What the Papers Say, July 10, 2012

Kommersant

1. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Water Reaches Highest Level" comments on Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with government officials dedicated to the deadly flood in the Krasnodar region and then with ambassadors and envoys at the Foreign Ministry's headquarters. The author notes that Putin criticized U.S. foreign policy and called for greater economic integration within former Soviet states and the EU; pp 1, 3 (1,665 words).

2. Oleg Kashin article headlined "Surfacing Shows" comments on the situation in the Krasnodar region dealing with the aftermath of the deadly flood; pp 1, 3 (1,150 words).

3. Maria-Luiza Tirmaste interview with business ombudsman Boris Titov speaking on his planned work and right-wing policy the Russian authorities will be urged to pursue; pp 1, 4 (2,954 words).

4. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Extraterrestrial Optimization" outlines the reform of the Russian missile and space sector drafted by the Russian Space Agency, Roskosmos; pp 1 — 2 (796 words).

5. Maxim Ivanov and Sofya Samokhina article headlined "Strictly Capital Opinion" says a public opinion poll commissioned by the Associated Press agency has shown that the number of Muscovites who do not support Putin's policy and are worried about corruption and red tape is much higher than the number of provincial residents critical of the authorities; p 2 (556 words).

6. Alexander Chernykh and Anna Perova article headlined "Extremely Unprepared Situation" gives an update on the investigation into the death toll following the flood in the Krasnodar region. The absence of an effective system to inform people about natural disasters is to blame; p 3 (518 words).

7. Natalya Korchenkova and Sergei Goryashko article headlined "Opposition Preparing Alexander Tkachyov's resignation" says the Just Russia faction in the State Duma is going to demand the resignation of Krasnodar region Governor Alexander Tkachyov, they are to be supported by the Communists. The Kremlin said the governor's resignation has not been considered so far; p 3 (595 words).

8. Pavel Taraseko and Maria Yefimova article headlined "Syria Carries Out Plan on Meetings" says Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is to meet with the Syrian opposition who will try to persuade Moscow to support a UN resolution against Bashar Assad; p 6 (539 words).

9. Sergei Strokan article headlined "America Does Without Helmsman at Sea" says large international navy exercise PIMPAC will be held in the Pacific with Russia's participation, but without China not invited by the organizers, the U.S.A.; p 6 (627 words).

10. Vladislav Kagan article headlined "Alexander Lukashenko Has Nothing to Talk About With EU" says Minsk has withdrawn from the joint Belarus-EU program, Dialogue in the Name of Modernization. Experts believe Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko is breaking off ties with Europe as he expects more support from Moscow; p 6 (497 words).

11. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Iran to Wait Until Sanctions Collapse" says Tehran has informed the group of international mediators about its terms for winding up the nuclear program. Iran wants sanctions to be lifted before talks on the program begin; p 6 (643 words).

12. Khalil Aminov and Alexander Panchenko article headlined "Vladivostok Works Out Well" comments on the work being done in Vladivostok to prepare the city for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be held in September; p 9 (1,965 words).

13. Khalil Aminov interview with Crocus Group owner Aras Agalarov speaking on his role in the construction of the APEC facilities in Vladivostok; p 9 (563 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Yury Paniyev article headlined "Vladimir Putin's Soft Power" comments on President Putin's meeting with diplomats where he urged them to do their best to influence the situations in which Russia's national interests are at stake; pp 1, 6 (1,190 words).

2. Alexandra Samarina and Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Non-natural disaster" says Krasnodar Governor Alexander Tkachyov has suspended the head of the Krymsky district most affected by the deadly flood. Experts believe the absence of a system to prevent floods and inform people is to blame for the flood's high death toll; pp 1, 3 (1,251 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Autumn Worries of Ruling Party" says United Russia is stepping up work to pass tougher legislation on every problematic issue such as NGOs and libel; pp 1, 3 (835 words).

4. Sergei Kulikov and Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "Government Gets Extreme Powers" reviews the anti-crisis measures the Russian government plans to adopt; pp 1, 4 (485 words).

5. Igor Naumov article headlined "Gender Pension Problem" comments on the pension reform currently developed by the authorities. The government plans to take into account only the length of service rather than the amount of pension savings made by people; pp 1, 4 (662 words).

6. Vladivostok-based Tatyana Dvoinova article headlined "Roosevelt Scheme Does Not Suit Maritime Territory" says the authorities who pledged to open the bridge across the Zolotoi Rog bay in Vladivostok for pedestrians have once again deceived people; pp 1 — 2 (702 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Russian Government's New Language" analyzes ambiguous phrases used by Russian senior officials to avoid speaking about budget cuts and other plans unpleasant for the electorate; p 2 (513 words).

8. Nikolai Mironov article headlined "Demand Lags Behind Supply" comments on the trend of falling global oil prices; p 3 (701 words).

9. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Court Opens Way to WTO" says Russia's Constitutional Court has passed a ruling proving the legality of the country's accession to the WTO; p 4 (628 words).

10. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "New Crisis Brewing in Egypt" says the new Egyptian president has decided to convene the parliament disbanded a month ago. The Egyptian military is expected to oppose the move; p 6 (497 words).

Vedomosti

1. Natalya Kostenko et al. report headlined "Return to Prokhorov" says the law-enforcement agencies have started checking the legality of the Right Cause party returning the donations made by Mikhail Prokhorov's friends. Experts believe the police have started collecting compromising material against the billionaire; p 1 (615 words).

2. Ksenia Dokukina article headlined "Get Tangled in Nets" says private energy company NESK affected by the recent flood in the Krasnodar region has got involved in a financial scandal. The new management of the company is trying to contend for a 5.7 billion rubles ($173 million) deal to buy new equipment the previous owners of the company made; pp 1, 8 (832 words).

3. Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "Central Bank Speculates for the Fall" says the ruble rate in June was falling the same way as during the crisis devaluation in 2008 — 2009; p 1 (392 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Our Past Today" comments on Stalin's legacy for Russian society and notes that people should revise their past in order to develop mechanisms of protecting human rights; pp 1, 4 (517 words).

5. Alexei Levinson article headlined "Our We: Old Expectations, New Demands" reviews the results of a recent public opinion poll showing that Russians now have higher expectations toward Putin's policy; p 4 (411 words).

6. Another editorial headlined "Main Philanthropists" welcomes the large number of volunteers ready to help people affected by the deadly flood in the Krasnodar regions and notes that the authorities are usually suspicious about the activists working for no financial reward; p 4 (297 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Pavlovskaya article headlined "Arguments Continue" comments on the situation in the regions affected by the flood, saying half of residents of the town of Krymsk suffered from the flood; pp 1, 7 (1,315 words).

2. Tatyana Shadrina article headlined "High Strips" looks into the problem of the development of regional airports in Russia; pp 1 — 2 (527 words).

3. Kira Latukhina article headlined "About Soft Power" says President Putin has urged diplomats to use new technologies to improve Russia's image abroad; p 2 (800 words).

4. Leonid Radzilhovskiy article headlined "Flood" tries to justify Krasnodar Governor Tkachyov "enjoying support of the electorate" for his statement that the local authorities could not reach everybody to warn about the flood; p 3 (726 words).

5. Maxim Makarychev article headlined "PR Prisoner" looks into prospects for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange seeking asylum at Ecuador's London Embassy to fulfill his task; p 5 (782 words).

6. Viktor Feshchenko article headlined "Mursi Declares His Will" says the new Egyptian president has launched an attack on the country's military by his decision to convene the parliament disbanded a month ago; p 8 (528 words).

Izvestia

1. Pyer Sidibe and Natalaya Galimova article headlined "Officials' Move Outside Moscow Ring Road Frozen" says President Putin is to chair a special meeting of government officials and deputies unwilling to leave the center of Moscow to work in a new government center to be built in the Moscow region; pp 1 — 2 (649 words).

2. Pyer Sidibe article headlined "Governors to Be Evaluated in Accordance With People's Opinion" says new criteria for the evaluation of the effectiveness of governors' work are being drafted by the government; pp 1- 2 (489 words).

3. Denis Telmanov article headlined "Vityazi Fail to Go to Farnborough due to Officials" says the Russian aerobatic team, Russkiye Vityazi, has failed to take part in the Farnborough International Airshow as the government did not issue the relevant permission allowing them to fly jets abroad; pp 1, 4 (462 words).

4. Viktor Toporov article headlined "In Accordance With Fait Accompli" slams Krasnodar region authorities for their failure to prevent the high death toll during the flood and criticizes the Kremlin for its ill-thought-out regional policy; pp 1, 10 (1,067 words).

5. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "First Train for NATO Sent via Russia" comments on the beginning of NATO cargo transit via the Russian territory; p 5 (458 words).

6. Maria Zhebit interview with Tatyana Valovaya, minister for integration and macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Commission, speaking on the economic integration of former Soviet states; p 5 (1,856 words).

7. Maria Zhebit interview with former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov speaking on his agricultural projects, namely sheep breeding and bee keeping; p 9 (409 words).

8. Article by political scientist Boris Mezhuyev headlined "Navalny and Punchinello" portrays opposition activist Alexei Navalny as a pragmatic businessman looking for ways of making money and gaining political fame and predicts that he will turn from the opposition leader into a second-rank activist after his e-mail correspondence was made public; p 10 (954 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Svetlana Samodelova and Ksenia Konyukhova article headlined "How Krymsk Got Flooded" says local authorities failed to clear the sewage system and reinforce river banks, which is why the Krymsk flood was so devastating; pp 1- 2 (2,492 words).

2. Svetlana Samodelova article headlined "Checked Out: No Water Discharge Made" says the inspection of the water reservoir near the town of Krymsk from a helicopter has shown that the dam was neither damaged nor water discharged; pp 1 — 2 (957 words).

3. Yulia Kalinina article headlined "Victims of Fires, Floods, Poisoning" slams the Russian authorities for their failure to prevent human casualties during natural disasters; p 1 (426 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Mikhail Bely and Alina Tolmacheva article headlined "Non-atmospheric processes" says meteorologists may be sued over wrong weather forecasts as a result of the deadly flood in the Krasnodar region; pp 1, 5 (1,053 words).

2. Sergei Putilov article headlined "Yawning Heights of Farnborough" says Russia brought last year's exhibits and clones of Western equipment to the Farnborough International Airshow. The Russian delegation is not expected to enjoy success as its exhibits either break down or are associated with the Syrian rule; p 3 (600 words).

3. Nadezhda Krasilova interview with economic expert Yevgeny Gontmakher speaking on Russia's failures to improve relations with the U.S.A. and the EU and on Russia's policy toward its neighbors; p 3 (1,264 words).

Tvoi Den

1. Compilation of articles headlined "Investigation Into Kuban Disaster" provides factual details of the deadly flood in the Krasnodar region as well as opinion columns and measures taken to deal with the aftermath; pp 1 — 7 (2, 700 words).

July 10, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC