Speaking last month in Pikalyovo, Leningrad Region at a special meeting of the Russian government chaired by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, VTB President Andrei Kostin declared his readiness to grant loans for the deflation of social tension in the city, where major companies stay idle. Some days later, VTB did not only fulfill the promise, but also express readiness to do more, if and when, necessary.
“The R250mln loan was allocated — under a 50% guaranty by the Finance Ministry — for solving the problems at the BasElCement factory,” he noted. “The loan will enable the plant to resume operations at full capacity, and could be increased, depending on the plant’s need.”
The problems in Pikalyovo started last year, but became intolerable for the city’s citizens earlier in June, as the idleness of the city’s majority residents-employing enterprises, which had previously formed a single technological circuit, totally paralyzed life in the area. The end results are now well-known: the residents blocked federal roads, forcing Putin to come to the city for ‘hard talks’ with the socially irresponsible business owners and negligent local bureaucrats.
Web design,