PRESS RELEASE*

The Government of the Russian Federation at its meeting on April 24, 2008 made the following decisions on the items on its agenda.

I. On the Development of the Transport System in Russia in the Period 2010-2015

The Government of the Russian Federation took note of the report on the issue by the Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation I.E. Levitin. The meeting approved in the main the proposed amendments to the federal targeted programme Modernization of the Transport System of Russia (2002-2010) and extended its effective term to 2015 renaming it The Development of the Transport System of Russia (2010-2015).

The Russian Ministry of Transport, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the Russian Finance Ministry in conjunction with the other federal bodies of executive power concerned have been instructed to finalize the proposed materials with due account of the results of the discussion with a special focus on:

the need to apply modern technologies in building transport infrastructure facilities;
the development of sea-going and inland water transport;
finalizing the terms for granting and methods of calculating subsidies to the budgets of the Russian regions for the construction and modernization of automobile roads;
development of hard-surface roads linking rural areas with the main road network; and
strengthening the material and technical base of the educational institutions in the transportation sector.

The finalized materials shall be submitted to the Government of the Russian Federation before May 15, 2008.

The Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Transport Ministry have been instructed to consider:

the possibility of increasing funding out of the federal budget of the federal targeted programme The Development of the Transport System in Russia (2010-2015);
the practicability of exempting organizations from the payment of tax on their land on which are sited airfields, marine and river ports, as well as of the payment of tax on property with regard to other immovable property of airfields, marine and river ports.

The results shall be reported to the Government of the Russian Federation before July 1, 2008.

The Transport Ministry and the Finance Ministry with the participation of the federal executive power bodies concerned and the Government of Moscow have been instructed to consider the issue of the development of the Moscow transport hub raised at the meeting and submit the corresponding proposals to the Government of the Russian Federation before May 15 2008.

The Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Transport, the Finance Ministry, the Federal Customs Service of Russia, jointly with OAO RZhD, in preparing the forecast of the country's social-economic development shall take into account the need to include an investment component in the tariffs of railway cargo carriage beginning from 2009.

The results shall be reported to the Government of the Russian Federation before April 30, 2008.

The Transport Ministry, the Ministry of Economic development and the Finance Ministry shall consider introducing charges for the use of federal roads by trucks with a total mass in excess of 12 tons and submit the corresponding proposals to the Government of the Russian Federation.

II. On Ensuring the Interests of the Russian Federation in the High-Latitude and Polar Regions

The Government of the Russian Federation has taken note of the report by the head of the Federal Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring Service (Rosgidromet), A.I. Bedritsky, on the said issue.

Rosgidromet, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Regions and the Finance Ministry with the participation of the executive power bodies concerned and the Russian Academy of Sciences shall take measures to strengthen the positions of the Russian Federation in the high latitude and polar regions paying particular attention to:

expanding scientific research of the natural environment and climate in the Arctic and the Antarctic;
developing the system of environmental monitoring in high-latitude an polar regions;
ensuring hydro-meteorological and ecological safety in the economic activities in the Arctic; and
developing the national research and ice-breaker fleet.

The results shall be reported back to the Government of the Russian Federation in the first quarter of 2009.

Rosgidromet, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Defense, the Transport Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Regions, the Ministry of Health and Social Development shall jointly with the executive power bodies concerned and the Russian Academy of Sciences develop and submit in the third quarter of 2008 to the Government of the Russian Federation draft regulations aimed at:

protecting the national interests in the sphere of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation;
development and use of the Arctic transport route - the Northern Sea Route;
determining the status of the vessels of the national research fleet of the Russian Federation;
improving the provision of pensions to the members of Polar expeditions; and
development of international cooperation in the Arctic Region.

The Ministry of Natural Resources, the Defense Ministry, jointly with the Foreign Ministry, the Federal Security Service (FSB), other federal executive power bodies concerned and the Russian Academy of Sciences shall conduct the work necessary to determine the outer boundaries of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation in the Arctic Ocean and prepare materials to consider the Russian application for legal confirmation of the outer boundaries of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation in that region.
The results shall be reported to the Government of the Russian Federation in the 4th quarter of 2008.

The Defense Ministry, the Ministry of Natural Resources, and the Finance Ministry have been instructed to prepare proposals on the financing of the work required to determine the outer boundaries of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation in the Arctic Ocean and submit the same to the Government of the Russian Federation before July 1, 2008.

Roskosmos, Rosgidromet, the Ministry of Information and Communication, the Ministry of Regions, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Defense and the Finance Ministry have been instructed to design a multipurpose Russian space system Arktika to ensure gathering of information on the ice situation, communications, broadcasting, navigation, and the monitoring of the environment and safety of nature use in the Arctic.
The results shall be reported to the Government of the Russian Federation in the 4th quarter of 2008.

Rosgidromet, the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the State Fisheries Committee jointly with the federal executive power bodies concerned and the Russian Academy of Sciences have been instructed to prepare draft strategies to ensure the Russian presence in the Antarctic in the period to 2025 and the plan of activities to implement it and submit the same to the Government of the Russian Federation in the first quarter of 2009.

Rosgirdomet, in conjunction with the federal bodies of executive power concerned, shall prepare and submit to the Government of the Russian Federation before February 1, 2009 proposals on additional financing of the construction and modernization in 2010-2012 of the infrastructure of the Russian Antarctic Expedition.

The Transport Ministry, the Ministry of Industry and Energy, the Finance Ministry and Rosgidromet have been instructed to study the issue of financing the development of the IL-114T wheels-and-ski chassis plane for use in the Arctic and the Antarctic.
The relevant proposals shall be submitted to the Government of the Russian Federation before December 1, 2008.

Rosgidromet, jointly with the Defense Ministry and in collaboration with the federal bodies of executive power concerned, have been instructed to prepare and submit to the Government of the Russian Federation before June 1, 2008 proposals on charging the Marine College under the Government of the Russian Federation with the functions of coordinating the activities of federal executive power bodies in the exploration and development of the Arctic and the Antarctic.

III. On the Draft Federal Law On Introducing an Amendment to Article 100 of the Penitentiary Code of the Russian Federation

The meeting approved the draft federal law on introducing an amendment to Article 100 of the Penitentiary Code of the Russian Federation and decided to submit the same to the State Duma.

IV. On Submitting to the President of the Russian Federation the Agreement on Cooperation among the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Fighting Computer Crime for the Purpose of Submitting the Same for Ratification

The meeting approved the draft decree of the Government of the Russian Federation on the above issue.

V. On Introducing Amendments to the Regulations on the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation and the Regulations on the Federal Agency of Geodesy and Cartography.

The meeting approved the draft decree of the Government of the Russian Federation on the issue.

VI. On the Formation of an Organizing Committee to Prepare and Conduct the Celebrations of the 100th Anniversary of the Russian Film Industry

The meeting approved the draft executive order of the Government of the Russian Federation on the above issue

Moscow
April 25, 2008

* Decisions on the items on the agenda are taken with due account of the remarks and proposals made at the Government meeting and are issued as official documents of the Government of the Russian Federation.