Gazprom Owed $3bn in Unpaid Bills: Zubkov
The level of deferred gas debts in Russia reached rubles 179bn ($3.1bn at the current rate), said the chairman of Gazprom's board of directors Viktor Zubkov at a recent meeting in Kabardino-Balkaria, according to news agency EurAsia Daily.
According to Zubkov, this is an astronomical sum comparable to the annual budget of such a large region as the Rostov region of southern Russia. Moreover one small region accounts for almost half the total sum.
The North Caucasus Federal District (NCFD) traditionally holds the first place in debt levels among the country's regions, with gas debts totalling rubles 85bn. The bulk of that is owed by households (rubles 61bn), which amounts to 84% of the total rubles 72.6bn debt owned by all of Russia's population.
In Kabardino-Balkaria 95.6% of homes have gas; that contrasts with a Russia-wide average of 67.2%, yet payment for gas in this region is only 60%.
The BBC's profile of the region, situated in the North Caucasus, says it has suffered from the contagion of conflict in nearby Chechnya. It notes that living standards in Kabardino-Balkaria are low, unemployment is high, corruption is rife, and kidnappings frequent -- which may explain why collecting debts is difficult. The Balkars were deported by Stalin to Central Asia during the Second World War and not allowed to return until 1957.
Azerbaijan Desk