the republic's Committee on Youth Affairs and the Committee for Social Support for Military Servicemen and Their Families.

Compiled by Iskender Nurmi

WEEKLY REVIEW FROM IDEL-URAL REGION

Chelyabinsk Politicians State Support For Governor SuminPoliticians and the heads of industrial companies in Chelyabinsk Oblast published an open letter to residents calling on them not to react to provocations by opponents of Governor Petr Sumin, Uralinformbureau reported on 8 May. The agency said that several publications have defamed Sumin's honor and dignity had appeared recently in local media. The agency cited Salim Fatykhov, the head of the information and analysis board of the governor's administration, as saying that Sumin's rival, State Duma Deputy Mikhail Yurevich, is an initiator of the articles. The open letter was signed by the general director of the Magnitogorskiiof former Tolyatti Mayor Sergei Zhilkin became one of the most known actions of the paper.

"Kommersant" reported that shortly before he was killed, Ivanov was threatened by local crime boss Igor Sirotenko and Suleiman Akhmadov, the head of a Chechen crime gang. "Tolyattinskoe obozrenie" was preparing a publication about members of the Sirotenko group who are suspected of contracting the murders of Tambov's senior interior officials. The Tolyatti paper had, as well, published several articles about Akhmadov's group and his two bodyguards, Vladimir Kabar and Igor Mazanov, who were sentenced to 22 years in prison each for a series of contract murders in Tolyatti.

"Kommersant" cited Aleksei Sidorov, the deputy editor at "Tolyattinskoe obozrenie," as saying that Nikolai Abramov, an adviser to the Tolyatti mayor, also threatened both Ivanov