Komsomolskaya Pravda: "Russia to build a new railway through the wilderness"
The Belkomur Railway will link Arkhangelsk and Perm.
Before meeting with the head of the Komi Republic Vyacheslav Gaizer on Monday, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reviewed the reports on life in the region.
"You are doing well. Salaries are 27,500 roubles, higher than the national average. You are completing more housing, an increase of over 20%! Utility rates are only increasing at half the national average. You have done well indeed!" Putin summed up.
Putin asked Gaizer about the resettlement of the widows from the perished miners.
"The widows, as a group, wrote a letter to me with a request to thank you personally for helping resolve this problem," Gaizer said. "As of today, the commission has registered 132 families on the waiting list. We have signed charity contracts for the purchase of housing with 131 families. One widow was bluntly turning down every proposal. Eventually she agreed to the commission's suggestion to open a personal account for her. Now we will transfer all the money she's entitled to. The organisational part of the job is over. Now we have to complete the registration and payment procedures and help the widows move into new housing."
"Please report to me when everything is done," Putin said.
Putin and Gaizer also discussed the funding of a big project. A new railway, the Belkomur, will pass through the Komi capital of Syktyvkar and eventually link Perm and Arkhankelsk directly. Construction is scheduled to start in 2013 and be completed in 2018.
By Larisa Kaftan
