PRESS RELEASE*

The Russian Government Presidium plans to consider the following issues at its meeting scheduled for November 22, 2011:

1. Progress of the implementation of the Comprehensive Public Transport Security Programme

The materials on this subject have been submitted by the Ministry of Transport.

In 2011 the federal budget allocated 2,432.7 million roubles to the Federal Agency for Rail Transport, of which:

● 840.1 million roubles are to enhance security on the metro;

● 1,592.6 million roubles are to ensure public security on railway transport. 

Allocations to the Federal Road Agency amount to 340 million roubles;   to the Federal Agency for Air Transport 1,152 million roubles;

to the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Inland Water Transport 1,753.9 million roubles and to the Federal Service for Supervision of Transport  607.1 million roubles.

Allocations to finance general activities under the programme amount to 473 million roubles.

The Federal Security Service, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief will be allocated money from the federal budget in the amounts respectively of 1,245 million roubles, 1,412.7 million roubles and 1,840 million roubles.

The Comprehensive Programme is designed to ensure public safety on the metro, railways, sea and inland waters, and air and road transport, by providing the transport infrastructure with engineering and technical facilities for inspection and security, as well as by taking organisational and managerial measures.

The Comprehensive Programme is being implemented by the nine main agencies responsible for allocating money from  the federal budget : the Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Security Service, the Emergencies Ministry, the Transport Ministry, the Federal Service for Supervision of Transport (Rostransnadzor), the Federal Agency for Air Transport (Rosaviatsia), the Federal Road Agency (Rosavtodor), the Federal Agency for Rail Transport (Roszheldor) and the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport (Rosmorrechflot).

 To implement the Comprehensive Programme the Transport Ministry, jointly with the relevant federal executive agencies, has developed the requisite regulatory framework. In particular, normative acts to determine the procedure for accreditation of specialised organisations, categorization, the keeping of the register of categorised objects and assessment of the vulnerability of the elements of transport infrastructure and transport means have come into force. The procedure  for the development of plans to ensure public transport security has been approved. Transport security requirements have been developed and have come into effect, which take into account the security levels for various categories of transport infrastructure objects and transport means for all types of transport.

Work is continuing  to develop regulatory legal acts in the field of transport security.

Transport infrastructure objects in the sphere of maintenance of facilities on the federal highways are being categorised.

Security of road structures on federal highways (124 structures in all) has been organised.

Specialised organisations in the field of transport security are assessing the vulnerability of the objects of transport infrastructure and transport means.

Categories have been assigned to 243 airports (airfields) and to 55 types of aircraft on the register of the commercial passenger aircraft fleet as well as to 63 objects of the air traffic control system.

To assess the vulnerability of transport objects accreditation certificates have been issued to 29 specialised organisations.

The equipment required to ensure transport security is being delivered and installed.

For the purpose of training specialists in the field of transport security a training centre for professional instruction and attestation of specialists and officials in the field of transport security on air transport facilities has been created.

Study programmes to provide additional professional training and upgrading of qualifications for specialists and officials in the field of transport security on sea and inland water transport infrastructure facilities have been approved

The Federal Security Service has prepared a list of organisations that hold the necessary licenses for participation in the closed tender to supply equipment for inspection zones.

2. Draft federal laws On the Regulation of the Activities of Russian Citizens and Legal Entities in the Antarctic and On Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation in Connection with the Adoption of the Federal Law On the Regulation of the Activities of Russian Citizens and Legal Entities in the Antarctic

The draft federal laws have been submitted by the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources.

Given the specific characteristics of the Antarctic region, the draft law On the Regulation of the Activities of Russian Citizens and Legal Entities in the Antarctic establishes that citizens and legal entities engaged in activities in the Antarctic where such a type of activity is subject to licensing under the Federal Law on the Licensing of Certain Types of Activities, must possess a license for engaging in such types of activities.

The draft law makes it binding for non-governmental operators to remove from the area covered by the Antarctic Treaty all the property they have used, regardless of its condition, within three years of the expiry of their permit for activities, as well as to remove any waste  created as a result of their activities in the Antarctic.

 There will also be rules for the financing of activities in the Antarctic.

Under the draft, non-governmental operators are allowed to engage in activities in the Antarctic only if they have signed a risk insurance contract of civil liability for causing damage to third parties, or a bank guarantee of proper performance of such obligations in the event of  damage being caused to third parties . The obligation to provide financial support does not apply to state operators because the guarantor of proper performance of these obligations in the event of damage to third parties is the Russian Federation.

The implementation of these standards will protect the financial interests of the Russian Federation and all participants involved in activities in the Antarctic

The draft law will also institute a procedure for investigating  accidents that occur in the course of activities in the Antarctic, establish the circle of officials authorised to investigate accidents , establish liability for violating the requirements for  activities in the Antarctic as well as the procedure  for search and rescue operations and clean up work to handle the aftermath of  accidents (emergencies situations).

The draft law On Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation in Connection with the Adoption of the Federal Law On the Regulation of the Activities of Russian Citizens and Legal Entities in the Antarctic proposes making corresponding amendments to the Code on Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Procedural Code. It also proposes introducing amendments to the Civil Code and the Federal Law On Civil Status Acts to grant the heads of Antarctic stations (seasonal field bases) the right to certify the wills of citizens on Antarctic expeditions and to sign the death certificates of Russian citizens in the Antarctic   as the basis for the subsequent registration of the civil status act (of death).

3. Draft Federal Law On Introducing an Amendment to Article 135 of the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation

The draft federal law has been submitted by the Ministry of Justice.

The draft law has been developed pursuant to a Constitutional Court Ruling.

Under Section 1 of the Ruling the provision of Part 2, Article 135 of the Criminal Procedural Code is declared unconstitutional to the extent that this provision, within the system of current legal regulation, does not allow a rehabilitated person to claim damages caused to that person by a criminal prosecution in a court in the person’s place of residence, in the event the criminal case against said person has been dropped or the sentence has been commuted by a higher court.

In this connection the draft law introduces in part 2, Article 135 of the Criminal Procedural Code an amendment that deletes the provision, whereby, if a criminal case has been dropped or a sentence has been commuted by a higher court, the claim for compensation of damages is filed with the court that delivered the sentence.

4. Issuing in 2011 to the Government of the Sakhalin Region  based on Court Rulings, State Housing Certificates to be Distributed to Citizens Who Lost Their Homes as a Result of the Earthquake  in the Nevelsky District, Sakhalin Region on August 2, 2007

The draft executive order has been submitted by the Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief.

As a result of the earthquake that occurred in the Nevelsky District, Sakhalin Region on August 2, 2007 the population has suffered, significant material damage has been caused to housing and utilities, to the social sphere and federal property, with 7,761 persons (3,406 families) losing their homes.

In accordance with the executive orders of the Government of the Russian Federation, 2,109 state housing certificates have been earlier issued to the Government of the Sakhalin Region to be distributed among its citizens.

Under the same draft executive order, eight state housing certificates are to be issued to the Government of the Sakhalin Region in 2011 (pursuant to court rulings and from the results of consideration of documents of proof submitted by the Government of the Sakhalin Region)  to be distributed among its citizens.

According to preliminary estimates made by the Ministry of Finance the cost of repaying the eight state housing certificates may amount to about 18.4 million roubles.

5. Allocating in 2011 to the Government of the Stavropol Territory of budgetary provisions from the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation for the Prevention and Liquidation of Emergencies and Disaster Relief to finance the payment of compensation to individuals and legal entities  who  suffered damage as a result of the terrorist attack in Pyatigorsk (Stavropol Territory) on August 17, 2010

The draft executive order has been submitted by the Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief.

 As a result of the terrorist attack in Pyatigorsk on August 17, 2010 26 people were affected, damage was caused to the property of individuals and legal entities and to the housing and public utilities and facilities in in the social sphere.

The Stavropol Territory Government estimated the total damage to property to amount to over 52 million roubles.

It should be noted that the Government of the Stavropol Territory has already been allocated 12 million roubles out of the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation for the Prevention and Liquidation of Emergencies and Disaster Relief  to provide relief assistance to the victims of the said terrorist act, for lump sum allowances to citizens who have suffered damage to their health, and 10.9 million roubles  for emergency restoration work at the affected facilities and for rendering financial assistance to the  individuals and legal entities who have lost their property.

Investigative actions have revealed more damage to objects, citizens and legal entities that have suffered damage as a result of that terrorist attack, damage that was not entered in earlier registers of activities to provide relief assistance for victims of that terrorist attack. In this connection the Government of the Stavropol Territory has prepared documents assessing the amount of additional financial assistance required to pay compensation to individuals and legal entities.

This draft executive order proposes allocating a sum of 7,464,600 roubles from the budget to the Government of the Stavropol Territory in 2011.

6. Allocating in 2011 to the Administration of the Krasnodar Territory of budgetary provisions from the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation for the Prevention and Liquidation of Emergencies and Disaster Relief to finance the liquidation of the aftermath of the flooding, landslides and erosions  caused by the heavy rains in the Krasnodar Territory on May 23-24, 2011

The draft executive order has been submitted by the Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief.

As a result of the heavy rains in the Krasnodar Territory on May 23-24, 2011 the water levels in rivers and the levels of ground waters rose, triggering landslides and erosions. More than 15,000 persons were affected and about 4,000 households found themselves in the flood zone.

According to the Krasnodar Territory Administration the material damage caused by the said emergency totalled more than 1,

200 million roubles while the regional budget earmarked more than 270 million roubles to provide emeregency relief.

The draft executive order proposes allocating 331,071,300 roubles out of the federal budget to the administration of the Krasnodar Territory in 2011 to cover part of the cost.

7. Allocating in 2011 to the Government of the Amur Region of budgetary provisions from the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation for the Prevention and Liquidation of Emergencies and Disaster Relief to finance the liquidation of the tornado  aftermath in the Amur Region on July 31, 2011

The draft executive order has been submitted by the Ministry of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Disaster Relief.

As a result of a tornado that hit the city of Blagoveshchensk (Amur Region) on July 31, 2011 two people died, housing and public utilities and social infrastructure facilities were damaged.

The Amur Region Government estimates the material damage from this disaster to total over 96 million roubles; 3.8 million roubles have been allocated from the regional budget and 20 million roubles from the municipal budget to provide disaster relief.

The draft executive order proposes allocating 8,548,000 roubles to the Government of the Amur Region in 2011 to cover part of the cost.

Moscow, November 21, 2011

* Press releases by the Department of Press Service and Information are based on the materials submitted by the executive federal bodies for discussion by the Government Presidium