Tax police to call in krai’s wealthy citizens
The Primorye Tax Inspectorate will soon start inviting wealthy citizens to its office to remind them of tax regulations and to ensure they file income statements as part of a national effort to increase collected tax revenues. The measure is expected to affect entrepreneurs, notaries, lawyers, private doctors, and public officials who influence commercial decisions. About 700,000 people will undergo this procedure throughout Russia, the inspectorate said.

Speaker visits Moscow
Primorye Duma Speaker Sergei Dudnik recently headed the Federation Council’s interim commission on free economic zone legislation. Lawmakers are reviewing a bill that was previously vetoed by President Yeltsin. The commission, set up to monitor FEZs and to stimulate investment and commerce, plans to draft a new bill regulating the creation and functioning of the zones.

More cell phones to ring
Cellular communications company ACOS has started to install fixed cellular phones in apartments. Its marketing drive, called “Telephone—Today” focuses on the city areas where regular phone service is either impossible or very expensive. The company offers two options of phone service: a collective initiation, which requires installation of an in-house transmitter that connects to existing telephone sockets, or individual initiation, whereby a small transmitter is installed in every office or apartment.

Third tiger shot in taiga
Three Siberian tigers were shot in the first half of this year, the same number shot in all of 1997, environmental officials said. The last of the three was killed at the beginning of July by employees of Sikhote-Alin nature preserve, when the tiger attacked the cabin in which they were resting. Two other tigers were shot previously to prevent them hunting humans.

400 emigrate from krai
Over 400 Primorye residents have emigrated abroad since the beginning of 1998, about the same amount that left for other countries in the same period last year. A total of 147 Primorians emigrated to Israel, 129 to the U.S. and 101 to Germany .

Arseniev defense plant to make civilian planes
The Arseniev defense aviation company Progress is planning to make single- and dual-engine light planes for local airlines. The machines, intended for passengers or hauling cargo, will replace outdated AN-2 airplanes now in service. Progress CEO Viktor Pechyonkin said he hopes to secure financing from federal funds designated for the conversion of military enterprises.

Railway dirty, unsafe
The Anti-Monopoly Department cited the Vladivostok Division of Far Eastern Railway for violating consumer laws by providing low-quality service and failing to provide sufficient safety standards. According to the department’s report, the railway doesn’t have commuter train timetables at platforms, has poorly placed station signs, and rail cars are dirty while platforms don’t have benches and lamps. The department also says nine out of 10 trains checked run behind schedule from three to 15 minutes. The Anti-Monopoly Department ordered the railway to eliminate the violations.

City funds fleet ward
A new infectious disease ward of the Pacific Fleet hospital opened July 9, thanks to financial assistance from the Mayor’s Office. The Pacific Fleet previously housed its hospital in barracks on Russkaya Street dating back to the tsarist-era. Construction of the new building started in 1993.

Hornet stings kill 2 men
A 51-year-old man died from a hornet sting on the outskirts of Vladivostok July 15. Another such incident occurred a week before when a swarm of hornets stung to death a 23-year-old herdsman and his horse in Varfolomeyevka village in Yakovlevsky County. Health officials believe the men were allergic to hornet stings due to the fact that hornet stings are not usually fatal.

Border guards to get videos
The Vladivostok Mayor’s Office financed the production of 3,000 video cassettes to present to border guards in honor of 60th anniversary of the Pacific Border District. The tapes will show the best Russian and foreign movies, and each cover will have a picture and address of the mayor. The Primorye Movie and Video Association recorded the project.

Compiled from press reports

Man stabbed to death in in Ussurisk market
One Chinese citizen was killed and another rushed to a hospital with severe knife wounds after a fight at the Chinese market in Ussurisk recently. According to Ussurisk police, the victims were suppliers of Chinese goods to traders at the market. When the suppliers demanded excessive payment, two traders attacked the suppliers. Two men have been arrested, and an investigation is underway.

Rapes, murders increase
Crimes increased in Primorye by 5.7 percent over the first six months of 1998, as compared with the same period of the last year, police have reported. A total of 25,533 crimes were committed, 15,886 of them serious felonies. Murders and rapes have increased, while the number of robberies and burglaries has remained the same. According to police statistics, there were 115.2 crimes per 10,000 Primorye residents.

Cops nab Khabarovsk drug trafficker, seize narcotics
As part of a recent local narcotics crackdown, Khabarovsk police arrested well-known drug trafficker Pyotr Ogly, police reported. A case against a leader of another drug-trafficking group is pending trial. Krai police recorded 1,605 drug-related crimes in the first half of 1998, 15 percent higher than the same period last year. During the crackdown, police raided 30 underground hangouts, seizing about 1.5 tons of narcotics. Despite tighter border controls, which have lowered the drug supply from China, the underground drug market is still difficult to stem, police said.

Compiled from press reports