Government Concerned Over Major Siberian Crisis

The government is concerned over the social and economic situation in the Krasnoyarsk Territory lacking an elected ruler. These fears were expressed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov Monday at a briefing after the end of a session of the Consultative Council for Foreign Investment in Russia.

Still before the elections, the government allocated big sums of money, some 500 million roubles as loans, for the regional administration to get prepared for the winter, to pay off wages and to ensure social and economic development, he said. The premier assumes that the territory's difficulties are also caused by the absence of a decision on a local governor on the part of the regional electoral commission which has banned the results of the governor elections. "We nevertheless hope that the recent events in the region are just a result of misunderstanding and will by no means become an impetus for rendering the situation in the region unstable," he said. "The question ought to be settled as soon as possible," added Kasyanov. He reported that the Central electoral commission's delegation is flying to Krasnoyarsk today.

In the opinion of the premier, the recent election scandal would not affect the investment stream into Russian regions.