What the Papers Say, Jan. 27

Kommersant

1. Ivan Safronov interview with the general director of the Russian state arms trader Rosoboronexport, Anatoly Isaykin, headlined "'Our task is to preserve Russia's second place in arms supplies'", speaking about the results of the agency's performance in 2013 and its plans for 2014; pp 1, 4 (2,582 words).

2. Yury Barsukov and Kirill Melnikov article headlined "Gazprom faces self-buyback" says that the Russian gas giant Gazprom may have share redemption to increase its capitalization; pp 1, 9 (813 words).

3. Ilya Barabanov article headlined "Ukrainian opposition gets into difficult situation" says that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has suggested that a representative from the opposition become the head of the government and has agreed to meet a number of other demands. However, even if opposition leaders accept the proposal, they will hardly manage to stop the protests; pp 1, 6 (793 words).

4. Sergei Goryashko article headlined "Citizens wait for protest option" says that a public opinion poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation has shown that 67 percent of Russians back the restoration of the "none of the above" option in ballot papers; p 2 (359 words).

5. Tatyana Yedovina and Alexei Shapovalov article headlined "Davos shakes stimuli" looks at the results of the World Economic Forum in Davos held on Jan. 22-25; p 2 (518 words).

6. Irina Nagornykh article headlined "Opposition ruins governors' ratings" says that the Civil Society Development Foundation has compiled an effectiveness rating of Russian governors. The victory of opposition candidates in municipal elections had an impact on certain governors' ratings, the report said; p 2 (556 words).

7. Maria Yefimova article headlined "Kiev to listen to Council of Europe" previews a session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, or PACE, which opens today in Strasbourg. The political crisis in Ukraine will most likely top the agenda of the session. Russia expects anti-Russian rhetoric at the PACE session, the article says; p 6 (472 words).

8. Sergei Strokan interview with Ukrainian lawmaker from the ruling Party of Regions Oleh Tsarev, headlined "'We realize that we will always have time to surrender'", who explains why President Viktor Yanukovych does not agree to hold an early election and does not accept the opposition's other proposals; p 6 (396 words).

9. Sergei Strokan interview with Ukrainian lawmaker from the Udar party Iryna Herashchenko, headlined "'Maidan fights not for posts, but for change of system'", who explains why the opposition does not want to get governmental posts; p 6 (422 words).

10. Maxim Yusin article published in the regular opinion column headlined "Price of issue" says that a change of power in Ukraine is a matter of time and contemplates Russia's policy on Ukraine to this respect; p 6 (445 words).

11. Dmitry Butrin article published in the regular column headlined "Rules of game" comments on the recent session of the World Economic Forum in Davos; p 7 (370 words).

12. Kirill Melnikov and Yegor Popov article headlined "Sergei Chemezov may lose post" says that the government has not backed Russian technologies state corporation, or Rostec, head Sergei Chemezov's repeated nomination for the board of directors in the Russian oil company Rosneft; p 7 (532 words).

13. Alexei Shapovalov report "Unemployment set to grow" says that the unemployment rate is rising in Russia; p 2 (450 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "China and Russia aim at Mediterranean" looks at the Russian-Chinese joint naval drill in the Mediterranean, which began on Jan. 25. Servicemen practised ensuring security of the international operation to transport chemical weapons from Syria, but the West sees hidden economic motives in the military presence of these two countries in the region; pp 1-2 (595 words).

2. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "People's Front members surround governors" says that the Civil Society Development Foundation has compiled an effectiveness rating of Russian governors. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has begun preparations for the 2014 autumn elections. The People's Front for Russia, or ONF, will control the situation in regions and will focus on regional heads' financial problems that impede the execution of the president's decrees issued in May 2012 after he was re-elected; pp 1, 3 (894 words).

3. Alina Terekhova article headlined "Dvorkovich cancels middle-age crisis for BRICS" says that Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich is optimistic about the future of the BRICS. In addition, he called on investors to pay attention to developing Russian regions, for instance, North Ossetia; pp 1, 4 (642 words).

4. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Moldovan police being ousted from Bender" says that the Dnestr region has demanded that Moldovan policemen leave the town of Bender where peacekeepers are deployed; pp 1, 7 (803 words).

5. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Reformatting of Ukraine" says that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych may meet Russian President Vladimir Putin today. Prospects for the fulfilment of the Russian-Ukrainian agreements reached in December 2013 are said to top the agenda of the meeting; pp 1, 7 (1,644 words).

6. Yury Panyev article headlined "Asad's supporters and opponents communicate via Brahimi" says that direct talks between delegations of the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition to settle the conflict may begin today in Geneva; pp 1, 8 (715 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Defense Ministry settles housing problem" comments on the Defense Ministry's plan to build service housing only; p 2 (576 words).

8. Petr Mordasov article headlined "Navalny's informers found among officials" says that the hacker group Anonymous has published in the internet a list of people who have had email correspondence or have contacted opposition activist Alexei Navalny. The list includes a number of high-ranking officials and politicians, the article said; p 2 (684 words).

9. Mikhail Solopov article headlined "Rosmolodezh leadership suspected of abuse" says that the head of the National Anti-Corruption Committee Kirill Kabanov has asked law-enforcement agencies to check information about possible kickbacks in the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs; p 2 (467 words).

10. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Gudkovs and Ponomarev find new party" says that former A Just Russia members Gennady and Dmitry Gudkovs and Ilya Ponomarev have joined the new party Green and Social Democrats' Alliance. The new party expects problems from the Kremlin, the article said; p 3 (528 words).

11. Yekaterina Trifonova article headlined "Untraditional gay truce" says that a bill introducing administrative responsibility for any propaganda of priority of sexual relationship has been submitted to the State Duma. However, experts say that the bill will not be passed as it has been drafted specially before the Winter Olympics in Sochi to ease the scandal over the anti-gay law; p 3 (501 words).

12. Ilya Shablinsky article published in the Carte Blanche regular column headlined "Principle of direct effect of constitution being washed out by amendments" criticizes pending changes to the Russian constitution; p 3 (838 words).

13. Yevgenya Novikova article headlined "Egyptian society splits into three parts" comments on the situation in Egypt and says that about 50 people have been killed and at least 250 wounded during protests and rallies organized by various political forces in the country to mark the third anniversary of the revolution that overthrew President Husni Mubarak; p 8 (538 words).

14. Daria Tsilyurik article headlined "Karzai shows door to Americans" says that Afghan President Hamed Karzai has once again refused to sign a bilateral agreement with the U.S. until the Taleban movement sits at a negotiating table and, moreover, presented the U.S. with an ultimatum to launch a peace process or go away; p 8 (642 words).

15. Savely Vezhin article headlined "United Russia adjusts its groups" says that the ruling United Russia party has decided to change a mechanism of cooperation between its groups in regional legislative assemblies and the State Duma; p 9 (679 words).

16. Anastasia Bashkatova report "Security agencies to deal with offshore companies" says that the Investigations Committee will fight against offshore companies in Russia; p 4 (950 words).

Vedomosti

1. Anastasia Golitsyna and Ksenia Boletskaya article headlined "Pavel Durov sells contact network" says that the founder of the VKontakte social network, Pavel Durov, has sold the remaining 12 percent of shares to general director of the MegaFon mobile phone operator Ivan Tavrin; pp 1, 24 (750 words).

2. Polina Khimshiashvili and Alexei Nikolsky article headlined "Ukraine in four parts" looks at four scenarios of the development of the situation in Ukraine; pp 1, 3 (1,000 words).

3. Lilia Biryukova article headlined "Barriers higher for weak parties" focuses on the presidential bill on the State Duma elections being considered by the State Duma; p 2 (800 words).

4. Svetlana Bocharova article headlined "Former A Just Russia members become green" says that businessman Gleb Fetisov-led party Green Alliance, former State Duma member Gennady Gudkov's party Social Democrats and a number of other small parties have merged into the new party Green and Social Democrats' Alliance; p 2 (500 words).

5. Anastasia Kornya and Maxim Glikin article headlined "Parade of effectiveness" says that four regional heads, whose terms in office expire in 2014, have turned to be outsiders in an effectiveness rating of governors compiled by the Civil Society Development Foundation; p 3 (700 words).

6. Yekaterina Kravchenko article headlined "Temporary respite" reports on the recent session of the World Economic Forum in Davos; p 4 (500 words).

7. Sergei Titov article headlined "Europe threatens Russia with lawsuits" previews the Russia-EU summit on Jan. 28 in Brussels; p 5 (1,100 words).

8. Editorial headlined "VKontakte and freedom" says that the founder of the VKontakte social network has sold his shares to the general director of the MegaFon company; p 6 (500 words).

9. Kirill Kharatyan article headlined "Man of week: Platon Lebedev" welcomes the release of former Menatep head Platon Lebedev; p 7 (300 words).

10. Maxim Tovkaylo and Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "Officials to become directors again" says that the government has decided to return certain officials to the board of directors of some state-run companies; p 10 (550 words).

11. Editorial "To levy payment" says that the Federal Customs Service has toughened requirements on the delivery of parcels from abroad; pp 1, 6 (500 words).

Izvestia

1. Konstantin Anokhin article headlined "'Difficult' oil production to be freed from taxes for four years" says that the Finance Ministry has backed the introduction of tax privileges for oil companies that develop difficult oil deposits; pp 1, 5 (1,493 words).

2. Alena Sivkova article headlined "ProsecutorGeneral's Office finds malicious content in schools" says that a check conducted by the Prosecutor General's Office at schools to study how schoolchildren are protected from information harmful to their health and development, has revealed that visiting "harmful" websites is not restricted in most schools; pp 1, 4 (725 words).

3. Anastasia Kashevarova article headlined "Governors divided according to their effectiveness" looks at the rating of Russian governors compiled by the Civil Society Development Foundation; pp 1-2 (3,465 words).

4. Taras Podrez article headlined "Federal Service for Control over Trafficking of Narcotics studies drug addicts' likes" looks at an official list of the most popular drugs in Russia; pp 1, 3 (827 words).

5. Svetlana Subbotina interview with State Duma deputy speaker and secretary of the United Russia party's general council Sergei Neverov, headlined "'We will begin preparations for election to parliament in 2015'", who speaks about political competition between political parties in Russia and intra-party changes in United Russia as well as preparations for the 2015 State Duma election, among other things; p 3 (869 words).

6. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Hassan Rouhani calls investors to Iran" looks at Iran's economic plans announced by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 23 and features a Russian expert's comment on the issue; p 7 (509 words).

7. Maria Gorkovskaya interview with a European Parliament member, headlined "'Door to Europe is still open to Ukraine'", speaking about the political crisis in Ukraine and Moscow's pressure on Kiev as regards its integration with the EU; p 7 (498 words).

8. Leonid Zlotin article headlined "Lomonosov-Lavoisier in Davos" says that the World Economic Forum in Davos is no longer seen as a media event; p 9 (705 words).

9. Opposition activist Eduard Limonov article headlined "Gangsters" comments on the first victims of protests in Ukraine; p 9 (595 words).

10. Alexander Birman article headlined "Yanukovych's contact wire" comments on the political crisis in Ukraine, focusing on possible scenarios of overcoming it; p 9 (925 words).

11. Daria Tsoy report "Gazprom to get to Gaza via Israel" says that Gazprom intends to develop oil and gas deposits in the shelf in Gaza; p 7 (600 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Tamara Shkel article headlined "Unfair arithmetic" says that the State Duma has passed in the first reading a bill limiting the so-called golden parachute compensations paid to sacked heads of state-controlled corporations; p 2 (659 words).

2. Kira Latukhina article headlined "Brussels 'without tie'" says that the Russia-EU summit on Jan. 28 will be held in a new format; p 2 (414 words).

3. Yury Snegirev factual report headlined "Barricades of Maidan: Where is the way out?" describes the situation in Ukraine hit by protests; p 5 (953 words).

4. Pavel Dulman interview with Ukrainian lawmaker from the ruling Party of Regions Oleh Tsarev, headlined "To live to see Tuesday", who comments on the situation in Ukraine; p 5 (833 words).

5. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Yatsenyuk slips into silence" explains why Ukrainian opposition leader Arseny Yatsenyuk has not accepted the proposal to become the prime minister; p 5 (453 words).

6. Marina Gritsyuk report "Twelve chairs" says that the labor ministry has defined what positions in Russian trade foreigners can take; pp 1, 4 (550 words).

7. Taras Fomchenkov report "Freelance Andersson" says that AvtoVAZ's new director will sack one in 10 employees; pp 1, 3 (600 words).

8. Igor Zubkov report "Dollar and euro worth ruble" looks at the exchange rate of the Russian ruble that has been loosing its value; pp 1, 7 (750 words).

9. Yury Gavrilov report "Police given guardhouse" says that the military police will be the only body in the Russian army that will have law enforcement functions; p 2 (350 words).

10. Oleg Kiryanov report "They did not spare even children" says that all relatives of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's uncle have been executed; p 10; (400 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Alexander Minkin interview with former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who has recently been released, headlined "Kremlin in black zone", speaking about his detention, trial, prison life and release; pp 1, 5 (3,766 words).

2. Yulia Kalinina article headlined "How one minister turns out to be man" says that the Ukrainian authorities are amazing by their impotence, vacillation and deliberate irresponsibility; pp 1-2 (454 words).

3. Igor Karmazin article headlined "Smashing Ukrainian House" says that the Ukrainian authorities have compromised with the three opposition leaders, but this has not stopped radicals' street fighting; pp 1-2 (990 words).

4. Marina Perevozkina article headlined "Maidan's demons" says that the Ukrainian opposition has made a serious mistake by calling for help from radical nationalists; p 2 (550 words).

5. Dmitry Katorzhnov article headlined "Green members buy stars" says that former A Just Russia members have joined the new party Green and Social Democrats' Alliance; p 2 (804 words).

6. Economist Mikhail Delyagin article headlined "Global currency!" comments on the sharp drop of the ruble against the euro and the dollar; p 3 (1,233 words).

7. Roman Nikolayev article headlined "RusGidro plays for high stakes" says that the RusGidro company operating hydropower plants has continued to improperly use immense funds allocated from the federal budget despite the Russian authorities' complaints; p 3 (1,153 words).

8. Nikolai Makeyev report "Central Bank risks making ruble drop to 40 rubles per dollar" says that the state has allowed the national currency to fall; pp 1, 3 (700 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Irina Gordyenko interview with the head of the U.S. Congress homeland security committee Michael McCaul, headlined "'I have ascertained: Security level in Sochi is very high'", who speaks about the security situation in Sochi ahead of the Winter Olympics, among other things; pp 2-3 (1,831 words).

2. Kirill Rogov op-ed headlined "Monopoly on violence and right to rebellion" says Ukraine is on the brink of a civil war and says that President Vladimir Putin's tactics have been used there; p 7 (839 words).

3. Alexander Mineyev article headlined "Europe-Russia: Twilight" says that the Russia-EU summit on Jan. 28 will be one of the most unusual over the last two decades; p 4 (572 words).

4. Dmitry Bykov interview with human rights activist Ella Pamfilova, Russia's most likely next human rights commissioner, headlined "'Let us write that I fear nothing'", who speaks about her relations with Putin and the protests in Ukraine, among other things; pp 12-13 (1,987 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Andrey Koshik article headlined "Psychological attack" covers several cases of persecution by the police of Sochi environmental and human rights campaigners on the brink of the Olympics; p 5 (650 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Yelena Chinkova article headlined "Church to send humanitarian aid to Syria" says the Russian Orthodox Church has pledged to send 3 million rubles (approximately $87,000) in relief money to Syria; p 2 (400 words).

2. Alexander Kots and Dmitry Steshin report from Kiev headlined "Truth and lies of Maidan" implies the Ukrainian authorities are painting an exaggerated picture of opposition violence; p 4 (400 words).

Jan. 27, 2014 / BBC Monitoring / ©BBC