What the Papers Say, Apr. 29, 2013

Kommersant

1. Remata Yambayeva et al. report headlined "They compete for nickel medal in Sochi" says the main shareholders of the mining and metals company Norilsk Nickel, Vladimir Potanin and Oleg Deripaska, have decided to invest $336 million in the construction of Olympic facilities in Sochi. The authors note that the company is now working in bad market conditions and has to reduce its own investment program; pp 1, 9 (927 words).

2. Ivan Safronov and Movsun Gadzhyev article headlined "Alexander Lukashenko goes back on agreements" says that two days after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu's visit to Minsk, Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko has canceled the agreement reached with Shoigu on the setting up of a Russian air base in the republic. Alexander Lukashenko claims that Moscow will only supply military aircraft to Belarus and will not set up the base there; pp 1-2 (710 words).

3. Mikhail Serov and Oleg Gavrish article headlined "Ukraine sends gas to two fronts" says Kiev is drafting a bill authorizing the privatization and the rent of the country's gas transpiration system. Gazprom wants to take the Ukrainian gas pipelines under control and does not hurry to welcome the bill as it may be beneficial both for Russia and the EU; pp 1, 6 (757 words).

4. Olga Shestopal article headlined "Means of blocked enrichment" says Russian companies want to return theyr money from Cyprus and have started suing the Russian affiliates of Cypriot banks. Experts note that they still have small chances of returning the money; pp 1, 10 (711 words).

5. Natalya Gorodetskaya article headlined "We will apologize to those who are not [foreign agents]" reports on Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika's speech at the Federation Council, in which he focused on audits of NGOs and high-profile anti-corruption cases; p 2 (514 words).

6. Irina Nagornykh et al. report headlined "All-Russia People's Front on crouch start" says the All-Russia People's Front will hold its founding congress in Moscow in June; p 2 (706 words).

7. Sergei Goryashko and Natalya Korchenkova article headlined "President's phone-in session gets into social networks" says the analysis of social networks' reaction to President Vladimir Putin's phone-in session has shown that web users were most interested in the questions on luxury taxes, Russian relations with the U.S. and a demand that Rosnano head Anatoly Chubais be jailed; p 2 (679 words).

8. Natalya Bashlykova article headlined "Federation Council approves ban on foreign accounts" says the Federation Council has approved the bill banning officials and deputies from owning foreign assets. Several senators are expected to leave the Federation Council when the law comes into effect; p 3 (597 words).

9. Sergei Goryashko report "State Duma defines parliament member's status" says that the State Duma has passed in the first reading amendments to the law on deputies' status as regards the procedure of early termination of powers of parliament members; p 3 (650 words).

10. Vladislav Trifonov article headlined "Case of entrepreneur, who died in custody, cannot survive in court" says the court is taking the side of the defense of entrepreneur Vera Trifonova, who died in custody in 2010. It turned out that the investigation had violated the law when carrying out the probe into the case; p 4 (656 words).

11. Ivan Buranov and Grigory Tumanov article headlined "Bolotnaya case enlarged with antifascist" says that member of the opposition Coordination Council, antifascist Alexei Gaskarov has been detained as part of the probe into the Bolotnaya Ploshchad riot case. The activist complained that the riot police had beaten him up, the investigation believes it was he who attacked the police; p 5 (543 words).

12. Nikolai Sergeyev report "Former head of Resorts of North Caucasus goes abroad under mercury vapors" says that the former chairman of the board of directors of Resorts of North Caucasus, Akhmed Bilalov, has confirmed that elevated levels of mercury have been found in his body; p 5 (1,200 words).

13. Yelena Chernenko interview with head of the Federal Drug Control Service Viktor Ivanov speaking on the plans to set up a state corporation to develop relations with Central Asia in an attempt to curb drug trafficking; p 7 (630 words).

14. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Russia launches peaceful cyber attack" says that representatives of the U.S. State Department and the White House will arrive in Moscow to negotiate regulations for cyber space; p 8 (662 words).

15. Maxim Yusin article headlined "Ukraine squeezed between two unions" says that Germany is putting Kiev under pressure demanding release of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko as condition for signing an agreement on association with the EU. Meanwhile Moscow demands that Ukraine join the Customs Union; p 8 (849 words).

16. Article by Fyodor Lukyanov, chairman of the Russian Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, in opinion column headlined "Price of issue" looks at the Ukrainian stance on integration with the EU and Russia; p 8 (373 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Prosecutors ask not to be involved" says that Russian law enforcement agencies are afraid of civil society emerging in Russia as Prosecutor General Yury Chaika in his speech at the Federation Council has said that the public should not put prosecutors under pressure; pp 1, 3 (1,200 words).

2. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Shoigu and Rogozin conceive experiment" says experimental forces will be set up in Russia to combine researchers and arms manufacturers. It is expected to help develop new ideas in military science; pp 1-2 (1,100 words).

3. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Russian economy loses prospects" says the Russian Economic Development Ministry has published a report showing that the domestic economy is showing no signs of recovery. Independent experts are sure that recession is inevitable; pp 1-2 (1,000 words).

4. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Europe revises its laws after Dolmatov's death" says the Dutch parliament has come to the conclusion that improper decisions on political asylum similar to the case of Russian opposition activist Alexandr Dolmatov have been made in the cases of 300 other people; pp 1, 3 (800 words).

5. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "China wounds British prime minister's pride" says Beijing has not forgiven the UK over its leadership's contacts with Dalai Lama and refused to receive a British delegation headed by Prime Minister David Cameron; pp 1, 6 (650 words).

6. Article by U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul headlined "America's civil society" says there are around 1.5 million NGOs in the U.S. and the country's legislation does not suppress them in any way; pp 1, 5 (4,800 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Pyrrhic victory of Francois Hollande" says that the controversial law on gay marriages has split French society; p 2 (600 words).

8. Viktorya Panfilova article headlined "U.S. naval base to be set up on Caspian Sea" says Kazakhstan is ready to offer its port to the U.S. that wants to set up a naval base on the Caspian Sea; p 6 (650 words).

9. Yury Panyev article headlined "Washington tests Damascus for sarin" says the U.S. is checking reports on the use of chemical weapons by Bashar Assad's forces; p 6 (700 words).

10. Andrei Ilyn report "Echo of Boston explosions" loox at the terrorist attack in Boston on April 15 and says that Islamic terrorism is a global threat; p 9 (1,600 words).

11. Adzhar Kurtov report "CSTO's wings" loox at the Collective Security Treaty Organization and says that the Russian military base airfield at Kant in Kyrgyzstan remains the place of deployment of the CSTO's main forces in Central Asia; p 11 (1,100 words).

Izvestia

1. Alexandra Yermakova article headlined "Money from National Welfare Fund to be spent on football" says the Russian government plans to spend 250 billion rubles (around $8 billion) from the National Welfare Fund to build sports facilities for the 2018 World Cup; pp 1, 4 (878 words).

2. Alexei Pestov article headlined "State Duma to check Skolkovo roialties of Ilya Ponomaryov" says opposition lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov may lose his deputy seat as the State Duma has started checking reports on his high salary paid by the Skolkovo Foundation, which Ponomaryov has failed to mention in his income declaration; pp 1-2 (451 words).

3. Vladimir Barinov and German Petelin article headlined "Akhmed Bilalov prepares ground for political emigration" comments on complaints by the former head of the company Resorts of North Caucasus, Akhmed Bilalov, about mercury poisoning; pp 1, 3 (810 words).

4. German Petelin and Vladimir Barinov interview with Sergei Galinich, head of a construction company belonging to the Defense Ministry, who has been charged with fraud. Galinich pleads not guilty; pp 1, 4 (1,290 words).

5. Anna Lyalyakina article headlined "Migrant workers to be tied with employers" says a new bill submitted to the State Duma will oblige migrant workers to stay with the company that has invited them to work in Russia; pp 1, 3 (458 words).

6. Pyotr Kozlov and Sergei Podosenov article headlined "Criminal punishment for 'harmful' content in internet to be introduced" says the Russian presidential administration is drafting amendments to the legislation regulating the work of the internet. Internet providers, owners of websites, forums and social networks will bear criminal responsibility for information posted online; p 2 (781 words).

7. Sergei Podosenov report "Fewer Russians celebrate May Day" looks at the results of the poll conducted by Levada Center on the number of Russians celebrating May Day; p 3 (700 words).

8. German Petelin report "Interior Ministry to protect its computers from hackers" says that the Interior Ministry is ready to spend R40m on the modern system to protect its computers from hacker attacks; p 3 (900 words).

9. Marina Davydova article headlined "Mother of Tsarnaevs raises money for lawyer for her son" says the mother of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev charged with organizing the Boston blasts is raising money to hire a lawyer for her son; p 5 (530 words).

10. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "South Korea leaves joint industrial zone to Pyongyang" says South Korea is withdrawing its personnel from the industrial zone it operates with North Korea; p 7 (495 words).

Vedomosti

1. Dmitry Kazmin et al. Report headlined "There are people to talk to about money in Cyprus" says the Cypriot financial crisis has provided the country's lawyers with work as an increasing number of Russian companies are looking for ways to withdraw theyr money; pp 1, 4 (464 words).

2. Olga Plotnova and Vasily Kudinov article headlined "VTB already sold" says VTB has announced a 10 percent discount to the market quotation of its shares re-sold on sock markets; pp 1, 14 (570 words).

3. Editorial headlined "For smell of taiga" comments on Federation Council speaker Valentina Matvyenko's proposal to relocate the head offices of state corporations from Moscow to Russian regions to give a boost to regional economic development. The article notes that the measure will not help Russian regions; pp 1, 6 (478 words).

4. Kirill Kharatyan article headlined "Person of week: Vladimir Putin" comments on Putin's phone-in session; p 7 (385 words).

5. Another editorial headlined "Case of fire" says the recent fire in a mental hospital in the Moscow region has proved a poor state of the Russian health system; p 6 (269 words).

6. Yekaterina Derbilova and Timofei Dzyadko interview with Bashneft president Alexander Korsik speaking on Bashneft and the Russian oil sector; pp 8-9 (6,562 words).

7. Maria Zheleznova report "OSCE experts to study Bolotnaya" says that a group of foreign experts will look into unrest on Moscow's Bolotnaya Ploshchad on May 6, 2012. Independent assessment of these events may be useful if the case against participants in the unrest reaches the Strasbourg court; p 2 (750 words).

8. Maria Zheleznova report "Pekhtin answers for son" says that Vladimir Pekhtin, a United Russia lawmaker who left the State Duma after being accused of having property abroad, could fall victim to a deal concluded by his son; p 2 (700 words).

9. Maxim Glikin report "Party for rich" says that according to a poll conducted by Levada Center, most Russians regard United Russia as a party of the rich and those who want to become rich; p 3 (650 words).

10. Maxim Tovkaylo report "Medvedev to answer for Putin" says that the government is getting ready to report to the president about implementation of his election promises; p 4 (700 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Boris Yamshanov interview "War on criminal world" with Prosecutor General Yury Chaika speaking on the checkups of NGOs among other things; pp 1, 6 (5,900 words).

2. Sergei Yuryev article headlined "Work and do not worry" comments on Putin's interview with Rossia-1 TV where he spoke on the Magnitsky list; p 2 (850 words).

3. Tamara Shkel article headlined "Invited to become adviser" says former State Duma Deputy Vladimir Pekhtin, who had to leave his deputy seat due to allegations of foreign property ownership, may become the adviser to the State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin; p 2 (800 words).

4. Article by Constitutional Court chairman Valery Zorkin headlined "Trust and law" speaks on the need of public trust in the authorities; p 4 (4,800 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Dmitry Popov article headlined "Shoigu risks his life every week" says that due to changes in the maintenance of aircraft belonging to the Defense Ministry, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has to fly by the aircraft that have not undergone technical examination; pp 1-2 (364 words).

2. Yulia Kalinina article headlined "How to defend oneself from psycho" says the parents of Belgorod gunman Sergei Pomazun used to complain about his aggression to the police and a mental hospital; pp 1, 3 (648 words).

3. Melor Sturua article headlined "Would Tamerlan become terrorist if he were included in U.S. Olympic team? " loox at the progress in the investigation of the Boston bombings; p 2 (961 words).

4. Tatyana Fedotkina report "This sweet word 'homosexuality'" looks at the attitude to homosexuality in Russian society; pp 1-2 (500 words).

5. Irina Rinayeva report "Chinese saves America from Tsarnaev brothers" quotes the taxi driver kidnapped by Tsarnaev brothers who staged an explosion in Boston; p 2 (400 words).

6. Stanislav Belkovsky report "Chubais is Russia" says that it is time that the company Rosnano was disbanded; p 3 (1,300 words).

RBK daily

1. Inga Vorobyeva et al. article headlined "Everybody to be sent to exile" says that Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvyenko has proposed to start the decentralization process in Russia by means of transferring big companies' headquarters to the Russian regions. According to RBK sources, even those supporting the idea doubt it will ever work in practice; pp 1-2 (500 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Yulia Zabavina article headlined "Loss of supporter" says that the number of Russian donating regions is reducing amid the growth of the number of regions demanding financial help from the federal budget; pp 1, 3 (1,100 words).

2. Vera Moslakova article headlined "Kei to divorce" says that the leadership of the State Duma has confirmed that some deputies divorced in order not to include theyr spouse's property into their tax declarations; pp 1-2 (700 words).

3. Yulia Savina article headlined "Judicial and investigative romance" says that yet another criminal case may be launched against opposition leader Alexei Navalny; p 2 (600 words).

4. Nushaba Kerimli article headlined "Nadezhda Tolokonnikova denied parole" reports on the trial where one of the jailed Pussy Riot punk band members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, was denied early parole; p 5 (300 words).

Moskovskiye Novosti

1. Alexandra Beluza article headlined "From the country of the rising sun and economic sunset" says that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is to meet President Vladimir Putin after a long pause and speculates over the agenda of the upcoming talx; pp B2-B3 (1,300 words).

2. Ivan Sukhov article headlined "Boston lessons" looks into how the Boston tragedy influenced Russia; pp B4-B5 (1,600 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "President against CIA" says President Putin's remarks on CIA agents who used to work in Anatoly Chubais' team shows that the Russian leadership is still guided by the principles of "besieged fortress"; p 10 (491 words).

2. Yelena Masyuk interview with Eteri Levieva, director general of Sovershenno Sekretno (Russian for "top secret") TV channel speaking on the current trends in the Russian broadcast journalism which turned TV channels into propaganda; p 18 (2,997 words).

3. Irina Gordyenko article headlined "Boston bomber was loaded long ago" says there is evidence proving that Tamerlan Tsarnaev tried to join the North Caucasus criminal underground during his visits to the region; p 13 (1,140 words).

4. Yulia Latynina article headlined "We are not in America, after all" reviews recent reports by the Investigative Committee about the abuse of Russian children adopted by U.S. families and notes that the committee is spreading false information; p 16 (972 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Nikolai Varsegov article headlined "Vyatka governor had three advisers. Two are jailed, Navalny is left" comments on the trial against opposition figure Alexei Navalny, accuses him of being arrogant and doubts his innocence; p 4 (1,000 words).

2. Yevgeny Arsyukhin article headlined "Four months till new crisis" predicts the slowdown of Russia's economy; p 10 (1,000 words).

Apr. 29, 2013/BBC Monitoring/©BBC

Related articles:

• What the Papers Say, Apr. 26, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Apr. 25, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Apr. 24, 2012