What the Papers Say, Apr. 26, 2013

Kommersant

1. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Direct-line dependence" gives an ironic account of Vladimir Putin's question-and-answer session; pp 1, 3 (2,814 words).
2. Yelizaveta Kuznetsova article headlined "Aeroflot moving to alternative airfield" says Aeroflot has decided to move some of its direct flights from Sheremetyevo to Vnukovo airport over the conflict with Sheremetyevo Airport's administration; pp 1, 9 (616 words).
3. Kirill Melnikov and Anna Solodovnikova article headlined "Government to deal with Rosgeologya" looks at the strategy of development of JSC Rosgeologya, which was set up two years ago to consolidate state assets in geological exploration; pp 1, 11 (904 words).
4. Dmitry Butrin article headlined "New economic policy from Russian Academy of Sciences" says one of the institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences has compiled a report with alternative proposals aimed at encouraging GDP growth; pp 1, 6 (922 words).
5. Taisya Bekbulatova et al. report headlined "Government survives president's meeting with people" says that during the question-and-answer session, President Vladimir Putin has spoken against dismissals in the government. The unpopular government is easy to blame for the authorities' mistakes, thus its dismissal should not be expected in the near future; p 2 (685 words).
6. Natalya Korchankova article headlined "Public Television ready for consideration" says there are only three weex to go until the launch of the Public Television in Russia. Experts doubt it will be able to satisfy public needs; p 3 (1,351 words).
7. Alexander Chernykh article headlined "Disorders on Bolotnaya Ploshchad become organized" says Konstantin Lebedev, charged with organizing mass riots in Moscow's Bolotnaya Ploshchad during protests on May 6, 2012, has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Lebedev has agreed to testify against other defendants in the case; p 5 (644 words).
8. Grigory Tumanov article headlined "Fine imposed on Golos for premium" says the election monitoring association Golos has been fined 400,000 rubles for the refusal to register as a foreign agent; p 5 (521 words).
9. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Special services misspell terrorist's surname" looks at how a lack of coordination between Russian and U.S. special services has resulted in failure to prevent the terrorist attack in Boston; p 7 (490 words).
10. Maria Yefimova article headlined "PACE commissar concerned over NGO checks" says the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner, Nils Muiznieks, has slammed the Russian authorities for mass checks of NGOs; p 7 (433 words).
11. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Central Asia to be made addicted to labor" says a special governmental commission has approved the proposal of the Federal Drug Control Service head, Viktor Ivanov, to create a corporation cooperating with Central Asian countries to create new jobs in order to distract people from smuggling Afghan drugs; p 7 (463 words).
12. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Switzerland cutting itself off from Europe" says the Swiss authorities have decided to limit labor migration from the EU; p 7 (395 words).
13. Khalil Aminov article headlined "Developers to report to VEB" says the developers in the Olympic city of Sochi getting loans from the Vnesheconombank have been obliged to report all cases of force majeure at construction sites to the bank; p 9 (573 words).
14. Anna Solodovnikova article headlined "Rosneft sent to FAS via direct line" says during the Q&A session, Putin has asked the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service to check high gasoline prices in the Far East; p 11 (653 words).
15. Mikhail Serov article headlined "Novatek gives up Gazprom" says Novatek has given up its biggest joint project with Gazprom; p 11 (568 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Alexandra Samarina and Pyotr Tverdov article headlined "President of his majority" looks at the president's Q&A session where Putin has spoken about the reasons behind the cooling of relations with the U.S.; pp 1, 3 (2,469 words).
2. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Golos becomes foreign agent for 300,000 rubles" says the Moscow magistrate's court has fined 300,000 rubles the election monitoring association Golos over its refusal to register as a foreign agent; pp 1, 2 (794 words).
3. Unattributed article headlined "'Bolotnaya case' defendants hinted at new detentions" says the Moscow City Court has sentenced Konstantin Lebedev, charged with organizing mass riots in Moscow's Bolotnaya Ploshchad on May 6, 2012, to two and a half years in prison. Lebedev admitted his guilt, testifying at length, and his testimony will be used against Sergei Udaltsov and Leonid Razvozzhayev, experts say; pp 1, 2 (478 words).
4. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Cyprus introducing anticrisis tax on property" says the Cypriot government has approved a revised property tax; pp 1, 4 (618 words).
5. Viktoria Panfilova article headlined "Tajikistan closes border" says Tajikistan has suspended issuing visas to foreigners allegedly to limit the number of participants in the international conference timed to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the opposition Islamic Rebirth Party of Tajikistan scheduled for 27 April; pp 1, 7 (932 words).
6. Yury Panyev article headlined "To Israel with email password" says the Israeli security officers have been given approval to check email accounts of "suspicious" travelers. The measure may soon spread to the rest of the world; pp 1, 8 (549 words).
7. Editorial headlined "Still, it is being tabled!" says the bill on protection of believers' feelings is being amended and prepared for the second reading, contrary to a popular view that it has been rejected; p 2 (483 words).
8. Sergei Tsirel article headlined "Carte blanche. Waiting for crisis and arguing what to do" looks at the statistics for the first quarter showing no industrial growth and wonders if state investment will save the Russian economy from recession; p 3 (1,033 words).
9. Sergei Turanov article headlined "50 most influential entrepreneurs and investors" features a rating of political influence of Russian businessmen and investors in January-March; p 4 (1,117 words).
10. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "This year to become year of economic problems" says some 44 percent of Russians believe that 2013 will be a year of economic troubles; p 4 (931 words).
11. Savely Vezhin article headlined "Andrei Vorobyev among best beginning governors" says the acting Moscow region governor is one of the three best governors appointed not long ago; his biggest credit being the ability to establish a dialogue with the federal centre and local people; p 6 (540 words).
12. Anton Khodasevich article headlined "Minsk and Astana for slow economic integration" looks at the visit of the Kazakh delegation to Belarus; p 7 (578 words).
13. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Ukraine to be tested for gay tolerance " says the first large-scale gay parade in Kiev is scheduled for late May and Ukrainian society's reaction to it will affect a decision on Ukraine's European integration; p 7 (819 words).
14. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Abe to establish trust-based relations with Putin" looks at the upcoming visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Russia: several economic agreements are expected to be signed, but the sides' stances on the South Kurils will remain unchanged; p 8 (566 words).
15. Darya Tsiryulik article headlined "Europeans no longer trust politicians " says radical parties advocating the withdrawal of theyr countries from the eurozone are becoming stronger amid decreasing trust to the EU; p 8 (838 words).

Vedomosti

1. Olga Plotonova et al. report headlined "VTB begins placement" says VTB is to approve the additional issuance of shares today; pp 1, 14 (430 words).
2. Editorial headlined "Race of whistle-blowers" says that large-scale checks of NGOs and demands that even environmental and charity organizations be registered as foreign agents have made the campaign look like purges; pp 1, 6 (397 words).
3. Editorial headlined "Putin's matrix" says the president's Q&A session has once again proven that Putin is the main media figure in Russia, partly thanks to his control over the media which enables him to be a leader without a clear program of actions; p 6 (345 words).
4. Polina Khimshiashvili and Maxim Glikin article headlined "Kurils 10 years later" says Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is to arrive in Moscow on April 28; p 2 (366 words).
5. Svetlana Bocharova article headlined "Not our Golos" says the Moscow magistrate's court has ruled that the Golos election monitoring association has broken the law on NGOs and has to pay a fine; p 3 (442 words).
6. Anastasia Kornya article headlined "Witness forgets what Navalny does" looks at another day of the trial of anti-corruption whistle-blower Alexei Navalny, where the prosecutors' key witness, Vyacheslav Opalev, seemed to forget what had really happened; p 3 (421 words).
7. Liliya Biryukova article headlined "First year always hardest" looks at the president's Q&A session, saying that Putin has signaled that he is not going to replace the government despite his discontent with its performance; p 2 (626 words).
8. Maxim Glikin article headlined "Thing of week: Alcohol detection device" looks at what former President Dmitry Medvedev will be remembered for; p 7 (406 words).
9. Maria Zheleznova and Alexei Nikolsky article headlined "Revolutionary's salary: 50,000 rubles a month" says that Konstantin Lebedev has been found guilty of organizing mass disorders in May 2012 and has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Lebedev got away with a lenient sentence because he had testified against other defendants, the opposition says; p 3 (413 words).

Izvestia

1. Alexander Yunashev and Yegor Sozayev-Guryev article headlined "Vladimir Putin checks citizens' mood" says the president's Q&A session has been the longest ever; pp 1, 2 (905 words).
2. Sergei Golyandin interview with the mother of Boston terrorists, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, headlined "'I fear nothing anymore'"; pp 1, 5 (743 words).
3. Denis Telmanov article headlined "U.S. buys billion of cartridges for Kalashnikov assault rifle" says the first batch of cartridges for Kalashnikov assault rifles has been shipped in line with the contract with several private companies in the U.S.; pp 1, 4 (567 words).
4. Alexander Yunashev and Yegor Sozayev-Guryev article headlined "Kudrin offered to become Kremlin's expert" says former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has reportedly agreed to become the Kremlin's expert; pp 1, 4 (538 words).
5. Margarita Kazantseva article headlined "Transneft threatens to suspend fuel supplies to Europe via Ukraine" looks at the confrontation between Transneft and the Ukrainian authorities; pp 1, 4 (682 words).
6. Yulia Tsoi et al. report headlined "'President does not defend government'" cites experts saying that, during his Q&A session, the president has signaled that the government is to be blamed for many problems; p 2 (628 words).
7. Sergei Podosenov article headlined "Some 40 percent of Russians hear nothing of 'Magnitsky list'" looks at polls showing Russians' reaction to Magnitsky Act and Russia's retaliation to it; p 3 (483 words).
8. Vladimir Barinov article headlined "Sentence to Lebedev to complicate fate of other defendants in 'Bolotnaya case'" looks at the impact the sentence passed on Konstantin Lebedev may have on other defendants in the mass riots case; p 3 (734 words).
9. Boris Mezhuyev article headlined "President surrounded by radicals" says the Q&A session has revealed the president's new image of a centrist who is aware of the need to ensure stability in society and has to fight against claims of radicals; p 9 (897 words).
10. German Petelin and Tatyana Tyutyunik article headlined "Spetsstroi head to be checked in connection with Oboronservis fraud" says investigators are checking Grigory Naginsky, the ally of the former defense minister, Anatoly Serdyukov; pp 1, 4 (700 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "President's joker" views Putin's question-and-answer session with the nation as a hint at the upcoming Russian political change; p 1 (600 words).
2. Tatyana Zamakhina and Irina Grigoryeva article headlined "MK experts: Who is right on economy: Kudrin or his opponents?" features pundit comments on the ideas of former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin; p 2 (200 words).
3. Natalya Rozhkova article headlined "Two years for Konstantin Lebedev" focuses on opposition activist Konstantin Lebedev; p 4 (600 words).
4. Natalya Rozhkova article headlined "Navalny turns trial into Hollywood movie" focuses on the trial of opposition blogger Alexei Navalny; p 4 (300 words).
5. Mikhail Zubov article headlined "First agent goes" focuses on a Moscow court fining the election watchdog Golos; p 4 (200 words).
6. Yevgeny Yamburg article headlined "Dmitry Livanov, scapeminister" is an opinion in defense of the education minister criticized by lawmakers; p 5 (900 words).
7. Yekaterina Sazhneva report headlined "Christian radicals" focuses on Orthodox Christian extremists; p 6 (1,600 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Yekaterina Vlasova article headlined "I am telling you directly" gives an account of the president's Q&A session; pp 1-2 (2,700 words).
2. Anna Skripka article headlined "Mysterious accomplice" says the police have found weapons hidden by the Belgorod gunman; pp 1, 7 (1,100 words).
3. Ivan Yegorov article headlined "Lower than minimum" says a Left Front activist, Konstantin Lebedev, has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for organizing mass disorders in Bolotnaya Ploshchad on May 6, 2012; p 4 (500 words).
4. Alexander Gasyuk article headlined "FBI does not believe Russia" looks at the latest developments in the probe into the Boston terrorist attack and says that the Russian special services have warned theyr U.S. colleagues of Tamerlan Tsarnaev's extremist views; p 8 (400 words).
5. Mikhail Gusman interview with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe headlined "Sakura to blossom" ahead of his visit to Russia. The premiere speaks about Russian-Japanese relations and the agenda of the meeting; p 9 (2,600 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta (weekly)

1. Vladislav Vorobyev article headlined "War on TV" focuses on the reaction of U.S. society to the Boston attack; p 12 (300 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Yevgeny Feldman report "Your Honor, let's play this game" looks at the trial of blogger and opposition activist Alexei Navalny that has begun in Kirov; p 6 (1,300 words).
2. Kristina Gorelik report "Political strategist's denunciation" says that searches are being carried out in the organization Civil Assistance in connection with a complaint submitted by political strategist and member of the Public Chamber Georgy Fedorov to the Federal Security Service; p 7 (1,100 words).
3. Andrei Kolesnikov report "Putin, Chavez and skiver" looks at Putin's question-and-answer session with the nation "Direct Line with Vladimir Putin" held on April 25, and at his debate with former Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, in particular; p 10 (950 words).
4. Alexander Genis report "America as Russian national idea" tries to answer a question as to who is interested in Russia being poor; p 18 (1,600 words).
5. Irina Petrovskaya report "Beauty and beast" looks at the interview that United Russia lawmaker Irina Yarovaya has given to Vladimir Pozner in his TV program and says that Pozner "has done his best in a conversation with a person with whom a dialogue is impossible in principle"; p 24 (1,500 words).

RBK daily

1. Inga Vorobyeva report "Putin classifies Kudrin as secret" looks at Putin's phone-in on April 25; p 3 (800 words).
2. Yevgeny Krasnikov report "Measured strength in banners" says that Yandex is quickly catching up on Mail.Ru in revenues from media adverts; p 8 (600 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Brief unattributed report looks at the poll conducted by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM). People were asked a question about what words "come into their heads" when they hear an expression "State Duma deputy". Most people (20 percent) said it was "bribe-taker," "thief," "crook," and "embezzler of public funds"; p 1 (100 words.
2. Yulia Savina report "I wouldn't like to speak on this topic, but it is kind of embarrassing to avoid it" looks at Putin's call-in show on April 25; p 2 (900 words).
3. Vera Moslakova report "Navalny accuses former head of Kirovles of false evidence" looks at the hearing of the case of blogger Alexei Navalny; p 2 (400 words).
4. Margarita Alekhina report "Disabled and people ill with cystic fibrosis become 'foreign agents'" says that a check has begun in relation to the charitable organization Perspektiva helping cystic fibrosis patients; p 3 (600 words).

Trud

1. Unattributed report "Here's talk for you" looks at Putin's question-and-answer session on April 25; p 2 (1,200 words).
2. Sergei Frolov report "What we heard from Vladimir Putin and what we did not see him doing" says that after five hours of Putin's phone-in, there was a feeling that something important is missing; p 2 (1,200 words).
3. Unattributed article headlined "Voices" features political analysts' comments on Putin's phone-in; p 2 (600 words).
4. Alexei Pozdnyakov interview with the head of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, Mikhail Shmakov; p 6 (1,900 words).

Krasnaya Zvezda weekly

1. Alexander Tikhonov report about a round table discussion with the participation of Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yury Borisov held on 22 April; pp 7-9 (5,300 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Unattributed report looks at Putin's phone-in; pp 2-4 (3,700 words).
2. Alexander Khodyakin report "Americans to arrest bombers' mother" says that the U.S. authorities have issued a warrant for arrest of Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, the mother of the Boston bombers; p 7 (400 words).
3. Alexander Khodyakin report "they feel sorry for terrorists in Grozny" features comment of political analyst Alexei Mukhin on the terrorist attack in Boston; p 7 (650 words).

Apr. 26, 2013/BBC Monitoring/©BBC

Related articles:

• What the Papers Say, Apr. 25 2012
• What the Papers Say, Apr. 24, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Apr. 23, 2012