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Chemezov Granted Stakes in 426 Firms

President Dmitry Medvedev has approved the transfer of the state's assets in 426 companies to Russian Technologies, a move that ends months of intragovernmental wrangling over the formation of the vast state corporation.

The decree, announced Monday by the Kremlin, includes a majority stake in the AiRUnion airline alliance.

Russian Technologies, formed on the basis of state arms trader Rosoboronexport, also controls titanium maker VSMPO-Avisma and carmaker AvtoVAZ.

"We have already signed an agreement with private shareholders in AiRUnion that will allow Russian Technologies to receive a 51 percent stake in the company, and they will have 49 percent," Russian Technologies chief Sergei Chemezov, a longtime ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, said in an interview with Vedomosti published Monday.

In May, Medvedev signed a decree allocating state shares in AiRUnion to Russian Technologies, but uncertainty remained as to the exact number of shares that would change hands.

According to the presidential decree announced Monday, Russian Technologies' stake in AiRUnion comprises 51 percent of Kranoyarsk Airlines, 50 percent of Domodedovo Airlines and 46.5 percent of Samara Airlines, Interfax reported.

Chemezov has sought greater consolidation in the defense and industrial sectors, while critics in the Finance Ministry and the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service were opposed to initial proposals that had Russian Technologies receiving major interests in some 118 companies not related to the defense industry.

"It is necessary to carry out restructuring of all the industry, of all the parts being passed to us," Chemezov said in an interview with Vesti-24 state television broadcast Saturday. "Of course, I do not consider it necessary to hold on to everything that has been transferred to us. Some parts might be sold."

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