According to a draft bill, the regions will be allowed to establish their own reserve funds, which can be applied to stimulate crisis-ridden enterprises. The regions might also be allowed to issue budget credits and ease tax conditions for regional industry. In addition, the federal government considers to help refinance regional loans in connection with infrastructure projects, and give selected regions favourable conditions from state banks, newspaper Vedomosti reports. While, the economically weaker Russian regions might not be seriously hit by the crisis, a number of the well-off and export-oriented regions now face major economic turmoil. Among the latter are regions like Murmansk Oblast, which is raw material dependent and a major exporter of goods. As the situation on the world market is deteriorating, the pressure on the regional industry mounts.
