUB 40bn for the non-government bond market
According to our estimates, at least 60% (RUB 40bn) of the funds that NPFs and PAMCs are set to receive from the Pension Fund of Russia could be invested in the non-government bond market. We forecast that BB-/Ba3 rated instruments and bonds included on the A1 MICEX list are likely to outperform in the secondary market in April.
A1-listed stocks find technical support
NPFs and private asset management companies have a right to allocate portion of pension money to the A1-listed equities. According to our estimates, the weighted average share of equities in the portfolios of PAMCs and NPFs is 15%, which translates into RUB 12.5bn - our assessment of potential flow into the A1-listed equities. We have registered tangible A1-listed stocks outperformance (3% on average) vs. the MICEX index over the past week.
Nikolay Podguzov
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