A permanently operating city strike committee was elected for the purpose. Point one in the unanimously adopted resolution was a demand for the president's and government's resignation. Social tension has been on the rise in the Kuzbass in recent days. It is not only a matter of constantly delayed wage payments. There is no money to keep enterprises going.
Production continues to decline in practically all sectors.
In this connection oblast budget losses already stand at half a trillion rubles. Around 5,000 specialists are to lose their jobs. Moreover, the railroad bosses had demanded that the shippers pay at least 50 percent in real money. As a result hundreds of freightcars loaded with coal, metal, and iron ore have not yet been dispatched. Losses amount to several billion rubles.