What the Papers Say, June 17, 2013

Kommersant

1. Ilya Barabanov article headlined "Exercises with logs" reports on the timber industry in Kirov Region where opposition activist Alexei Navalny is tried for his alleged participation in the work of the KirovLes company; pp 1, 5 (1,100 words).

2. Tatyana Yedovina and Dmitry Butrin article headlined "Off-shore companies get under double taxation" says fight with tax evasion by off-shore companies is to become the main economic issue discussed at G8 summit; pp 1, 6 (600 words).

3. Mikhail Serov et al. report headlined "Ukraine shows new face to Gazprom" says Vetek companies reportedly linked with Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich's family is to become another importer of Russian gas in Ukraine; pp 1, 11 (1,000 words).

4. Anatoly Dzhumaylo et al. article headlined "RusAl passes heating main" says RusAl aluminum giant is buying Bogoslovskaya heating and power plant for 1 billion rubles (around $31 million) which is required to provide an aluminum plant with energy; pp 1, 9 (1,300 words).

5. Anna Zanina and Anna Pushkarskaya article headlined "Deputy being selected for Anton Ivanov" says Gazprom manager Vladimir Vinokurov has been unexpectedly nominated for the post of the deputy chairman of the Supreme Arbitration Court; p 2 (650 words).

6. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Deputies want to cut out unreliable information" reviews amendments to the Civil Code passed by the State Duma which oblige media to delete all defamatory information about individuals in the internet and to publish personal information only if they can prove its value to the general public; p 2 (450 words).

7. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "President does not stumble over blood place" reports on the talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and UK Prime Minister David Cameron in London. Syria was the main topic on the agenda, the article says; p 8 (750 words).

8. Sergei Strokan article headlined "Moderateness wins convincing victory in Iran" comments on the victory of Hasan Rowhani at the Iranian presidential election and notes that the voters' fatigue of economic problems made them chose a moderate politician; p 8 (640 words).

9. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Vladimir Putin and Barack Obama to put documents into circulation" says the Russian and U.S. presidents are likely to discuss several important agreements during their meeting at G8 summit; p 8 (1,200 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Moldova threatens Russia with Hague tribunal" says Chisinau and Brussels are worried by the Dniester Region authorities' plans to set up a state border with Moldova. The Moldovans believe Russia may possibly be behind the hostile of Dniester Region; pp 1, 6 (1,104 words).

2. Darya Tsilyurik article headlined "Washington gets involved in yet another Middle-East war" says U.S. President Barack Obama has been reportedly forced to approve arms supplies to the Syrian rebels as Washington found proof of the chemical weapons use by Damascus; pp 1, 6 (727 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Kremlin prescribes tough fight with corruption to government" says all federal bodies have to report to the Economic Development Ministry on the results of the fight against corruption in their ranks; pp 1, 3 (778 words).

4. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "People involved in Bolotnaya case stripped of their passports and hope for political asylum" says the Ukrainian authorities have denied political asylum to three Russian opposition activists who now risk being deported to Russia; pp 1-2 (589 words).

5. Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "Bank deposits defeat inflation" says the amount of banks deposits in Russia has increased by 20 percent since the beginning of the year and has reached 17,000 billion rubles (around $532 billion); pp 1, 4 (534 words).

6. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "China making great leap again" says the Chinese authorities plan to relocate 250 million people from rural areas to cities in an attempt to create a new domestic market for goods and services; pp 1-2 (612 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Prokhorov strategy against Navalny instinct" explains billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov's decision not to stand for Moscow mayor by the strategic interests of his party, Civil Platform, while opposition activist Alexei Navalny is using the Moscow mayoral election as an opportunity to create the image of the real political opponent of the authorities; p 2 (507 words).

8. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Half blind defenders of fatherland" says the Defense Ministry plans to amend call up regulations and call up young men with eye sight and hearing problems; p 2 (741 words).

9. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Carte blanche: Uncontrolled wiretapping and peeping" reviews freedoms in the U.S. in the view of the secret services internet surveillance scandal; p 3 (692 words).

10. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "Iran demands changes" says the Iranians have supported Hasan Rowhani at the presidential election as the country needs reforms to overcome its economic crisis; p 6 (548 words).

Vedomosti

1. Maxim Tokaylo article headlined "Igor Sechin does not have to sell Rosneft" reviews a new privatization plan drafted by Rosimushchestvo federal property agency. The authorities plan to sell only 19.5 stake in Rosneft by 2016; pp 1, 4 (666 words).

2. Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "Putin against seven leaders" says the situation in Syria to be discussed at the G8 summit may force Russian president Putin to argue with other leaders; pp 1, 3 (611 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Delusion collection" comments on a recent statement by President Putin that many Jews were members of the Bolshevik government; pp 1, 6 (432 words).

4. Maria Zheleznova article headlined "Relying on aliens only" says that no opposition party will be able to overpass a municipal filter at the upcoming mayoral election therefore, the article says, they have to create alliances; p 3 (600 words).

5. Another editorial headlined "Time to break money-box" comments on the authorities' decision not to set up the Russian Financial Agency which shows that the economic situation in the country is critical and requires state investments; p 6 (310 words).

6. Maxim Glikin article headlined "Person of week: Mikhail Prokhorov" comments on the decision by billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov not to stand for Moscow mayor; p 6 (417 words).

7. Yekaterina Sobol interview with Mikhail Pogosyan, president of the United Aircraft Building corporation, speaking on prospects for the Russian aircraft building sector and competition on the international aircraft market; pp 8-9 (3.348 words).

Izvestia

1. Dmitry Yevstifeyev article headlined "Twenty six new episodes found for ex-prosecutor Ignatenko" gives update on the probe into the illegal gambling business case in which former deputy prosecutor of Moscow Region Alexander Ignatenko is involved; pp 1, 3 (547 words).

2. Interview with Sergei Mitrokhin, Yabloko party leader standing for Moscow mayor, who speaks on his plans for the Moscow mayoral office; pp 1, 5 (1,660 words).

3. Yilia Tsoy article headlined "Prosecutor's office fails to find dead orphan" says the prosecutor's office claims that reports by some media on the death of an orphan in Nizhny Novgorod region, whom a U.S. couple allegedly could not adopt due to the changes in legislation, are false; pp 1, 3 (550 words).

4. Anastasia Kashevarova article headlined "Ponomarev can hand over Skolkovo money in form of donations" says A Just Russia lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev has written a letter to Skolkovo foundation in which he asked about the mechanisms of returning the money he was previously paid for his lectures back to the fund; pp 1, 4 (561 words).

5. Article by State Duma lawmaker Yelena Mizulina headlined "About masters of 'juggling'" speaks out for the bill banning the spread of information on homosexual relations she drafted and says some journalists misinterpret her intentions; pp 1, 4 (681 words).

6. Article by United Russia lawmaker Irina Yarovaya headlined "For fair competition" calls for changing the bill on tax benefits to retail networks as it will leave regional budget without tax revenues; p 2 (630 words).

7. Alexander Yunashev article headlined "Putin explained why Moscow supplies Damascus with arms" reports on the beginning of Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to the UK and his talks with Prime Minister David Cameron; p 2 (686 words).

8. Stanislav Khatuntsev article headlined "Iranian surprise" says the victory of Hasan Rowhani at the Iranian presidential election has become a surprise for many international experts; p 7 (888 words).

9. Vladislav Vdovin article headlined "Angry Turk, kind Turk" looks at the protest movement escalation in Turkey following yet another police crackdown on protesters; p 7 (600 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Kira Latukhina article headlined "What a miracle" comments on President Putin's meeting with participants of the G20 Civil forum who spoke on human rights protection; pp 1-2 (700 words).

2. Tatyana Smolyakova article headlined "They want to fly" outlines civil aviation development plans; pp 1, 5 (500 words).

3. Kira Latukhina and Vitaly Petrov article headlined "Syria for eight ones" says the situation in Syria will become the main topic of discussion at G8 summit which opens in Northern Ireland; p 2 (900 words).

4. Yekaterina Zabrodina article headlined "Trap for West" says it would be naive to think that new Iranian President Hasan Rowhani would change the country's foreign policy dramatically; p 8 (500 words).

5. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "White House tired without war?" condemns Washington plans to get involved in the Syrian conflict; p 8 (600 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Viktoria Prikhodko article headlined "British showcase villages and metal net for £4M" reports on the preparations for G8 summit to be held in Northern Ireland; pp 1-2 (600 words).

2. Daria Fedotova interview with journalist Arkady Babchenko who was detained in Turkey, speaking on how and why he was arrested by the Turkish police; pp 1-2 (500 words).

3. Alexander Melman article headlined "Go away, nasty" comments on anti-gay legislation passed by the State Duma; pp 1-2 (400 words).

4. Article by expert Vladislav Inozemtsev headlined "Do not hurry to bury Prokhorov" says the authorities will do their best not to allow billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov to take part in elections of any level in the near future; p 3 (700 words).

5. Andrei Yashlavsky article headlined "Moderateness wins in Iran" says moderate cleric Hasan Rowhani has been elected new Iranian president; p 3 (400 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Moscow surrendered without fight" laments Mikhail Prokhorov's decision not to stand for Moscow mayor as it will strip the election campaign of political competition; p 12 (497 words).

2. Roman Anin article headlined "'Yakunin dacha goes to off-shore" comments on some reports claiming that Russian Railway head Alexander Yakunin owns a large lot of land and luxurious house in Moscow Region; p 10 (1,130 words).

3. Pavel Felgengauer article headlined "'Red line' crossed" comments in the shift in the U.S. policy towards Syria as Washington plans to supply the Syrian rebels with arms; p 8 (1,177 words).

4. Yulia Latynina interview with Aksana Panova, the editor-in-chief of Ura.ru news agency, and Yevgeny Royzman, the head of the fund fighting with drug addiction, who speak on their conflict with the local authorities; pp 2-5 (5,806 words).

Moskovskiye Novosti

1. Alexandra Beluza article headlined "More than party" looks into the reasons for the foundation of the All-Russia People's Front; pp B2-B3 (1,400 words).

2. Andrei Tatarinov analyses the manifesto and the ideology of the All-Russia People's Front; pp B4-B5 (1,100 words).

RBC Daily

1. Svetlana Makunina article headlined "Endless checks" says that the probe into lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev's receiving some $750,000 from the Skolkovo foundation should end on 21 June. However, the State Duma's commission for monitoring income has decided to cancel the deadlines as regards the check and it now may last forever; pp 1-2 (300 words).

2. Yulia Yakovleva article headlined "To write to Paris and to win" says that opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who stands for Moscow mayor, has announced a part of his pre-election program will be prepared by economist Sergei Guriev, who left Russia; p 2 (500 words).

3. Viktor Klimov article headlined "What People's Front fights for" looks into the main goals of the recently set up All-Russia People's Front; p 4 (700 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Margarita Alekhina and Ivan Kapustin article headlined "To throw net" says that the State Duma has already considered the bill on the protection of intellectual property on the internet in the first reading. The bill will allow to block any pages with content that allegedly violates the author's rights; pp 1, 5 (900 words).

2. Anna Alexeyeva article headlined "To turn down Golos" says that the Golos non-commercial organization has been fined for receiving money from abroad, which never actually reached the organization; p 5 (500 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Viktor Baranets article headlined "How Serdyukov tried to sell St. Pete's" presents new fraud allegations against former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov; p 8 (1,600 words).

Related articles:

• What the Papers Say, June 14, 2012
• What the Papers Say, June 13, 2012
• What the Papers Say, June 11, 2012