What the Papers Say, June 5, 2013

Kommersant

1. Article attributed to the paper's political section headlined "Participant to be elected" comments on Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin's decision to take part in the mayoral election to be held in the city in September. The opposition is unable to nominate a single candidate to compete with Sobyanin; pp 1-2 (1,926 words).

2. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "'Soft power' supplied with means" says the financing of the work to improve Russia's image abroad will be increased dramatically. The Federal Agency for the Affairs of the Commonwealth of the Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo) will have a budget of 9.5 billion ($296 million) and it will turn into a Russian analogue of the USAID; pp 1, 7 (874 words).

3. Yulia Orlova et al. report headlined "Russian Railways looks for way to Greece" says the Russian Railways monopoly is willing to buy transport facilities in Greece: a seaport, a railway carrier and a repair company; pp 1, 11 (645 words).

4. Vladislav Novy and Anna Balashova article headlined "MTS gets linked up with Akado" says MTS mobile phone company is planning to buy the Akado company, one of Moscow's leader in internet and cable TV; pp 1, 13 (648 words).

5. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Do not renounce either wife or prison" says President Vladimir Putin has made it clear to the West that Russia will not supply S-300 systems to Syria unless the EU starts arming the opposition. The president also spoke on the departure of Russian economist Sergei Guriev in his news conference after the Russia-EU summit in Yekaterinburg; p 2 (970 words).

6. Unattributed article in the column "Direct speech" headlined "Who manages to catch up with Sergei Sobyanin?" features experts' and public figures' comments on Sergei Sobyanin's chances of getting elected as Moscow mayor; p 2 (492 words).

7. GrigoryTumanov article headlined "Court fails to recognize Golos" says that a court has fined one of the regional branches of the election monitoring NGO Golos which was found guilty of political activity using foreign funding without registering as a foreign agent; p 3 (422 words).

8. Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "No plan written for audits" says the Russian government has approved amendments to the law on NGOs authorizing unplanned audits of the organizations; p 3 (445 words).

9. Maxim Ivanov report "Civil initiatives to be checked for obscenity and trolling" says that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed an instruction to set up an expert working group to deal with official internet petitions that will gather 100,000 signatures; p 3 (750 words).

10. Nikolay Sergeyev article headlined "Makhachkala mayor's case singled out from killers' testimony" says that charges against Makhachkala mayor Said Amirov have been brought due to the testimony of one of the previously arrested men suspected of contract killings in the region; p 5 (1,053 words).

11. Alexei Sokovnin report "Court does not return Anna Politkovskaya murder case to prosecutors" says that the Moscow City Court has rejected most motions submitted by defense lawyers in the case of the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya; p 5 (650 words).

12. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Dmitry Medvedev values neutrality of Sweden and Finland" says that according to Medvedev, if Sweden and Finland join NATO, this will not be a positive factor for Russia; p 7 (467 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Konstantin Remchukov and Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Sobyanin's unexpected maneuver" comments on Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin's decision to step down to take part in the early mayoral election to be held in the city in September; pp 1-2 (1,716 words).

2. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Gazprom enters Ukraine via German loan" says Kiev is seeking an agreement with Moscow on the reform of its gas transportation system, as German banks are ready to make investment in the sector in Ukraine; pp 1, 7 (993 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Civil society under suspicion again" says a new bill gives law-enforcement agencies more grounds for checking activities of NGOs in Russia; pp 1-2 (616 words).

4. Anastasia Bashkatova and Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "Hike in child disability threatens economy" says the number of inborn disabilities among Russian children has risen by 150 per cent in 30 years. Around one million people are now looking after their disabled children in the country; pp 1, 4 (1,030 words).

5. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Army integration strengthened with ruble" says Russia is stepping up military cooperation with CIS states as part of the preparation for the Sochi Olympics; pp 1, 3 (767 words).

6. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "Ataturk Soldiers eager to go on air" says the political crisis in Turkey has resulted in a rift within the ruling tandem, as anti-government protests continue in the country; pp 1, 8 (667 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Beginning of green energy sector in Russia" says Russia is planning to develop alternative sources of energy in remote regions where conventional fuel supply is problematic; p 2 (461 words).

8. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Issues outside summit agenda" comments on Putin's news conference following the Russian-EU summit where he has been asked about Syria, Russian economist Sergei Guriev and gay marriages; p 3 (610 words).

9. Yuly Paniyev article headlined "Syrian opposition has claims on Moscow" says Russia, the EU and the U.S. will hold talks on the Syrian peace conference in Geneva today; p 8 (827 words).

10. Andrei Melnikov interview headlined "Sovereign democracy by grace of Allah" with Yelena Dunayeva, senior researcher of the Middle East Studies center at the Institute of Oriental Studies at the Russian Academy of Sciences, who analyses the presidential election in Iran to be held on 14 June; p 5 of the NG Religions supplement (3,200 words).

Vedomosti

1. Maria Zheleznova et al. report headlined "Sobyanin leaves for legitimacy" says Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has decided to take part in the early mayoral election in an attempt to look more legitimate in the eyes of Muscovites, as United Russia risks losing its positions in the regional election in the city in 2014; pp 1-2 (1,044 words).

2. Olga Kuvshinova et al. report headlined "Bonus from Cyprus" says the Cypriot banking crisis has brought additional 100 billion rubles to individual bank accounts of Russian banks, as many top managers received their annual bonuses in Russia; pp 1, 4 (662 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Selection of rules" says the decision to hold an early mayoral election in Moscow gives the opposition no chances as no opposition candidates are ready to compete with Sobyanin; pp 1, 6 (404 words).

4. Another editorial headlined "2013" compares the Oboronservis corruption case with the trial of former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and opposition activist Alexei Navalny and notes that the authorities are using the law the way they want; p 6 (310 words).

5. Oleg Salmanov article headlined "Figure of week: 31May" looks at reasons for anti-government protests in Turkey; p 6 (447 words).

6. Yelena Khodyakova article headlined "Gazprom speculates for fall" says Gazprom is ready to reduce prices on gas exported to Europe by 5 per cent in an attempt to take leading positions on the European energy market; p 12 (599 words).

7. Ilya Klishin report "Consensus 'for fair elections' destroyed" looks at the problem of fair elections in Russia and the role of the social media that may help restore public consensus in the country; p 7 (750 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Lyubov Protsenko article headlined "To become elected" comments on Sergei Sobyanin's resignation to stand for mayor in the early election in September. Article is followed by report featuring pundits' comment on Sobyanin's decision; pp 1, 3 (807 words).

2. Kira Latukhina report "Bridges instead of borders" looks at the Russia-EU summit in Yekaterinburg; p 2 (1,800 words).

3. Vladimir Kuzmin report "Sea without heaves" says that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has attended a meeting of the Barents Euro-Arctic Council (BEAC) in Norway; p 3 (1,200 words).

4. Yulia Krivoshapko interview with Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev speaking on the Russian banking sector, the work of the Central Bank and banks loan policy; p 4 (1,350 words).

5. Vladimir Poletayev report "Fail to block" says that the Moscow Region arbitration court has imposed administrative responsibility on the internet provider Tefo because the company has failed to block access to websites with banned content; p 7 (150 words).

6. Vladimir Bogdanov interview with Federal Drug Control Service head Viktor Ivanov speaking on drug trafficking in Russia and measures taken to stop it; p 17 (1,819 words).

7. Fedor Lukyanov article headlined "Turkish summer" analyses the situation in Turkey recently hit by mass unrest; p 8 (800 words).

Izvestia

1. Anastasia Alexeyevskikh et al. report headlined "Central Bank to mop up Dagestan's credit organizations" comments on the resignation of the head of Dagestan's branch of the Central Bank and the on-going probe into the work of the banking sector in the republic; pp 1, 4 (584 words).

2. Andrei Gridasov report "Abdulgalimov and Amirov could be jailed six years ago" looks at the case of Makhachkala mayor Said Amirov, who has been charged with the murder of an Investigations Committee employee in 2011; pp 1-2 (900 words).

3. Yelizaveta Mayetnaya article headlined "Erdogan gets absorbed in playing padishah" reports on the security situation in Istanbul where anti-government protesters clash with the police; pp 1, 7 (1,400 words).

4. Alexander Yunashev report "President promises to protect children from same-sex parents" looks at the Russia-EU summit and Putin's news conference, at which he has spoken about same-sex marriages and economist Sergei Guriev's departure from Russia; p 2 (800 words).

5. Sergei Podosenov report "Prokhorov and Mironov think about standing in mayoral election" looks at the early election of the Moscow mayor. Mikhail Prokhorov, businessman and Civil Platform leader, may stand in the election; p 3 (800 words).

6. Svetlana Povoraznyuk article headlined "Company making programs for Channel One changes structure" says that the company Krasny Kvadrat making programs for Channel One has merged with three other companies making TV content; p 8 (523 words)

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "Resignation to forestall" says the authorities have decided to carry out the early mayoral election in Moscow not to leave chances for the opposition to nominate a single candidate; pp 1, 3 (792 words).

2. Olga Bozhyeva article headlined "What Ukraine manages to do and Russia does not" comments on the Ukrainian decision to make the Armed Forces professional ones; p 1 (729 words).

3. Viktoria Prikhodko report "Putin sick and tired of same-sex marriages" looks at the Russia-EU summit and says that Putin has said he is ready to sign a bill banning adoption of Russian children by gays; p 2 (600 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Andrei Kolesnikov interview with economic expert Sergei Guriev speaking on his decision to leave Russia and on current political situation in the country; pp 2-3 (689 words).

2. Yulia Latynina article headlined "Moscow changes model of controlling Caucasus" comments on the arrest of Makhachkala mayor Said Amirov and assumes that it has shown that the Federal Security Service is trying to take Dagestan under control. The author notes that if the new approach proves to be effective, other North Caucasus republics may have a similar fate; p 3 (682 words).

3. Alexander Rubtsov article headlined "Non-profit herodias" says that the crackdown on NGOs in Russia is a bad political mistake that may lead to further politicization of ordinary people; p 9 (1,100 words).

4. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Moscow, for whom the bells toll..." comments on the upcoming early election of the Moscow mayor scheduled for September; p 2 (600 words).

RBK Daily

1. Alexandra Golubeva and Yulia Yakovleva article headlined "By popular demand" says Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has resigned in order to win the early election in September; pp 1-2 (1,300 words).

2. Sociologist Artemy Magun article headlined "Levada versus center" features comments on a new law on "NGOs as foreign agents" and urges the authorities to make certain amendments to it; p 6 (900 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Sergei Putilov article headlined "Clandestine-space power" says bootleg goods and defective equipment have become ordinary in the Russian space and missile industries; pp 1, 3 (1,300 words).

2. Anatoly Stepovoy and Yulia Savina article headlined "Expected sensation" comments on Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin's resignation and looks at the upcoming early election; pp 1-2 (400 words).

3. Valentina Shakhova and Yulia Zabavina article headlined "Far East to be held with investment projects" says the government will allocate some R500bn to Russian Far East in order to build a pipeline and roads there; p 3 (800 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Oleg Adamovich article headlined "Sergei Sobyanin asks president to hold mayoral election this year" comments on the Moscow mayor's resignation and says Sobyanin has asked Putin to hold an early mayoral election in September; pp 1, 3 (400 words).

2. Yevgeny Arsyukhin interview with Russian Natural Resources and Environment Minister Sergei Donskoy, speaking on national natural resources and on environmental problems Russia is facing; p 11 (1,400 words).

Related articles:

• What the Papers Say, June 4, 2012
• What the Papers Say, June 3, 2012
• What the Papers Say, May 31, 2012