They are preparing young people for camps

A presentation of the youth forum “Seliger – 2009” was held in State Duma. This time the gathering will become the central event of the declared Year of Youth in Russia. It is the first time when the organizers of the forum will be not the movement “Nashi” (“Ours”), but the Ministry of sport, tourism and youth policy of the RF, that asks to budget for the youth 1.2 billion rubles. Though there will be mainly realized educational programs and training in the camp, its organizers notified that the opposition will not be allowed to come to Seliger.

The presentation of the summer camp at the lake Seliger was held yesterday in State Duma on the conference on first-priority projects in the framework of the Year of Youth. All the previous years the forum was a political summer camp of the movement “Nashi”, however this time the event assumes All-Russian scope. The gathering will continue nearly whole summer and will become the central development of the Year of Youth, which federal budget will finance. Vitalii Mutko, the Minister of sport, tourism and youth policy has already asked Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister, 1.2 billion rubles for the activity of the Year of Youth. Besides Seliger there are some more forums that will be held in the Russian regions: on Sakhalin, in Karelia, in Astrakhan and in Krasnoyarsk.

The participants of the conference headed by Vice-Speaker of State Duma Vladimir Zhirinovski unanimously spoke that the principal objective of these summer forums is “to give every young person an opportunity to prove and fulfill yourself” especially in the case of the world financial crisis. Vasilii Yakemenko, the Head of the Federal agency on youth, did not spare his own nephew striving for making youth active. He announced publicly that this young man wanted to borrow money to buy an automobile “Gazel” from him. However, when Mr. Yakemenko insisted on calculating the profitability of this purchase, the young man vanished and appeared no more. “We are to struggle with it and provide everyone with an opportunity of finding his own business”, he summed up.

There are suggested seminars and training on ABC of entrepreneurship, travel business, journalism and innovation technology for self-realization on “Seliger”. You can sign up for it already now on the website www.godmol.ru. Future entrepreneurs are agitated that “creating one’s own business is the most effective means of coming into one’s own”. Future journalists are promised that their work of making up and propagandizing ideals is “practically like building cities and discovering new lands”. The program of training leaders is called on “to raise social mobility and wish to risk of the whole generation”. It is planned that “Seliger” will bring together 30 thousands of people.

The political constituent of “Seliger” will be kept. According to preliminary data, the President of RF Dmitrii Medvedev, ministers of Russian government, State Duma deputies and senators and also patriarch Kirill may pay visits to youth. Nobody plans to invite oppositional politicians and activists. “Mr.Zhirinovski has already been on Seliger the previous year and may come again. Such format of the meeting can be uninteresting for CPRF. And there is no place in our camp for Mr. Kasparov and others who run down Russia”, Maksim Mishenko, the State Duma deputy, the leader of the movement “Rossia Molodaya” (“Young Russia”) explained to “Ъ”.

Organizers of “Seliger – 2009” promise that the event, in contrast to previous ones, will not have pronounced ideological character and is open for all comers. We would remind you that earlier Seliger had “red-light district” with installation where faces of oppositional politicians were attached to half-naked women bodies. But in spite of this far from all youth associations are going to take part in “Seliger”. “If there will be the same eggs but in profile, we will not even discuss it, Dmitii Gudkov”, the leader of the youth wing of “Spravedlivaya Rossia” (“Just Russia”) declared to “Ъ”. If there will be discussed something essentially new and interesting, then we can talk about it. But for me, the word “Seliger” has been long ago associated with ideology and not with fish that I landed there”. “It is obvious that organizers want to draw budgetary funds under a plausible pretext”, considers Ilia Yashin, the member of the federal political council of the movement “Solidarnost” (“Solidarity”). Mr. Yakemenko and his partners can talk about innovations till kingdom come, but in any case it all will come to brainwash and stories about opposition rocking the boat”.

Andrei Ъ-Kozenko

Original text from: http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=1130309

The end of dolce vita

10/02/2009

Ekaterina Sholohova, ‘Expert Online’ observer

Devaluation of the ruble has begun to affect the cost of food stuff. Early in the year the wholesale sugar prices have jumped 40%. Analysts suggest that therewith sugar other food will rise in price at least 20%. Producers consider that in this situation retail chains should cut down their profits. But retailers don’t see opportunities for reducing.

The appreciation of dollar and euro has given first results. The Ministry of Industry and Trade reports that on average across the country sugar consumer prices have risen 7%, and wholesale prices – 40%. “If in December wholesale cost per one kilogram was about 15,5 rubles, then in January it was already 20,5 rubles. By the beginning of February the price has fallen to 19,5 rubles, however by April-May the rise will have recommenced,” told the senior expert of the Institute of the state of agricultural market Evgenii Ivanov to “Expert Online”.

Experts suppose that by April the wholesale sugar price per a kilogram will be nearly 26,5 rubles with having gone up only 3% over the previous three years. The reason is simple – it’s devaluation of the ruble. According to Mr. Ivanov’s survey just under the half of shipped sugar is produced from imported raw sugar, which is mainly supplied by Brazil. It’s natural that the appreciation of dollar has brought about the growth of ruble prices. The rest of the sugar market is the sugar produced from sugar beet.

This sugar has also greatly risen in price. “The most components that we have for cultivation of sugar beet are imported. These are seed, chemical defenders, harvesters, tractors and spares for them,” explained Mr. Ivanov. Even oil products, fertilizers, coal and other materials are bound to world dollar market as Russian export products,” added the expert.

Sugar producers also gave other reasons. “With prices of raw sugar having risen greatly, now we mostly sale sugar, produced from the beet of 2008, till we have considerable stock. But the question is that total supply (without raw sugar) will fall, and only this decrease of supply with stable demand will give the growth of prices,” said Alexander Soldatov, the General Manager of the group “Razgulyai”.

The government reacted to the increase of sugar prices by conducting an antimonopoly investigation by FAS (Federal Antimonopoly Service). “However we had no collusion, as it was revealed,” said Mr.Soldatov.

Sugar producers say that consumers could not suffer, as margin between wholesale and consumer prices is vast, and there is quite good reserve for controlling consumer prices. “The obvious way for smoothing the increase of prices is reducing the margin of retail or backing,” considered Alexander Soldatov.

But, as Evgenii Ivanov marked, it’s hardly possible. “The size of retail margin has been increasing from the middle 2001 and holds firmly in the range of 45-60%. Naturally the rise of margin is partly explained by the transport expenses having grown over these years and by extension on offer of more expensive small-packaged sugar at the cost of reducing sack trade (and weighing out into paper bags on sales outlets). However the Institute of the state of agricultural market assesses the major part of increasing retail margin as detected by growing appetite of retail chains in Russia,” insists Mr. Ivanov. “It is interesting to mention how retail sales react to changing wholesale prices. With wholesale increasing retailers react quickly and greatly, and with wholesale falling retailers don’t react at all or with big delay and much more less,” said Mr. Ivanov.

He estimates that already now consumers feel the increasing prices. As for products made with adding sugar, most sugar-consuming at cost products are caramel and condensed milk. “But the half of caramel is imported from the Ukraine and Byelorussia, it may not go up exactly because on sugar prices. Regarding to chocolate and chocolate candies, the part of sugar is not very high in the,” noticed Mr.Ivanov. The rise of price may gain about 5%”. The expert suggests that consumption of sugar by confectionary plants may decrease, as the nation is changing to cheaper confectionery since the autumn of 2008.

Thus there won’t be rise in prices at cost of deficit. Notwithstanding the growth of wholesale prices, affiliated chains hold retail prices at former prices. “Since the year began suppliers have risen sugar costs 30%. But we do not raise prices following their tendency; they are on the level of the previous year with our margin on social types of sugar being negative at all – we sale it cheaper than we buy,” said Anna Kareva, the manager on ties with investors of the ‘X5 Retail Group’. She said that growth of retail prices on other food stuff in chains ‘X5’ drops behind wholesale ones. “Last year in Moscow the increase of purchasing prices per average basket of goods was 14,4%, and the growth of retail prices was just 12%. It means that we don’t raise, but even cut down margin losing certain part of profit,” said Ms. Kareva.

At the same time government officials outlined that the increase of prices on sugar is only the first little bell to growing costs on all provision. “The situation in the Russian food market is becoming more threatening,” declared Sergei Mironov, the Speaker of the Council of Federation. Referring to the data of official statistics, he marked, that subject is 2%-growth of prices on all products from the beginning of the year. “Meanwhile consumers, as it follows from February public inquiry, have felt all the 10% of food inflation on their own back. The situation in the food market of the country looks threatening and uncontrolled,” said Mr. Mironov. He states that the year predicts the 20% increase in prices of imported foodstuff and components, which domestic products are produced from. And this is the majority in the market of our country.

Original text from: http://www.expert.ru/articles/2009/02/10/sahar/