Primorye Drivers Rally Against Increasing Duties On Imported Cars

Hundreds of car drivers from Primorye, a Russian region on the coast of the Sea of Japan, have joined the all-Russia rally against the government's intention to increase duties on imported cars and keep the headlights of their vehicles on since Wednesday morning. Yesterday, Primorye residents sent more than 2,000 letters, telegrams and e-mails to Moscow, asking not to raise duties on imported cars next year. Should the government increase duties on cars, the price of Primorye's most popular cars, 1991-1994 Toyota Corollas, will double and reach $4,200-$5,200. In the meantime, the news of the upcoming increase in the duties has created a car boom in the sea ports of Russia's Far East, where the number of cars imported from Japan to the region's administrative center of Vladivostok only has doubled and reached 1,500 a week. The car boom in Russia's Eastern ports began in May, when the government set about to consider a possibility of raising duties on imported cars.