What the Papers Say, Mar. 11, 2013

Kommersant

1. Yelizaveta Kuznetsova article headlined "Domodedovo left on its own" says that the Transport Ministry plans to increase the Domodedovo airport's annual passenger traffic to 56m people thanks to the modernization of the airport's infrastructure, but not to the construction of a third airstrip; pp 1, 11 (637 words).

2. Kirill Melnikov article headlined "Sectors of investment" details the Russian oil company Rosneft's plans to take over TNK-BP; pp 1, 11 (929 words).

3. Sergei Mashkin and Nikolai Sergeyev article headlined "Anatoly Serdyukov comes for questioning as brother-in-law" says that criminal proceedings have been instituted over fraud by Defense Ministry officials. As a result a large plot of land in Krasnodar Territory turned to be at the disposal of Valery Puzikov, former defense minister's brother-in-law; pp 1, 5 (728 words).

4. Anna Pushkarskaya article headlined "Businessmen having previous convictions lay claims for term" says that businessmen, who have their previous convictions expunged or cancelled, have filed complaints to the Constitutional Court, seeking the cancellation of a bill banning former convicts from running for posts at both federal and regional levels; pp 1-2 (638 words).

5. Irina Nagornykh article headlined "People's Front copes with only half of polling stations" says that the All-Russia People's Front has called on public organizations that joined it to enter district electoral commissions, which will organize the parliamentary and the presidential elections, as "independent arbiters"; p 2 (588 words).

6. Maksim Ivanov and Sergey Nikolayev article headlined "Oleg Mikheyev has backlog of business" says that State Duma deputy from the A Just Russia party, Oleg Mikheyev, will be questioned on 12 March as part of the probe into several criminal cases opened against him. It is not ruled out that Mikheyev will step down as the leader of the Volgograd Region branch of the party; p 2 (721 words).

7. Natalya Korchenkova et al. article headlined "Boris Shpigel manifests himself in fight against Nazism" says that one more well-to-do Federation Council senator, Boris Shpigel, has decided to resign. He has recently been elected president of the World Without Nazism organization; p 2 (560 words).

8. Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "NGOs to be involved in 'patriotic education'" says that the government has suggested amending the law about NGOs so that "patriotic education" becomes one of the characteristic features of socially-oriented NGOs. Human rights activists believe this will split society; p 3 (604 words).

9. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Pavel Astakhov separates Texas from USA" says the Russian authorities have accused the US Department of State of trying to conceal the circumstances of the death of Maksim Kuzmin, a three-year-old Russian boy, adopted by a US family; p 3 (417 words).

10. Alexander Chernykh article headlined "Prosecutor-General's Office looks for donors" says that the Prosecutor-General's Office has launched a large-scale check on Russian NGOs as regards the source of their financing. Human rights activists say that this is the first step to compile a list of "foreign agents" among NGOs; p 3 (497 words).

11. Alexander Zheglov article headlined "Gazprom's shares owned by Hermitage fund head counted" says that William Browder, head of the Hermitage Capital investment fund, has been charged in absentia with the illegal acquisition of Russian gas giant Gazprom's shares; p 4 (415 words).

12. Yulia Rybina article headlined "Killer gets even with judge for his prison term" says that a federal judge has been killed in Dagestan. Three suspects in the murder have been identified; p 4 (411 words).

13. Dmitry Butrin article headlined "Surprise to be hired to rule Central Bank" says that President Vladimir Putin has decided on the candidacy of the future head of the Bank of Russia, but refused to tell his name; p 6 (680 words).

14. Sergey Strokan article headlined "Egyptians give president runaround" says that new riots have broken out in Egypt following a court decision to uphold the death sentence on football fans, found guilty of riots in Port Said in February 2012; p 7 (555 words).

15. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Russia finds meaning for BRICS" says that Russia sees the BRICS as an alternative center of influence in the world instead of the West, which is losing its positions; p 8 (730 words).

16. Georgiy Dvali and Aleksandr Reutov article headlined "Georgia banned from diplomatic relations with Russia" says that the Georgian parliament has unanimously approved a resolution on country's foreign policy, which aims at the integration with NATO and the EU and virtually rules out the restoration of diplomatic relations with Russia; p 8 (688 words).

17. Article by Aleksandr Karavayev published in the opinion column headlined "Price of issue" comments on Russia-Georgia relations; p 8 (333 words).

18. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Falklands vote for old thing" says that a two-day referendum on the status of the Falkland Islands disputed by Argentina and the UK will end today. Most islanders are said to have backed their belonging to the UK; p 8 (530 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Ice cream and ham permitted to be presented to officials" says that the Russian government is preparing a decree as part of the law on counteracting corruption, in place in Russia since 2008, which will clarify what presents officials are permitted to accept; pp 1-2 (500 words).

2. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Electoral commissions filled up with funds" says that the forming of territorial and district electoral commissions is coming to an end in Russia; pp 1, 3 (550 words).

3. Sergey Kulikov article headlined "Population confused with norms of consumption" says that housing utilities bills continue rising despite Putin's instruction to keep tariffs at the level of 6 per cent; pp 1, 4 (700 words).

4. Anastasiya Bashkatova article headlined "Finance Ministry runs away from rouble like devil from holy water" says that the Finance Ministry does not trust the rouble and converts all earnings of the Reserve Fund into foreign currencies; pp 1, 4 (750 words).

5. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Internal Troops to divide conscripts into two parts" says that the Russian leadership has decided to significantly decrease the number of conscripts and increase the number of contract soldiers in the Interior Ministry's Internal Troops; pp 1, 6 (600 words).

6. Editorial headlined "Barack Obama renews cabinet" says that the forming of US President Barack Obama's so-called "national security team" has been completed; p 2 (500 words).

7. Yury Korolchuk article headlined "Gas drawn game" says that Russia-Ukraine gas talks have reached a stalemate; p 3 (650 words).

8. Alexandra Samarina and Ivan Rodin article headlined "Mine being prepared for opposition" says that the opposition intends to challenge the presidential bill on a new mechanism to elect State Duma deputies, which bans people who have had previous convictions from standing in elections; p 3 (780 words).

9. Igor Naumov article headlined "President draws line under list of candidates" says that Putin seems to have chosen the next head of Central Bank, but he is not going to share this information now; p 4 (850 words).

10. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Pyongyang to speed up nuclear race" says that Russia and China have opposed the economic suffocation of North Korea and suggested restoring negations on its nuclear problem; p 8 (400 words).

11. Andrey Cherkasenko article headlined "Man at nuclear power plant" contemplates prospects for the development of the nuclear sector given the two-year anniversary of the accident at the Japanese nuclear power plant as a result of an earthquake and a tsunami; p 8 (620 words).

12. Yuriy Paniyev article headlined "Chavez's heritage at stake" says that the early presidential election will be held in Venezuela on 14 April; p 8 (800 words).

Vedomosti

1. Bela Lyauv article headlined "Import metro for R400bn" says that the Moscow underground will hold a tender on the delivery and 30-year-long maintenance of metro cars; pp 1, 5 (610 words).

2. Dmitriy Kazmin and Maksim Tovkaylo article headlined "CD or DVD disks to Kremlin" says that Putin does not trust reports made by auditors and state representatives in state-run companies; p 1 (353 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Economy of orphanage" comments on the situation of orphans in Russia; pp 1, 6 (489 words).

4. Anastasiya Kornya article headlined "Ballot-stuffing not for show" says that the Central Electoral Commission has denied access to videos recorded at polling stations in the Moscow Region town of Dolgoprudnyy during the 2012 presidential election for a local resident; p 2 (512 words).

5. Timofey Dzyadko article headlined "Han takes away team" says five supreme managers including acting director German Han will leave TNK-BP after it is bought by Rosneft; p 10 (500 words).

6. Unattributed article headlined "Term for enemy of Ananyev brothers" says that three criminal cases have been opened against A Just Russia MP Oleg Mikheyev; p 3 (552 words).

7. Unattributed article headlined "Inadmissible complaisance" says that the Federal Antimonopoly Service has initiated proceedings against the Skartel communications company over hampering the Rostelekom communications company's access to the LTE network; p 11 (641 words).

8. Article by Vladimir Yakunin, the president of the company Russian Railways, headlined "Infrastructure and development: Russia needs infrastructure projects", criticizes an article by Vladislav Inozemtsev, published in the newspaper Vedomosti on 29 November 2012, in which he cast doubts on the need to develop railway infrastructure on Russia's east; p 6 (1,092 words).

9. Unattributed article headlined "Bilalov flies wrongly" says that the Prosecutor-General's Office has found violations in the head of the company resorts of the North Caucasus, Akhmed Bilalov's expenditures on foreign trips; p 2 (509 words).

9. Unattributed interview with Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin, headlined "'All this is done for motorists'", who speaks about investment projects in the city to be presented at the international property exhibition MIPIM; p 8 (4,978 words).

Izvestia

1. German Petelin article headlined "Oboronservis' subsidiary owes over R10bn" says that the maintenance and repair department, the sole heat energy supplier of the Defence Ministry, has appealed against a R150m-worth debt to the Transnefteprodukt company. The department admitted that its entire debt to creditors exceeds R10bn (some 322.58m dollars at the current exchange rate); pp 1, 4 (817 words).

2. Anastasiya Kashevarova and Svetlana Subbotina article headlined "Nabiullina aspires to post of Central Bank head" says that President Putin is to announce the candidacy of the new head of Central Bank by the end of March. The former Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina is believed to be the most probable candidate for the post; pp 1, 3 (541 words).

3. Tatyana Shirmanova article headlined "Criminal article for bankers to be introduced by year end" says that a plan to set up an international financial centre in Russia envisages introducing by the end of 2013 criminal responsibility for bankers for submitting forged reports; pp 1, 4 (750 words).

4. Dmitriy Yevstifeyev et al. article headlined "Bilalov receives treatment from investigators in Germany" says that the former head of the company Resorts of the North Caucasus, Akhmed Bilalov, has left Russia for receiving medical treatment in Germany. Experts think that the move is linked to the Prosecutor-General's Office's interest in the activity of the company's leadership; pp 1, 4 (793 words).

5. Anastasiya Kashevarova article headlined "Leader of Kirov Region branch of One Russia may replace Zhurova" says that the secretary of the Kirov Region branch of the One Russia party, Vasiliy Surayev, is believed to be the most probable candidate for the post of a Federation Council senator instead of Svetlana Zhurova who has become a State Duma deputy; p 2 (435 words).

6. Mikhail Rubin interview with A Just Russia MP Dmitriy Gudkov, headlined "'US politicians will assist me in searching for our officials' property'", who speaks about his recent trip to the USA, where he collected information about Russian officials' property, and promised new exposures of officials; p 3 (813 words).

7. Yekaterina Kvon and Vladimir Barinov article headlined "Federal Security Service reveals fraud with anti-spy telephones in Interior Ministry" says that a corruption scandal over the purchase of telephones that cannot be tapped is brewing up in the Interior Ministry; p 5 (616 words).

8. Nadezhda Gladchenko and Dmitriy Yevstifeyev article headlined "Bolshoi Theatre's soloist testifies against Sergey Filin at questioning" details the conflict between Bolshoi Theatre's ballet director Sergey Filin, the victim of the acid attack, and soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko, who masterminded the attack; p 5 (550 words).

9. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Nicolas Maduro on Chavez's post advantageous to Russia" looks at the main successors of the late Venezuelan leader. The early presidential election is set for 14 April; p 7 (624 words).

10. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Lack of contacts between leaders of two Koreas fraught with military incident" says that the situation on the Korean Peninsula has aggravated. Pyongyang denounced all the non-belligerency agreements with Seoul; p 7 (608 words).

11. Mariya Kiseleva article headlined "Russia wants to enter US market of military traffic" says that Russia wants to become part of the US Civil Reserve Air Fleet to support the US Department of Defense airlift requirements in emergencies when the need for airlift exceeds the capability of military aircraft; p 8 (622 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Vladimir Snegirev and Viktor Feshchenko article headlined "Body and business of Chavez" described the ceremony to pay tribute to the late Venezuelan leader; pp 1, 8 (1,380 words).

2. Irina Nevinnaya article headlined "Much a little pension" looks at yet another pension initiative drafted by the Labour Ministry; pp 1, 9 (1,390 words).

3. Tamara Shkel article headlined "Suitcases.net" says that the State Duma commission for control over deputies' income and property declarations has studied the cases of One Russia member Andrey Isayev and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia member Igor Ananskikh; p 2 (636 words).

4. Vladimir Bogdanov interview with Federal Drug Control Service head Viktor Ivanov, headlined "Healthy against will", who speaks about the fight against drug abuse in Russia; p 6 (2,126 words).

5. Niva Mirakyan article headlined "Waiting for white smoke" says that the conclave to elect the new Pope will be held on 12 March; p 8 (514 words).

6. Tatyana Zykova and Anna Fedyakina article headlined "They find common language" looks at the Russian-Japanese forum in Tokyo; p 13 (1,251 words).

7. Anna Fedyakina interview with Russian ambassador to Japan Yevgeniy Afanasyev, headlined "Points of contact", who speaks about Russia-Japan economic cooperation; p 13 (1,398 words).

8. Vasiliy Aleksandrov interview with Russian trade representative in Japan, Sergey Yegorov, headlined "Engine of commerce", who speaks about Russia-Japan trade relations; p 13 (927 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Zhanna Golubitskaya article headlined "State University of Management head got caught on toilet paper fraud?" says that the head of Moscow's State University of Management, Viktor Kozbanenko, has been arrested on suspicion of bribe-taking; pp 1, 7 (1,082 words).

2. Konstantin Smirnov article headlined "Housing utilities secret: how six per cent of Putin turn into 12 per cent of Medvedev" says that the Russian government has not followed President Putin's instruction to restrict the rise in housing utilities bill by 6 per cent and increased the limit to 12 per cent; pp 1, 3 (608 words).

3. Mikhail Rostovskiy article headlined "Writer Shishkin's case or poverty of beautiful gestures" comments on prominent Russian writer Mikhail Shishkin's refusal to join the official Russian delegation to a book fair in New York in protest against the "evil deeds by Putin's regime"; pp 1-2 (992 words).

4. Andrey Yashlavskiy article headlined "Will Chavez win after death?" says that acting Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro is the frontrunner in the forthcoming presidential election on 14 April. Meanwhile, Hugo Chavez will likely be embalmed and exposed to the public; pp 1, 5 (440 words).

5. Anonymous interview by the newspaper's cultural section, headlined "No-one trusts Dmitrichenko's confession", with a Bolshoi Theatre's dancer, who speaks about a secret meeting held by the theatre's staff to discuss the solving of the acid attack on the theatre's ballet director; pp 1-2 (1,579 words).

6. Anton Barbashin article headlined "Why we need to reconcile with America" contemplates Russia's relations with the USA and China; p 3 (1,148 words).

7. Aleksey Korenovskiy article headlined "Criminal parties" looks at Russian MPs who have had criminal records; p 3 (453 words).

8. Ignat Kalinin article headlined "Shoygu increases springboard in South East Asia" zooms in at Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu's visit to Burma and Vietnam last week; p 3 (1,081 words).

9. Andrey Malgin interview with the former husband of the coordinator of the Russian Mothers movement, Irina Bergset, headlined "Irina Bergset's former husband reveals secrets of main Russian Mother", who speaks about his marriage with the woman; p 6 (1,842 words).


Novaya Gazeta

1. Yulia Latynina article headlined "People on lease. Cheaply" comments on the fact that people were paid for participating in the 2 March rally in Moscow in defense of Russian orphans and looks at the organizer of the rally, Irina Bergset; pp 1, 3 (1,157 words).

2. Irek Murtazin article headlined "Release on parole likes silence" says that an information campaign being waged by relatives and supporters of the convicted Pussy Riot punk band members has diminished the chance of their release on parole; p 8 (791 words).

3. Sergey Kanev article headlined "Without name, without count" provides the Interior Ministry's child mortality statistics in Russia over the past 15 years; p 2 (1,322 words).

4. Natalya Zimyanina article headlined "Dirty linen from big columned house" looks at numerous scandals at the Bolshoi Theatre; p 6 (972 words).

5. Ilya Milshteyn article headlined "Armed and very doltish" looks at North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who has threatened the USA with a missile attack; p 5 (740 words).

6. Boris Vishnevskiy article headlined "Adjusting rules for desired result" looks at advantages and disadvantages of the presidential bill on a new mechanism to elect State Duma deputies; p 7 (801 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Vladimir Zibrov article headlined "Dirty cardinal may become next Pope" says Vatican won't prevent those suspected in protecting paedophile priests from participating in a Papal conclave; p 3 (400 words).

Moskovskiye Novosti

1. Interview with pundit Aleksey Chesnakov headlined "Putin, Lorenzo and released snake" focuses on prospects of the Russian political process; pp B2-B5 (2,900 words).

2. Georgiy Bovt article headlined "Comandante's 'chemistry'" says that Venezuela's prosperity under strong authoritarian leader Hugo Chavez has been a myth; pp B6-B8 (1,700 words).

Novyye Izvestia

1. Gennadiy Savchenko article headlined "After Chavez" says the outcome of the presidential vote in Venezuela may affect Russian-Venezuelan joint projects; p 2 (400 words).

Mar. 11, 2013/BBC Monitoring/©BBC