What the Papers Say, June 28, 2013

Kommersant

1. Petr Netreba and Dmitry Butrin article headlined "'Red directors can wait" says that the government has basically approved a three-year privatization plan under which the companies to be privatized will get a major share of money from the privatization as investment; pp 1-2 (688 words).

2. Ivan Buranov and Alexander Voronov article headlined "Russian academy of reforms" says that the government is launching a large-scale reform of Russian Academy of Science, in line with which three academies will be merged into one, which will be more like a club of scientists. Scientists have been caught off guard by the news; pp 1, 3 (800 words).

3. Yelizaveta Kuznetsova article headlined "Aeroflot heading for exit from SkyTeam" says that Russia's biggest airline Aeroflot may withdraw from the SkyTeam alliance and join the Star Alliance with the German Lufthansa at the lead; pp 1, 10 (782 words).

4. Mikhail Mikhaylin article "Report passes second reading" looks at previously unknown deals concluded with participation of well-known businessmen in 2012; pp 1, 7 (650 words).

5. Taisia Bekbulatova et al. report headlined "Lists and absentee ballots to be removed from Moscow election" says that acting Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin is going to cancel absentee ballots and get rid of other loopholes facilitating vote rigging in an attempt to humor protest-minded voters and make the Moscow mayoral election more legitimate; p 2 (610 words).

6. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Plan readiness announced in Defense Ministry" says that the Defense Ministry has presented its operation plan until 2020 and reported on the current state of affairs in the Armed Forces; p 3 (695 words).

7. Yulia Rybina report "Powers of Dagestan's deputy stopped by special-purpose police" says that a United Russia deputy has been detained during a session of the Dagestan people's council; p 3 (700 words).

8. Kabay Karabekov and Sergei Strokan article headlined "Kyrgyzstan being closed for Americans" says that the Kyrgyz leader has signed into law a bill to denounce the agreement with the U.S. on the U.S. base at the Manas airport; p 5 (637 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Andrei Vaganov article headlined "Academicians apart from money" says that three academies will be united into a mega-structure called the Russian Academy of Sciences public state association, a club of outstanding scientists; pp 1-2 (794 words).

2. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Sequester for serviceman" says that in line with tough sequester of the budget, the Finance Ministry plans to curtail expenditures on social protection of servicemen; pp 1-2 (548 words).

3. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Premier takes Anton Ivanov under wing" says that as disputes over the idea of merging three supreme courts continue, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has praised head of the Higher Arbitration Court Anton Ivanov, who strongly opposes the idea; pp 1, 3 (809 words).

4. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Lobbyists hamper privatization" says that at a meeting to discuss implementation of the privatization program, Medvedev blamed some officials and entire bodies of power for impeding privatization in an attempt to retain control over the state property; pp 1, 5 (915 words).

5. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Gagauz height 90" says that separatist sentiments are growing in Moldova as the Gagauz autonomy is preparing a referendum on independence from Chisinau; pp 1, 7 (729 words).

6. Yury Paniyev article headlined "Brussels does not rush to play by new rules" looks at another meeting of EU leaders in Brussels and says that no breakthroughs on major issues are expected; pp 1, 8 (669 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Yarovaya's short-gun" looks at an amended bill on criminal responsibility for 'justification for Nazism' tabled by United Russia deputy Irina Yarovaya and says that the new legislative initiative was definitely designed for use in public politics as its provisions are nontransparent, which may result in violations of basic rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech; p 2 (481 words).

8. Andrei Melnikov and Lidia Orlova article headlined "Carte blanche: Stop-light for clerical racers" says that a church court has degraded from priesthood priest Ilia, who was sentenced to three years in prison for killing two road maintenance workers in a traffic accident; p 3 (837 words).

9. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Deputy's signature is priceless" says that several municipal deputies in Moscow have complained about phone calls in which people, introducing themselves as representatives of Moscow mayor candidates Alexei Navalny and head of the Alliance of Green party Gleb Fetisov, offered money for their signatures required to overcome the 'municipal filter'; p 3 (759 words).

10. Viktor Litovkin article headlined "Military secrets to be exposed in half" wonders why the plan of development of the Armed Forces, which can reveal quite a lot to a specialist, has been posted on the internet; p 4 (663 words).

11. Alexei Mukhin article headlined "Scientists should deal with science" details what the Russian Academy of Sciences is criticized for and says that the government's reform aimed at stripping the Academy of Sciences of all accompanying functions and turning it into a research and expert club to focus on research, is a reasonable move; p 4 (1,091 words).

12. Sergei Nikanorov article headlined "Plot for blockbuster" says that Russian human rights activists have voiced their support for former CIA contractor Edward Snowden, who may be stuck in Moscow's airport transit zone, and unanimously said that extraditing him to the U.S. would be inhumane; p 4 (673 words).

13. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Russians get infected with Brazilian disease" says that polls conducted by Levada Center show that some half of the polled say that Russia should not waste money on such major sports events as the FIFA World Cup and the Sochi Winter Olympics, whereas about the same share of the polled consider the opposite to be true; p 5 (934 words).

14. Sergei Turanov article headlined "Russia's best lobbyists in May 2013" features the most influential representatives of commercial and state structures in May 2013; p 5 (1,455 words).

15. Darya Tsiryulik article headlined "Berlin brands London for Orwell's nightmare" says that Germany has reproached Britain for establishing total surveillance over German people; experts link the escalating scandal to the election campaign ahead of the parliamentary election in Germany; p 8 (644 words).

16. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Uyghurs in China rebel again" says that the Chinese authorities have failed so far to stabilize the situation in Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region and features an expert's comments; p 8 (500 words).

17.Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "No Russian servicemen in Syria" looks at the latest developments in Syria. As military actions are stalled, information war has begun; p 8 (620 words).

Vedomosti

1. Maria Dranishnikova and Anton Filatov article headlined "Not to build above nine floors" says that the Moscow Region authorities are going to ban construction of housing with more than nine floors; pp 1, 18 (438 words).

2. Irina Kezik and Milana Chelpanova article headlined "Primorsk port left without oil" says that on 26 June, the Primorsk port suspended crude oil export and looks at the conflict behind the move. On 27 June, however, oil export resumed; pp 1, 13 (600 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Sacred milk cow" comments on the state policy concerning Gazprom and gas price formation; pp 1, 6 (371 words).

4. Alexander Rubtsov article headlined "Metaphysics of state: What authorities refuse to do" looks at recent legislative initiatives, that are much spoken of, and at reasons behind them if any and says that what the authorities have not done, although promised, is much more important; pp 6-7 (1,211 words).

5. Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "Russia being laundered" says that Putin has emphasized the need for a national plan to counter money laundering and tax evasion; p 5 (457 words).

6. Editorial headlined "Academic merger" looks at a large-scale reform of science that the government has drafted and wonders why it has not been offered for public discussion; p 6 (330 words).

7. Anastasia Kornya article headlined "Humanization under suspicion" says that retired judge of the Constitutional Court and member of the presidential human rights council Tamara Morshakova has been questioned at the Investigations Committee for three hours about the review of the second Yukos case conducted by experts and wonders what law enforcers' next move may be; p 2 (365 words).

8. Unattributed article headlined "Thing of week: Snowden's annulled passport" says that former CIA contractor Edward Snowden is most likely to be staying at Sheremetyevo's transit zone and will stay there until a safe way to take him to a country where he can be granted asylum is found; p 7 (356 words).

Izvestia

1. Alena Sivkova report "Andrei Makarov may head Audit Chamber" says that the Kremlin will get a list of candidates for the post of the Audit Chamber head on 1 July. Andrei Makarov, head of the State Duma committee on budget and taxes, is on the list; pp 1-2 (700 words).

2. Anna Akhmadiyeva report "Communications Ministry to allow to quote Hitler" says that the Communications Ministry has prepared amendments to the law on mass media and the law on countering extremist activities; pp 1, 4 (600 words).

3. Tatyana Sharapova report "Sobyanin wants to give up absentee ballots" says that acting Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin will submit a bill to the Moscow city duma to change the voting procedure in Moscow; pp 1-2 (700 words).

4. Igor Yavlyansky report "Snowden makes CIA think about secrecy" looks at the CIA's reaction to the Edward Snowden scandal; p 7 (700 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Kira Latukhina article headlined "To cancel 'merry-go-round' voting" says that acting Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin plans to table a bill to cancel loopholes in the election legislature in Moscow that facilitate vote rigging; pp 1-2 (450 words).

2. Valery Vyzhutovich article headlined "In-between state" says that the administration of the Dniester region has passed a bill on state borders and wonders if the move will result in a military confrontation between the unrecognized republic and Moldova; p 2 (800 words).

3. Alexander Yemelyankov article headlined "You can see further during white nights" looks at the IAEA conference in St. Petersburg; p 5 (750 words).

4. Alexander Gasyuk report "How to cash in on Snowden" says that bets are accepted as regards the further fate of U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden; p 8 (300 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1.Tatyana Zamakhina and Andrei Yashlavskyarticle headlined "Academicians, go to Russian Academy of Sciences, unite!" says that the government has suggested reforming the Russian Academy of Sciences into a public association; pp 1, 4 (909 words).

2. Melor Sturua article headlined "Snowden, roses and artichokes" contemplates over former CIA contractor Edward Snowden's fate and says that the U.S. is ready to use both economic and political sanctions to prevent Ecuador from granting him political asylum; p 3 (1,441 words).

3. Article headlined "Statement by the Union of Journalists of Russia" says that acts of provocation against mass media should not be grounds for altering the law. Journalists slam acts of provocation against mass media outlets, including those lawmakers; p 3 (450 words).

4. Natalya Vedeneyeva article headlined "Livanov acting as Serdyukov" compares the upcoming reform of the science aimed at stripping the Russian Academy of Sciences of the right to manage property with the reform that former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov conducted to strip the army of managerial functions by creating Rosoboronservis; p 4 (383 words).

RBC Daily

1. Alexander Litoy article headlined "City without absentees" says acting Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin would like to change an election law in the capital city and cancel absentee ballots there; p 1 (300 words).

2. Ivan Petrov article headlined "Army with face of Shoygu" says the defense minister is trying to make the army more transparent; p 2 (400 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Alexei Ovchinnikov article headlined "Army to start receiving promising weapons in 2016" says Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu and the ministry's board have discussed plans of the Defense Ministry until 2020; p 4 (400 words).

2. Alexander Grishin article headlined "Human rights kickback: 25 percent for every goof" attacks human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov accusing him of unfair financial practices; p 5 (400 words).

3. Sergei Nikiforov article headlined "Shield, not means of aggression" reports about a regiment working with Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles; p 15 (1,700 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Valery Shiryayev article headlined "Adventures of Masha Hari in Novaya Gazeta newsroom" says a number of Russian media outlets have exposed a private company engaged in acts of provocation against independent news outlets and in illegal spying; p 2 (900 words).

2. Vera Chelishcheva article headlined: "Litvinenko case: Journalists and Scotland Yard against British government and Russian Investigations Committee" describes how the Coroner's Court probes the case of the murdered ex-FSB officer, Alexander Litvinenko; pp 5-6 (1,300 words).

3. Alexander Mineyev article headlined "'Russia has parallel budget consisting of black money" says Europol is fighting against Russian money laundering in EU banks; p 7 (500 words).

Related articles:

• What the Papers Say, June 27, 2012
• What the Papers Say, June 26, 2012
• What the Papers Say, June 25, 2012