The leader of the Yabloko faction, Grigory Yavlinsky, thinks that the state should refrain from pressurising NTV.

“The pogrom of the NTV television company is an anti-state and anti-social deed,” said Grigory Yavlinsky at a press conference on October 2, 2000.

“The use of the law-enforcement agencies in this pogrom as a bludgeon merely serves to demonstrate that this was a conscientious political action,” added Yavlinsky.

According to Yavlinsky, NTV and NTV Plus represent a “company of an international level, and even excel in a number of parameters its European counterparts”. “Therefore, the state should be interested in stopping its attacks on NTV. The state should be interested in preserving what has become an achievement of this country over the past 10 years,” said Yabloko’s leader.

Grigory Yavlinsky did not comment on the financial aspect of the problem.

Answering on a question about the trial against Andrei Babitsky, a correspondent from “Radio Liberty”, that began in Makhachkala on October 2, Yavlinsky expressed his hope of a “rapid and complete termination of this process due to its absurd and senseless nature”.

“If this process is transformed into a political one, this will merely add to developments at NTV,” noted Yavlinsky.

Based on Interfax reports. See also:

At a press conference on October 2. 2000, the leader of the Yabloko faction, Grigory Yavlinsky, said that Yabloko planned to submit its alternative to the budget for 2001 to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei

Kudrin.

“It is likely that today we will have additional negotiations with him (Alexei Kudrin),” added Yavlinsky.

At the same time he noted that he had already had a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister, which Yabloko’s leader rated as “constructive and coherent“.Yavlinsky also noted that this budget “is much better than the

previous one”, adding that Yabloko agrees with the government on many parameters. “However, our support for the budget is for the time being conditional,” added Yavlinsky.

He also pointed out to the journalists Yabloko’s proposals to resolve the following four main tasks through the budget: reduction in the size of the military forces and the transition to a professional army, relationships

with the regions (distribution of the revenue base on a 50:50 principle), increased financing for education and “accelerated repayment of foreign

debt”.

Based on Interfax reports.

The leader of the Yabloko faction Grigory Yavlinsky believes that attracting 73 billion roubles in additional proceeds to the budget for 2001 is a realistic goal.

Answering a question about the sources of additional revenues asked during press conference on October 2, Yavlinsky referred to the following sources: funds that were not considered by the government, that come from VAT on imports (24.7 bln roubles), revenues from the profit tax (27.1 bln roubles), as well as 19.8 bln roubles from an abolition of the unjustified reduction in export duties on gas, for example, in view of the forecasted change in its price”.

In addition Yabloko’s leader thinks that additional revenues for the budget can be obtained by abolishing the “unjustified reduction in import duties from the unification of their rates, from dividends on state-owned shares, as well as the rent of state-owned property and customs duties.”

According to Yavlinsky, the final revenues exceed 88 bln roubles, but “as we carry out a redistribution with the [regional] budgets at a 50:50 ratio,

part of the funds should be allotted to an increase in the revenues of municipal and federal budgets”.

Stressing the need to “switch to an accelerated reduction of Russia’s foreign debt, Yavlinsky said that the requisite funds may be found by “determining a transparent mechanism of expenditure of additional revenues” that should be defined during the first reading of the budget.

Yavlinsky also explained that the draft federal budget “can envisage low oil prices”, but that all the additional revenues should be allotted to eliminating Russia’s foreign debt.

With regards to expenditure of additional revenues, Yavlinsky believes that the following scheme would be best: 43.5 bln roubles on military reform, 4.8 bln roubles on education, 1.3 bln roubles on judicial reform, 2.5 bln roubles on construction of metro stations and 21-23 bln roubles as a reserve for foreign debt payments.

Based on Interfax reports.

The federal budget for 2001 should stipulate about $1 bln of payments on loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said the leader of the Yabloko faction Grigory Yavlinsky on October 2, 2000, during a press conference in Moscow.

Speaking about the relationships with the IMF, he noted that “ten years of Co-operation [with the IMF] demonstrated that a serious and substantial review of the concept of economic relationships and policies conducted by the Fund in Russia is required.”

Yavlinsky said that the country “urgently required profound institutional changes in the economy.” He added: “Macro-economic instruments and macro-economic stabilisation should become the tools for supporting these changes”.

In particular, he said that our normal pattern of cooperation with the World Bank and the IMF should be changed.

Speaking about the political situation round the draft budget, Yavlinsky

said that this document “represents only 50-60% of Russia’s economy,”whereas the rest is in the shadow sector.

“Barter and cash surrogates amount to about 40% of Russia’s economy, about $ 1 bln is channelled out of the country through legal and illegal channels, as a rule, to the West,” added Yavlinsky.

In addition, he noted that the “political situation for business people,

entrepreneurs and Russia’s private business in general is extremely hostile and unfavourable.”Yavlinksy noted that in such conditions it is difficult to expect economic growth even with a good budget.

Based on Interfax reports.