Gov't not to render support to small businesses in 2004

Russian Anti-Monopoly Minister Ilya Yuzhanov has submitted a letter to Russian Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin concerning the allocation of funds for supporting small businesses, the press service of the Anti-Monopoly Ministry reported. In his letter the minister stressed that, according to the decision of the government commission for optimizing budget expenses, in 2004 and later budgets, there would be no funds allocated for supporting small businesses.

This will also lead to a decrease in support from regional and municipal budgets. Under these circumstances, the Anti-Monopoly Ministry will not be able to provide for the implementation of the state policy aimed at supporting small businesses. Yuzhanov is planning to inform the Prime Minister and the President of this situation.