What the Papers Say, July 2, 2012

Kommersant

1. Irina Granik and Irina Nagornykh article headlined "Electronic Democracy Taken Under Control" says President Putin has set up a new directorate within his administration in charge of IT and the development of so-called "electronic democracy," a Web-based resource for people's feedback on the work of the government and the president. Former Communications and Press Minister and Putin's present aide Igor Shchyogolev is expected to head the directorate; pp 1, 3 (881 words).

2. Natalya Bashlykova et al. report headlined "To Step Down in Order to Get Elected" says a number of regional heads including Moscow region Governor Sergei Shoigu have expressed readiness to take part in early gubernatorial elections to test people's support for the authorities. Experts believe early elections are beneficial for incumbent governors having no rivals among the opposition; pp 1 — 2 (1,131 words).

3. Maxim Varyvdin and Sergei Dyupin interview with Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika about additional powers his office wants to get, on some high-profile cases and on the list of so-called "political prisoners"; pp 1, 4 (2,826 words).

4. Kirill Melnikov et al. report headlined "Nord Stream Diverted From BP" says Russian partners within the TNK-BP joint venture have once again disrupted BP plans to start cooperating with another Russian energy giant. BP wanted to take part in the construction of another branch of the Nord Stream gas pipeline together with Gazprom; pp 1, 9 (885 words).

5. Natalya Korchenkova article headlined "If You Do Not Come, Some Swindlers From St. Petersburg Will Come Again" says incumbent Novgorod Governor Sergei Mitin has won United Russia primaries ahead of gubernatorial elections in the region; p 2 (755 words).

6. Pavel Koshelenko et al. report headlined "United Russia Votes for Appointed Ones" says incumbent governors are winning United Russia primaries in the Amur, Belgorod and Bryansk regions; p 2 (441 words).

7. Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "Communists Want to Become Younger" says the Communist Party meeting held in the Moscow region has set the task of doubling the number of party members by attracting more young supporters; p 3 (657 words).

8. Alexander Chernykh and Grigory Tumanov article headlined "Orthodox Believers Pray for New Law" comments on a mass prayer of Russian Orthodox Church believers in Moscow asking the authorities to pass a federal law banning homosexuality propaganda among the underage; p 5 (427 words).

9. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Supreme Court Provides Barack Obama With Additional Insurance" says the U.S. Supreme Court ruling backing the health-care system reform launched by President Obama is likely to help him in the election campaign. Obama's rating has already grown; p 6 (613 words).

10. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Document With Russian Stamp Handed Out to Syria" says several Russian amendments have been made to the international plan for Syria at an international conference in Geneva; p 6 (725 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Russia — Gazprom's Feeder" says the Russian authorities have raised domestic prices on gas up to 100 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters which is five times more expensive than the gas cost price and 200 percent higher than the wholesale gas price in the U.S.A.; pp 1 — 2 (859 words).

2. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Democracy of Besieged Fortress" reviews recently passed laws against protest activity and notes that the State Duma is drafting a bill authorizing police to check on the personal belongings of train and bus passengers in Russia; pp 1, 3 (794 words).

3. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Collective Defense Dies Before It Is Born" says Uzbekistan's withdrawal from the CSTO has become a severe blow to Russia's positions in Central Asia; pp 1 — 2 (926 words).

4. Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "Oil Companies Collecting Tribute at Domestic Market" says that while oil prices went down 26 percent worldwide, the petrol price grew 2 percent in Russia, making the country an exception to the global trend; pp 1, 4 (666 words).

5. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Political Strategists From Bolotnaya Ploshchad May Move to Ukraine" says the Ukrainian opposition who failed to free ex-PM Yulia Tymoshenko are planning to disrupt parliamentary elections scheduled for fall; pp 1, 6 (916 words).

6. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined"Family of Future Chinese Leader Owns a Million Assets" says the information on the wealth of Xi Jinping's relatives leaked to the press has damaged the image of the would-be Chinese leader; pp 1, 6 (565 words).

7. Editorial headlined "How Much Gas Does Russia Need?" reviews Gazprom's expansion on the Russian domestic market and says the hike in gas tariffs will give rise to more protests of people displeased with Putin's policies; p 2 (516 words).

8. Olga Shulga article headlined "6 May Committee Against 'Bolotnaya Case'" says the Russian opposition are setting up a so-called 6 May Committee to help activists prosecuted after a May opposition protest; p 3 (563 words).

9. Savely Vezhin article headlined "Real Sponsors of NGOs to Be Made to Come Out of Shadow" comments on the controversial bill by United Russia aimed at restricting rights and work of international NGOs in the country, p 3 (667 words).

10. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Human Rights Council to Be Formed in New Way Nevertheless" says sources in the Kremlin say that the human rights council under the president will be formed according to new principles despite the recent demarche of a number of activists leaving the organization; p 3 (596 words).

11. Dmitry Orlov article headlined "100 Leading Russian Politicians in June 2012" says Vladimir Putin remains the most powerful politician in Russia, he is followed by Dmitry Medvedev; p 5 (2,091 words).

12. Nikolai Surkov article headlined "Ambiguous Agreements in Geneva" says Moscow and Washington have come to agreement over the situation in Syria but not over the future of Bashar Assad. The disagreement may prevent the new plan for Syria from being implemented; p 6 (523 words).

13. Yury Paniyev article headlined "Weight of the Past and Missile Defense Prevent Moscow and NATO From Developing Relations" analyzes problems in Russia-NATO relations; p 9 (541 words).

14. Viktor Litovkin article entitled "CSTO Is Revolving Door for Tashkent" comments on why Uzbekistan is suspending its membership in the CSTO again; p 3 (550 words).

Vedomosti

1. Dmitry Kazmin et al. report headlined "3 Years in Reserve" says the government program on the rearmament of the armed forces until 2020 could be postponed. The government is worried about a new wave of crisis and the inability of the domestic industry to fulfill the increased number of orders; p 1 (587 words).

2. Irina Mokrousova article headlined "How Much Is Innovation Costing People?" says the Russian authorities are allocating 85 billion rubles ($2.5 billion) for the financing of the Skolkovo project until 2014. The author looks at the ways the money is to be spent; pp 1, 12 (2,800 words).

3. Tatyana Voronova article headlined "Kim Says Farewell to Companies Leaving Russia" says businessman Igor Kim is going to buy the Russian affiliate of the WestLB German bank, which plans to wind up its business activity in Russia; p 1 (455 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Agent Policy" stands up for foreign NGOs working in Russia that help develop civil society; pp 1, 4 (516 words).

5. Editorial headlined "Citizen Bankrupt" reviews the bill on personal bankruptcy to be passed in Russia and says the new bill may help people cope with their debts; p 4 (316 words).

6. Polina Khimiashvili article headlined "Step Toward Dismissal of Assad" says the international conference on Syria has worked out a plan for the transfer of power in the country; p 2 (342 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Aleksandr Mikhailov and Tamara Shkel article headlined "Everything Like in America" comments on the controversial bill on foreign NGOs working in Russia drafted by United Russia; pp 1, 3 (1,000 words).

2. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Assad Receives Writ" says Russia and the West have managed to find a compromise on Syria at the international conference in Geneva; pp 1, 5 (650 words).

Izvestia

1. Dmitry Yevstifeyev article headlined "Police to Be Checked by Polygraph One and All" says the Interior Ministry plans to make all candidates willing to work in the police undergo lie detector checkups; pp 1, 5 (561 words).

2. Yegor Sozayev-Guryev article headlined "Government Planes to Get New Protection From Missiles" says the Russian government and presidential aircraft will be equipped with missile defense systems; pp 1, 5 (420 words).

3. Anastasia Novikova article headlined "Public Chamber to Make Bill on NGOs Undergo Expert Examination" says the Public Chamber has criticized United Russia's bill labeling all foreign NGOs working in Russia foreign agents; p 2 (432 words).

4. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Diplomats Give Syria Last Chance" says it is still unclear how the international community will make the sides in the Syrian conflict stop bloodshed after a new peace plan for Syria was passed; p 10 (634 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Yelena Yegorova article headlined "First Problems of New Moscow" outlines problems Moscow is facing despite the enlargement of its territory; pp 1, 3 (571 words).

2. Andrei Yashlavsky article headlined "Syria Strives for Violence" says the international conference on Syria in Geneva is incapable of stopping bloodshed in Syria; p 2 (454 words).

3. Lidia Sycheva article headlined "Gap Between 'Elite' and 'Cattle'" says the Russian opposition lacks moral values and that is why their fight for power looks like another attempt by oligarchs to take over power in the country; p 3 (1,138 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Pavel Felgengauer article headlined "Union of Elderly Dictators Left Without Karimov" says the post-Soviet space, which Vladimir Putin was dreaming of uniting, is falling apart as Uzbekistan has quit the CSTO; p 5 (636 words).

2. Irek Murtazin article headlined "Why is Roizman Dangerous for the Authorities?" analyzes reasons for the pressure over Yevgeny Roizman and his anti-drug fund and notes that the authorities cannot stand him turning into a political figure. Roizman speaks on his work and the growing conflict with the authorities; pp 1 — 2 (2,059 words).

July 2, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC