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What the Papers Say, Apr. 12, 2013

Kommersant


1. Nikolai Sergeyev and Oleg Rubnikovich article headlined "Military lose one-sixth of land" looks at yet another fraud case involving former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and Yevgenia Vasilyeva, ex-official from the Defense Ministry. The fraud resulted in the Defense Ministry's losing 613 hectares of land in the Leningrad region; pp 1, 4 (850 words).

2. Maria Yefimova et al. report headlined "Russia and U.S. to see whose list blacker" says that Moscow has already drafted its own blacklist as retaliation to the proscription list of Russian officials to be made public on April 13. The exchange of lists will take place ahead of the visit of U.S. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon to Moscow, which may ruin hopes for improvement of Russian-U.S. relations in the foreseeable future; pp 1, 7 (662 words).

3. Dmitry Butrin et al. report headlined "Coverage operation" says that Economic Development Minister Andrei Belousov has announced that the privatization list will be expanded and Rosneft and Rostelekom shares will be put up for sale. For the first time in Russian history, advocates of the state expenditures growth will have to confront those believing in the strong state sector; pp 1, 6 (1,139 words).

4. Yekaterina Gerashchenko article headlined "Potok after Sergei Polonsky" says that businessman Sergei Polonsky, who is currently in Cambodia under a written pledge not to leave the country, may sell his development company Potok to Alexander Dobrovinsky, adviser of Rosneft president Roman Trotsenko and head of Potok's board of directors; pp 1, 12 (669 words).

5. Vadim Nikolaiev article headlined "Ingushetia to draw all-people's border" says that head of Ingushetia, Yunus-bek Yevkurov, has signed a decree to conduct a republican forum on April 20 to discuss the drawing of the administrative border on Chechnya and the election of the republic's head set for autumn; p 2 (669 words).

6. Ivan Safronov brief report "MiG-31 not to be reconstructed" says that Russian Air Force C-in-C Lieutenant-General Viktor Bondarev has come out against resuming production of MiG-31 aircraft; p 2 (150 words).

7. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Conversation in temple" gives an ironic account of President Vladimir Putin's visit to Buryatia; p 3 (1,504 words).

8. Anna Makeyeva article headlined "Last respects paid to Mikhail Beketov" say that Mikhail Beketov, journalist and editor-in-chief of the newspaper Khimkinskaya Pravda, who has recently died of complications of cruel beating-up, was buried in a Khimki cemetery; p 3 (548 words).

9. Alexei Shapovalov article headlined "Andrei Klepach admits obvious things" says that Deputy Economic Development Minister Andrei Klepach has made public the economic forecast for 2013 and admitted that Russia's economy may grow 2.5 per cent at the most; p 6 (684 words).

10. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Vladimir Putin takes tough measures" gives an ironic account of a session of the presidium of the State Council chaired by Putin where the problems of the timber industry have been discussed and head of the Federal Forestry Agency (Rosleskhoz), Viktor Maslyakov, has been sacked; p 6 (807 words).

11. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Venezuela divides Hugo Chavez's legacy" looks at the situation in Venezuela ahead of the presidential election; p 7 (718 words).

12. Maxim Yusin interview with associate director for the program and emergencies division of Human Rights Watch, Anna Neistat, headlined "Al-Asad loses control over Aleppo," where she speaks about the organization's recent report on the situation in Syria; p 7 (726 words).

13. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Barack Obama sets new targets for funds" looks at the draft 2014 budget that U.S. President Barack Obama has recently presented; p 7 (558 words).

14. Vladimir Dzaguto et al. report headlined "Instead of deputy's seat" says that Vladimir Pekhtin, who has to give up his seat at the State Duma after a scandal over foreign property he did not declare, will become member of RusHyro's board of directors; p 9 (642 words).

15. Yelena Kiseleva article headlined "Investment calm" says that the government will find it hard to implement its ambitious privatization plan as some of the assets for sale are not attractive to investors; p 9 (733 words).

16. Mikhail Servo and Anna Solodovnikova article headlined "Gazprom to get Rosneft's gas" says that Putin has ordered Rosneft to supply its Sakhalin-1 gas to Gazprom's LNG in Sakhalin; p 9 (818 words).

17. Georgy Dvali report "Gennady Onishchenko accepts Borjomi" says that Georgian mineral water Borjomi will go on sale in Russia in summer; p 12 (800 words).


Nezavisimaya Gazeta


1. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Deputy shedding in any season" says that as State Duma deputies and Federation Council members keep leaving their posts, rumors about the State Duma dissolution are taking deep root; pp 1-2 (808 words).

2. Vladislav Mukhin article headlined "Serbian foothold of collective defense" says that Serbia has got an observer status in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and looks at the consequences of the move; pp 1-2 (849 words).

3. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Navalny's political defence" says that opposition activist and blogger Alexei Navalny has prepared well for the upcoming Kirovles trial to begin next week: he has announced his presidential ambitions and masterminded the creation of the People's Alliance party that has recently submitted documents for registration; pp 1, 3 (802 words).

4. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "IMF concerned about disbalance of world economy" says that the International Monetary Fund is concerned about disbalance of the world economies. Russia seems to belong to the countries lagging behind, the article says and looks at the risks; pp 1, 4 (910 words).

5. Viktoria Panfilova article headlined "Fight for roof of world" says that the Tajik Defense Ministry is going to conduct drills in the Pamir mountains to reportedly practice countering terrorists' attacks; pp 1, 7 (1,001 words).

6. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "War of referendums coming in Ukraine" says that the ruling party and the opposition at the Ukrainian parliament seem to have overcome the crisis. It is, however, unclear how long the lull will last as pro-presidential forces have not given up an idea to conduct a referendum to reform the political system in the country; pp 1, 7 (856 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Old and young ones of Russian science" looks at the upcoming election of the president of the Russian Academy of Sciences; p 2 (537 words).

8. Savely Vezhin article headlined "Tell-tale name …" says that Oleg Mitvol, chairman of the central council of the party Alliance of Green — People's Party, has written a letter to Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov complaining that Alexei Navalny borrowed part of the name of Mitvol's party for his People's Alliance party; p 3 (601 words).

9. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Bolotnaya case may involve 86 more people" says that opposition activist Ilya Yashin has posted on the internet photos of the people that law enforcers are looking for as part of the case of disorders on Bolotnaya Ploshchad; p 3 (624 words).

10. Leonid Polyakov article headlined "Carte blanche. Party and government in new format" says that the first year after the parliamentary and presidential election has shown that the country's political system is undergoing dynamic transformation and political competition is growing; p 3 (621 words).

11. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "There are lots of doctors, but there is nobody to treat" says that despite increasing financing of the health system, its major problems persist; p 4 (638 words).

12. Alexander Zhebin article headlined "Russia's Korean dilemmas" looks at reasons behind escalating tension on the Korean Peninsula and possible solutions; p 5 (2,323 words).

13. Unattributed article headlined "Ivanishvili's pragmatism appeals to Lavrov" gives the highlights of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's interview to the RTVi channel relating to Georgia and the recent statements of Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili; p 7 (728 words).

14. Yury Paniyev article headlined "World problems to be dealt with in golf club" says that the G8 ministerial meeting in London has revealed acute contradictions between Russia and the West regarding resolution of the Syrian crisis and approaches to the Iranian nuclear program; p 8 (685 words).

15. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Tokyo hits Beijing's sore spot" says that Japan has allowed Taiwan to fish in the vicinity of the islands over which Tokyo and Beijing have a territorial dispute; p 8 (479 words).


Vedomosti


1. Margarita Papchenkova et al. report headlined "Igor Shuvalov returns assets" says that the family of First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov is gradually returning their foreign accounts and assets to Russia; pp 1, 4 (900 words).

2. Editorial headlined "Quiet in forest" looks at the problems in the timber industry that were made public at a session of the State Council and says that it is necessary to revise the Forest Code to solve the majority of the problems; pp 1, 6 (444 words).

3. Olga Kuvshinova article headlined "Optimism for two percent" says that the Economic Development Ministry has revised its forecast for the growth of industry, economy and investment in 2013; pp 1, 4 (609 words).

4. Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "To save on war" looks at the U.S. draft budget for 2014; p 2 (414 words).

5. Irina Kezik article headlined "LNG plant to be approved" says that Putin has said that Rosneft should coordinate its plans for LNG projects with the government and the Energy Ministry; p 12 (462 words).

6. Yekaterina Kravchenko article headlined "Cyprus becomes more expensive" says that the cost of Cyprus' salvation seems to have grown 30 per cent; p 4 (518 words).

7. Anastasia Kornya article headlined "Navalny versus Russia" says that opposition activist Alexei Navalny has submitted an application to the European Court of Human Rights complaining about the decision of the Lyublino District Court obliging him to refute his statements about the United Russia party consisting of "crooks and thieves"; p 2 (425 words).

8. Editorial headlined "Union of plagiarists" looks at the struggle for reputation of the Russian science and a surge of accusations of plagiarism in Russia; p 6 (264 words).

9. Alexander Rubtsov report "Decline of shadow ideology" looks at the role of ideology in society; p 6 (1,500 words).

10. Andrei Babitskiy report "President knows nothing" says that the figures used by Putin have nothing to do with reality; p 7 (700 words).


Rossiiskaya Gazeta


1. Timofei Borisov article headlined "Border appointment" says that Colonel-General Vladimir Kulishov has replaced Vladimir Pronichev as head of the Federal Border Guard Service of the FSB; pp 1, 3 (1,500 words).

2. Natalia Yachmennikova interview with head of the Federal Space Agency Vladimir Popovkin headlined "Open space" where his speaks about recent achievements and the state space program for 2013-20; pp 1, 6 (4,500 words).

3. Valery Vyzhutovich article headlined "Luxury as means of transport" speculates over the idea of imposing a tax on luxury; p 3 (850 words).

4. Tamara Shkel report "Premiere for prime minister" says that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will present a report at the State Duma on April 17; p 2 (600 words).

5. Boris Yakshanov interview with head of the expert council under business ombudsman Mikhail Barshchevsky headlined "Let them serve time or pardon?" where he speaks about the council's idea to give amnesty to those convicted for economic crimes as criminal persecution has become the main method of property re-distribution; p 4 (1,000 words).

6. Alexander Gasyuk article headlined "Propaganda to be cut" says that the U.S. plans to cut expenditures on promotion of American ideas and values in other countries; p 8 (850 words).

7. Oleg Kiryanov article headlined "No missile on public holiday?" says that having done its best to escalate tension on the Korean Peninsula, the North Korean authorities keep getting on everyone's nerves by constantly moving their mobile missile systems; p 8 (500 words).

8. Timofei Borisov report "To Odessa without jokes" looks at the mass media congress that has been held in Odessa; p 17 (750 words).


Izvestia


1. Alexei Mikhaylov article headlined "Defense Ministry orders 'town tank' with bulldozer blade" says that the Defense Ministry has ordered modernization sets for tanks to make them suitable for town fights; pp 1, 4 (698 words).

2. Alyona Sivkova article headlined "Federation Council member Moshkovich chooses business" says that senator from the Belgorod region and owner of the Rusagro company Vadim Moshkovich has decided to give up his seat at the Federation Council; p 1 (326 words).

3. Article by the chairman of the Russian Audit Chamber Sergei Stepashin headlined "Democracy: Not to offer control?" speaks about the need for public control and the new law on the Audit Chamber to expand its powers; pp 1, 9 (1,120 words).

4. Alexander Grigoryev interview with the official representative of the Investigations Committee Vladimir Markin headlined "Navalny to be able to counter corruption from prison as well" where he speaks about the reasons behind the Kirovles case involving anti-corruption whistle-blower Alexei Navalny; pp 1, 4 (785 words).

5. Ivan Cheberko article headlined "Rogozin suggests putting meteor danger on G20 agenda" says that Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has suggested to Putin that a global system of countering asteroids should be made priority at the G20 summit to be held in St. Petersburg in early September; pp 1, 4 (648 words).

6. Sergei Podosenov interview headlined "Vladimir Pekhtin to become member of Rushydro's board" with former lawmaker Vladimir Pekhtin who speaks about his future plans; pp 1, 4 (650 words).

7. Vladimir Zykov report "Safe Internet League to check capital's cafes" says that the Safe Internet League jointly with other organizations will check if cafes with wi-fi in Moscow and St. Petersburg observe the law on protecting children from harmful information; p 3 (700 words).

8. Vladimir Barinov report "Interior Ministry to monitor journalists' business trips" says that the Interior Ministry intends to step up control over police officers' contacts with mass media; p 5 (1,200 words).

9. Article by political analyst Kirill Benediktov headlined "Smoke screen" speculates about the reasons behind Putin's decision to restructure the loan to Cyprus and says that Putin and Merkel may have been discussing the stepping-up of integration processes between Russia and Europe; p 9 (980 words).

10. Maxim Sokolov article headlined "Ambassador in hostile calawmaker" looks at the statements that U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul used to make about Putin and wonders why the person with such tough criticism of the Russian leader was appointed as ambassador; p 9 (639 words).


Moskovsky Komsomolets


1. Igor Karamzin article headlined "Is Russian Caucasus zone of risk?" says that the Stavropol region is on the verge of a large-scale ethnic conflict amid depressing economic situation; pp 1, 4 (2,737 words).

2. Tatyana Zamakhina report "Putin's bodyguards do not let him sit on throne" looks at Putin's visit to Buryatia; pp 1-2 (800 words).

3. Natalya Rozhkova article headlined "What do Putin and Navalny have in common?" looks at the poll conducted by the Levada Center, which shows that approval ratings of both Putin and Navalny are stable and not really high, and that some 55 percent of the polled will vote for somebody new in 2018; p 2 (571 words).

4. Igor Subbotin report "Did Putin find himself blacklisted as result of act of provocation?" says that Finnish law enforcers have by mistake put Vladimir Putin on a secret blacklist; p 2 (500 words).

5. Mikhail Zubov report "Ilya Yashin has allies in Investigations Committee" says that the newspaper has found out how opposition activist Ilya Yashin has obtained the photos of suspects in the Bolotnaya case; p 2 (500 words).

6. Viktor Loshak report "For sake of few lines in budget" says that the state remains the only serious player on the Russian TV market; p 3 (1,000 words).


Novaya Gazeta


1. Vasily Golovnin's article titled "Which way will missiles fly?" says Kim Jung-un has done what is father or grandfather never allowed themselves to do, namely, having withdrawn from the 1953 armistice treaty. The author ponders on possible flight paths the missiles — if launched — will take; p 10 ( 600 words).

2. Boris Vishnevsky article headlined "Overthrowing secular regime" on the bill to be adopted by the State Duma that envisages criminal responsibility for "insulting religious feelings and convictions"; p 2 (900 words).

3. Olga Prosvirova article titled "Justice Ministry hears 'voices'" on a row that has broken out around the NGO Golos. The ministry is filing a suit against Golos, calling the NGO a foreign agent for receiving a Norwegian award; p 4 (700 words).

4. Observer Yulia Latynina in her article titled "Burmatov versus males nurses" wonders who and why wants Education Minister Dmitry Livanov sacked; p 5 (600 words).


RBK daily


1. Inga Vorobyeva article entitled "Putin goes to the woods" on President Vladimir Putin's statements to the effect that the Russian forestry industry is in a critical state and on measures taken in relation to it; pp1-2; (500 words).

2. Arfi Gevorkyan and Yulia Sinayeva article " At the insurance intersection" says that President Putin will have to decide which of at least two options of social contributions for individual entrepreneurs Russia should choose; p 2 (500 words).

3. In his article headlined "Doctor won't help" Yegor Grebnev, a Russian PhD candidate at Oxford University, ponders on a gap between Western and Russian requirements for PhD candidates; p 5 (500 words).


Komsomolskaya Pravda


1. Nikita Mironov article entitled "Federal Migration Service: Crime rate among migrants rises by 40 percent" looks at underlying causes behind these figures — which may be higher, as the Interior Ministry suggests — and possible ways out of the situation; pp 1, 11 (400 words)


2. Part One of Galina Sapozhnikova's special report from Venezuela headlined "Chavez lived, Chavez lives, Chavez will live!" on the situation in the country in view of the presidential election; pp 1, 14-15 (1, 900 words)


Noviye Izvestia


1. Vera Moslakova article headlined "Dangerous shots" says that another 86 people my become suspects in the infamous Bolotnaya case because they can be seen in the photos taken during the disturbances in central Moscow on May 6, 2012; p 2 (400 words).

2. Anastasia Dolgova article entitled "'This system has killed him'" reports from the ceremony on April 11 when Moscow bid farewell to late journalist Mikhail Beketov, who was left severely disabled after savagely beaten in 2008; p 3 (400 words).


Trud


1. Sergei Frolov article headlined "He who has not hidden himself is to blame" wonders why people who are involved in high-profile corruption cases find it so easy to hide abroad; pp 1-2 (700 words).


Apr. 12, 2013/BBC Monitoring/©BBC

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