What the Papers Say, Aug. 1, 2013

Kommersant

1. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Peace to your domain" says that President Vladimir Putin has signed an international information security policy and zooms in at the key provisions of the policy; pp 1, 6 (615 words).

2. Vladislav Trifonov and Nikolay Sergeyev article headlined "Capture in Cannes" says that the former head of the BTA bank, Mukhtar Ablyazov, wanted for financial frauds in several countries, including Russia, has been detained in France; pp 1, 4 (816 words).

3. Vyacheslav Kozlov et al. article headlined "State changes examiner" says that Sergei Kravtsov will head the Rosobrnadzor federal service for education and sciences supervision instead of Ivan Muravyov, who has resigned following a series of single state exams scandals; pp 1, 5 (623 words).

4. Olga Shestopal et al. article headlined "Sberbank obtains deputy head in Walmart" says that Walmart senior vice president Lev Khasis has become Sberbank's first deputy head; pp 1, 7 (609 words).

5. Yury Barsukov et al. article headlined "Monopolies in one hand" says that the Federal Tariff Service has drafted amendments to the law about natural authorities, which deprive the Federal Antimonopoly Service of control over deals in this sector; p 2 (634 words).

6. Kirill Antonov and Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "Rustam Minnikhanov reissues national policy" says that a new state national policy has been adopted in Tatarstan. Experts are sceptical about the novelty of the policy; p 3 (656 words).

7. Irina Nagornykh et al. article headlined "Elections divide on territorial grounds" says that the Sept. 8 regional elections are notable for a large quantity of political parties that have nominated their candidates and strong dependence on peculiarities of the political situation in the regions; p 3 (819 words).

8. Natalya Korchenkova and Dmitry Pashinsky article headlined "Sergei Sobyanin does without United Russia party's money" says that acting Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who is standing in the Sept. 8 mayoral election as a self-nominee, is conducting his election campaigning using donations. So is RPR-Parnas mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny; p 3 (566 words).

9. Sergei Strokan article headlined "Diplomatic season begins in Egypt" says that the Egyptian conflict has provoked unprecedented international efforts to settle it: the EU and the African Union have sent delegations to Cairo. The U.S. also plans to engage in the settlement of the conflict in the near future; p 6 (463 words).

10. Olga Kuznetsova article headlined "Al-Qaida unites Syrian Kurds" says that Syrian Kurds have united against Islamic radicals fighting in Syria after one of their leaders was killed, which means that Kurds have become an independent player in the Syrian war. Moreover, they may establish an autonomy like Iraqi Kurdistan; p 6 (465 words).

11. Mikhail Serov and Vladimir Vodo article headlined "Lithuania demands concessions from Gazprom" says that Lithuania's largest importer of Russian gas, Lietuvos dujos, has laid down strict conditions for a new gas contract with the Russian gas giant Gazprom; p 9 (530 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Defense Ministry enters cyberwar" says that the Defense Ministry has approved a program to develop combat robots until 2025. However, the Russian robot industry is facing certain problems, including the country's lagging in technology; p 1, 2 (692 words).

2. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Mistake in political navigation" focuses on a research on the causes of the Arab Spring, conducted by experts from the Institute of Social and Political Studies. The authors concluded that political destabilization is threatening contemporary society, including Russian one, even amid a rather good economic situation; p 1, 3 (1,167 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Officials' class solidarity" says that the officialdom in Russia is step-by-step becoming a kind of a class, which the ruling authorities rely on. A new government decree to be passed in late August will disavow an administrative reform to reduce the number of officials in Russia; p 1, 3 (715 words).

4. Igor Naumov article headlined "Rising in price petrol slows down GDP growth" says that the wholesale petrol prices have increased by up to 30 percent over a month. Retail petrol prices are expected to go up in the near future. Experts say that expensive petrol may become one of the causes of recession in Russia; p 1, 4 (581 words).

5. Editorial headlined "Middle East lessons for Russia" says that the developments in Egypt and Turkey have shown that the ruling authorities' relying on the conservative majority and ignoring other groups of population is fraught with a split in society and, consequently, instability; p 2 (530 words).

6. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Gazprom snowed under with complaints" says that the Italian company Edison has followed the example of the German company RWE and filed a lawsuit against gas giant Gazprom, seeking the revision of long-term contract terms; p 4 (584 words).

7. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "Washington resets peace process" says that delegations from Israel and Palestine have met in Washington for peace talks and features a Russian expert's comment on the issue; p 7 (757 words).

Vedomosti

1. Margarita Lyutova article headlined "Customs does not trust someone else's books" says that as from Aug. 14, the Federal Customs Service will give up an international transit system TIR, introduced by the UN Customs Convention in 1975; pp 1, 5 (730 words).

2. Editorial headlined "Sobyanin's minimization" criticizes acting Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin's decision not to take part in election debates; pp 1, 7 (390 words).

3. Svetlana Bocharova et al. article headlined "Non-criminal elections" says that five candidates having previous convictions have been revealed among opposition nominees in Smolensk and Ivanovo regions. They have no right to stand in elections; pp 1-2 (607 words).

4. Lilia Biryukova and Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "Seliger without politics" says that President Putin will visit the Seliger-2013 summer camp for pro-Kremlin youth on Aug. 2. This year's Seliger is apolitical and focuses on social projects, which young people can take part in, the article says; p 2 (537 words).

5. Anastasia Kornya and Maxim Glikin article headlined "More parties, but competition is same" says that according to the Central Electoral Commission, 109,982 candidates are aspiring to 41,661 seats at the Sept. 8 regional elections. Although the number of candidates has tripled, the candidate-seat ratio practically has not changed; p 3 (595 words).

6. Svetlana Bocharova and Maria Zheleznova article headlined "They to save on human rights" says that state grants for human rights noncommercial organizations will be allocated as from 2014, but not 2013 as was said before; p 3 (478 words).

7. Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "Skolkovo remains with budget" says that despite financial violations revealed at the Skolkovo innovation fund, the state will continue financing it until 2020; p 4 (617 words).

8. Editorial headlined "Behind online wall" looks at problems facing the introduction of online state services in Russia; p 6 (327 words).

9. Vasily Kashin article headlined "Second world: USA and Russia share Snowden" says that U.S. whistle-blower Edward Snowden will stay in Russia as a political refugee because this is advantageous to both Russia and the U.S.; p 6 (727 words).

Izvestia

1. Anastasia Alexeyevskikh and Tatyana Shirmanova article headlined "Government to get 98 percent of banks on state procurements market" says that only banks whose capital stands at over 35 billion (some $1.06 billion) will have a right to open bank accounts for companies participating in state tenders; pp 1-2 (700 words).

2. Alexander Grigoryev and Viktoria Minina article headlined "Man who attacked policeman suspected of murder" says that Magomed Rasulov, who has attacked a policeman at a Moscow market, may be involved in the September 2011 murder of a truck driver; pp 1, 4 (500 words).

3. Yelena Teslova article headlined "Human rights council suggests granting amnesty to women, elderly and disabled people" says that the president's human rights council is drafting a bill granting amnesty to certain categories of people on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Constitution; pp 1, 3 (550 words).

4. Pavel Kochegarov and Mikhail Markelov junior article headlined "Bailiffs get list of 50 websites where debtors should be looked for" says that the Federal Bailiff Service has made a list of 50 websites, forums, social networks and communications programs, where debtors are to be looked for; pp 1, 4 (650 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Zykova article headlined "Not mine films" says that an anti-piracy law has come into effect today; pp 1, 3 (767 words).

2. Kira Latukhina article headlined "Worked off at market place" says that Russian President Vladimir Putin has gathered an extra meeting following an incident at the Matveyevsky market place, where a policeman has been beaten up by local traders; p 2 (500 words).

3. Sergei Toporkov article headlined "Conditional maximum" looks at the peculiarities of the Sept. 8 regional elections in Russia; p 4 (467 words).

4. Ivan Yegorov article headlined "Airborne troops to take by storm" says that the Defense Ministry has backed the Russian Airborne Troops command's idea to place three Airborne Assault Brigades in the Central and Eastern military districts under the control of the command; p 6 (783 words).

5. Igor Dunayevsky article headlined "Will there be two Snowdens?" says that the FBI has asked U.S. whistle-blower Edward Snowden's father to visit his son at the Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport as this could help persuade Snowden to return to the U.S.; p 8 (533 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta (weekly)Moskovsky KomsomoletsTrudNoviye Izvestia

1. Sergei Rayzin article headlined "'Bloody revolution'" features an excerpt from an interview given to an internet portal by Leonid Volkov, the head of the Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny's headquarters; p 7 (1,094 words).

2. Mikhail Falaleyev article headlined "Why are police beaten?" focuses on an attack on a policeman by natives of Caucasus at a Moscow market; p 10 (866 words).

1. Igor Subbotin article headlined "Two lives in American way" comments on the trial of WikiLeaks informant Bradley Manning, who has been found guilty on 19 episodes, including espionage, and may get up to 136 years in prison, and says that the trial is a warning to all possible followers of Manning, and particularly to former CIA agent Edward Snowden; pp 1, 3 (435 words).

2. Tatyana Zamakhina article headlined "Medvedev praises himself seven times" says that at a meeting of the council for economic modernization, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has summed up the preliminary results of his premiership. As opposed to President Putin, Medvedev is pleased with the performance of the cabinet; p 2 (574 words).

3. Matvey Ganapolsky article headlined "We are cool, no bargaining here" comments on purges of Moscow markets, following an attack on a policeman by natives of Caucasus. Migrant workers from Central Asia suffered from these purges most of all as the Russian authorities do not want to worsen relations with the North Caucasus republics ahead of the Sochi Olympics and raids at Moscow markets will surely be welcomed by the electorate ahead of the autumn elections; p 3 (1,340 words).

4. Igor Subbotin and Melor Sturua article headlined "'Son, stay in Russia!'" quotes U.S. whistle-blower Edward Snowden's father Lon Snowden, who has advised his son to stay in Russia. Lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, who is rendering legal assistance to Edward Snowden, is going to sue the Federal Migration Service if it denies asylum to Snowden. The head of the Russian branch of the Amnesty International, Sergei Nikitin, thinks that Russia cannot deny asylum to Snowden; p 3 (500 words).

1. Sergei Frolov article headlined "How mayor Sorokin will end" looks at what awaits Nizhny Novgorod mayor Oleg Sorokin who is suspected by a State Duma deputy of having a business abroad; p 2 (350 words).

1. Anna Kumitskaya article headlined "Under banging of gavel" says that 500,000 rubles has been raised at a charity auction in support of defendants in the so-called Bolotnaya case over the May 6, 2012 riots in Moscow's Bolotnaya square; pp 1-2 (481 words).

2. Sergei Manukov article headlined "By law of peace time" focuses on the trial of WikiLeaks informer Bradley Manning, who has been found guilty of espionage, but exonerated from assistance to enemy; p 2 (496 words).

3. Yulia Savina article headlined "Fight for location" says that a Strategy-31 rally in defense of freedom of assembly has been held in Moscow's Triumfalnaya Ploshchad. People are losing interest in this kind of rallies as the opposition is now focusing on rallies in support of political prisoners, the article says; p 2 (376 words).

4. Vera Moslakova article headlined "When three's not a crowd" says that the presidential human rights council has suggested establishing a working group to discuss the U.S. whistle-blower Edward Snowden case under the aegis of the council and the U.S.-Helsinki Commission; p 2 (710 words).

5. Anna Kumitskaya article headlined "Letter does not allow candidate for deputy to join election race" says the electoral commission in the city of Ryazan refuses to register a member of the opposition party Civil Platform, Semen Sazonov, as a candidate in the local duma election due to discrepancies in the spelling of his first name; p 2 (150 words).

RBC Daily

1. Polina Stroganova article headlined "Number one shareholder" says that the chairman of the board of directors of the Russian gas giant Gazprom, Viktor Zubkov, has acquired a stake in the company, thus becoming the largest private shareholder. Zubkov's stake is bigger than that of Gazprom head Alexei Miller, the article says; pp 1, 5 (550 words).

2. Denis Levko article headlined "Unnamed games" says that a public opinion poll by the VTsIOM state public opinion research center has shown that 19 percent of Russians do not know what the World University Games are; p 2 (150 words).

3. Alexander Litoy article headlined "Careful look at declarations" says that next week the Russian branch of Transparency International will offer candidates running in the Sept. 8 regional elections to fill in an informal declaration describing their property and their relatives' business interests; p2 (450 words).