What the Papers Say, July 16, 2012

Kommersant

1. Khalil Aminov article headlined "Sergei Sobyanin Sends Parliamentarians Far Away" says Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has canceled plans made by his predecessor Yury Luzhkov to build a new parliamentary center in Moscow near the Barrikadnaya metro station. The city authorities decided to build a stadium there as part of the preparation for World Cup 2018; pp 1, 10 (558 words).

2. Natalya Bashlykova and Alexander Chernykh article headlined "Goodwill Bill" says the Public Chamber is drafting a bill on volunteers. The authorities plan to take volunteer movements under control; pp 1, 3 (739 words).

3. Svetlana Dementyeva article headlined "Deposit Limited" says the Russian Central Bank has imposed restrictions on the work of Alexander Lebedev's National Reserve Bank. It was prohibited to open deposits for individuals. Experts note that the authorities' policy toward the bank is making it lose clients; pp 1, 8 (852 words).

4. Yevgenia Pertseva article headlined "Mikhail Fridman Comes to Rescue X5" says director general of X5 Retail Group Andrei Gusev has been fired over company's poor performance; pp 1, 10 (645 words).

5. Alexei Shapovalov and Ksenia Uvarova article headlined "To Fall Not to Rise" says the Russian Economic Development Ministry claims that Russian GDP grew 4 percent in the second quarter of 2012, while the State Statistics Service, Rosstat, says growth has slowed down considerably; p 2 (589 words).

6. Petr Netreba et al. report headlined "WTO Already Improved Agriculture" says the state plans to spend 1,500 billion rubles (about $45 billion) to support the agricultural sector in 2013 — 2020; p 2 (825 words).

7. Pavel Koshelenko et al. report headlined "Competitors Being Chosen for Amur Governor" says the nomination of candidates for governor has begun in the Amur region. United Russia has nominated incumbent governor Oleg Kozhemyako for the post; p 3 (579 words).

8. Alexander Igorev article headlined "Vladimir Kolokoltsev Splits Ministry Between Deputies" says Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has distributed duties among his deputies, leaving control over communications with media to himself; p 3 (416 words).

9. Viktor Khamrayev and Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Legislative Power Maintains Executive [Nature]" reviews the results of the State Duma's spring session and notes that United Russia remains the Kremlin's lawmaking tool, while the opposition is only making noise; p 4 (1,484 words).

10. Unattributed article polls political figures and officials commenting on the work of the State Duma; p 4 (462 words).

11. Article by Viktor Khamrayev in an opinion column headlined "Price of Issue" says the current Duma is passing the laws which could have never been supported in the past. Moreover, United Russia is making career lawyers draft the laws; p 4 (384 words).

12. Makhachkala-based Yulia Rybina article headlined "Search Ends in Ambush" says seven militants have been liquidated in the course of a special operation in Dagestan; p 5 (508 words).

13. Alexander Voronov article headlined "By Individual's Will" reviews extravagant requests rich Russians make to concierge services such as Vertu Concierge; Quintessentially Group and Prime Concept; p 6 (718 words).

14. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Russia Sends Embassies to Twitter" says the Russian Foreign Ministry has got engaged in digital democracy as the ministry is working on its Facebook account and urges ambassadors to use Twitter more often; p 6 (574 words).

15. Maxim Yusin article headlined "Libyan Mistake to Be Corrected by Whole World" says the African Union is ready to begin an operation against Islamists in Mali. The West and the UN are to support the new war on the continent; p 6 (578 words).

16. Maria Yefimova article headlined "America Sticks to Islamist" says the U.S.A. has expressed support to the new Egyptian president; p 6 (396 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Naftogaz Nepotism" says during his visit to Ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin made it clear that no compromise solution could be found for the gas issue until Kiev carries out a reshuffle in the management of the Naftogaz company; pp 1, 6 (884 words).

2. Vladimir Mukhin and Vladislav Maltsev article headlined "Refuseniks in Cassocks" says the public criticized the authorities over the deferment of obligatory military service offered to Russian Orthodox Church clergymen; pp 1 — 2 (986 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Political Reforms in Duma Die Out" says the Communists left the last State Duma session in protest against United Russia's policy; pp 1, 3 (941 words).

4. Mikhail Sergeyev and Igor Naumov article headlined "Americans Find Traitors in Eurozone" says some U.S. experts believe that a number of EU member states may leave the eurozone to become more competitive due to cheaper national currencies; pp 1, 4 (573 words).

5. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Tiraspol Crossed Off Blacklist" reports on the progress in the talks on the Transdnestr republic territorial conflict held in Vienna. Both sides showed their interest to resolve the problem, the author notes; pp 1, 6 (658 words).

6. Nikolai Surkov article headlined "Secular Liberals Defeat Muslim Brotherhood" says liberal forces guided by economic interests rather than political affiliation won the presidential elections in Libya; pp 1, 6 (544 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Revolt Caused by Lack of Trust in Legal Proceedings" says ethnic conflicts in Russia result from corruption within the law enforcement agencies and notes that it is impossible to foresee or prevent new conflicts in Russia; p 2 (429 words).

8. Olga Shulga article headlined "Mikhail Fedotov to Consult With Internet" says the human rights council under the Russian president has started receiving applications from activists willing to join the council. The head of the organization Mikhail Fedotov is to choose most suitable applicants; p 2 (608 words).

9. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Hydrocarbons Cause Quarrel Between Tokyo and Beijing" says the Chinese-Japanese territorial conflict has become more tense as Chinese ships approached the disputed islands known in Japan as Senkaku and in China as Diaoyu; p 6 (542 words).

10. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Insult to Go Up in Price Following Defamation" says the State Duma is going to pass a law increasing fines for insults, after the controversial law on defamation was passed before the end of the spring season; p 7 (431 words).

Vedomosti

1. Yevgenia Pismennaya article headlined "Better Not to Save Money" says the Russian government has realized that the way to get rid of the Pension Fund deficit is to do away with the cumulative part in the pensions payment. Half of the government supports the idea and half of the Cabinet opposes it; pp 1, 3 (876 words).

2. Bela Lyauv article headlined "New Guests of Capital" says some Moscow region residents are to benefit from the enlargement of the city's territory as they will get access to new infrastructure at the expense of the city budget; pp 1, 12 (2,467 words).

3. Ksenia Boletskaya article headlined "Different Opinions Hamper Growth" looks into the problems of X5 Retail Group, which fired its director general Andrei Gusev; pp 1, 10 (723 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Now Volunteers" says the Russian authorities got scared of the ability of individuals to organize themselves and help deal with the aftermath of the devastating flood in Krymsk, as the Public Chamber has started working on a bill on volunteers allowing the authorities to control volunteers' actions; pp 1, 4 (520 words).

5. Natalya Kostenko and Yevgenia Pismennaya article headlined "Putin's Strategists" says an economic council to unite influential economic experts is being set up under the Russian president; p 2 (398 words).

6. Kirill Kharatyan article headlined "Man of Week; Pavel Krasheninnikov" slams Pavel Krasheninnikov and other United Russia deputies who drafted the scandalous bills on rallies, defamation and foreign NGOs; p 4 (288 words).

7. Bela Lyauv and Anfisa Voronina interview with Vadim Moshkovich, senator representing the Belgorod region in the Federation Council and co-owner of the Rusagro and Mashtab companies, speaking on plans to build a new government center on a plot of land belonging to him in the southwest of the Moscow region; p 5 (5,259 words).

8. Maria Zheleznova article headlined "They Refuse to Become Agents" says rights NGOs working on foreign grants refuse to get registered as foreign agents in accordance with the new Russian law and are looking for new sources of financing; p 2 (380 words).

Izvestia

1. Dmitry Runkevich and Svetlana Subbotina article headlined "Deputies to Also Make Media 'Foreign Agents'" says a number of media receiving financial support from abroad will be labeled as foreign agents; pp 1, 3 (533 words).

2. Maria Kiseleva and Anastasia Koselevskikh article headlined "Deripaska's Bazel Promises Second Pikalevo Within Month" says Oleg Deripaska's cement plant, the main employer in the town of Pikalevo in the Leningrad region, risks bankruptcy over unpaid debts to its clients; pp 1, 5 (464 words).

3. Anastasia Koselevskikh article headlined "Medvedev Urged to Sort Out U.S. Taxes" says the National Payment Council has asked Prime Minister Medvedev to work out a mechanism for Russian banks to meet the requirements of the new U.S. law against money laundering; pp 1, 3 (648 words).

4. Maria Kiseleva article headlined "Transportation Ministry Going to Give Foreign Ship Owners Access to Russian Rivers" says the Russian Transportation Ministry is going to allow foreign transportation companies to work on Russian rivers and lakes, as the domestic river fleet needs urgent revamping; pp 1, 5 (470 words).

5. Alexander Yunashev article headlined "Dinner-Like Message" says President Putin called on his old friend Viktor Medvedchuk, former head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, on his way to the airport on finishing his visit to Ukraine; p 2 (625 words).

6. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Moscow Touches One of Most Painful Spots of Er-Riyadh" says the indignation of the Saudi Arabian authorities over the Russian Foreign Ministry's statement on rights violations in the country shows the growing tensions in the two countries' relations. The Syrian problem is the main stumbling block in their relations; p 10 (536 words).

7. Igor Yavlyansky interview with Andrei Karlov, head of the consular department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, speaking on visa support to the Russian businessmen working in the Asia Pacific region; p 10 (500 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Yury Gavrilov interview with Russia's Chief Military Prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky, speaking on delays in providing servicemen with housing guaranteed by the law; pp 1, 8 (2, 150 words).

2. Yury Snegirev article headlined "Lock of Misunderstanding" says Krymsk residents still do not believe official reports saying that no water was discharged from a nearby reservoir and that the devastating flood was caused by a natural disaster; pp 1, 4 (1, 230 words).

3. Viktor Feshchenko article headlined "Who Was Shooting?" says the Syrian authorities say foreign mercenaries were found dead in Al-Tremsa, proving that the opposition was responsible for the bloodshed there; p 5 (400 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Olga Bozhyeva article headlined "Shot-Down Wings of Motherland" slams the Russian authorities for cutting financing to the legendary aerobatic teams Russkiye Vityazi (Russian Knights) and Strizhi (Swifts); pp 1- 2 (1,085 words)

2. Viktoria Prikhodko article headlined "Who Was Offended by President in Yalta?" says some Ukrainian officials were offended by President Vladimir Putin arriving late for a meeting with them and notes that Putin is always late and everyone working with him has become accustomed to it; pp 1 — 2 (742 words).

3. Article by political expert Oleg Bondarenko headlined "Putin for Export" comments on President Putin's foreign policy; p 3 (1,075 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "System Putin 3.0 Ready to Work" says Putin's administration has focused on tightening the screw on the opposition while ignoring urgent economic problems such as Pension Fund reform; p 10 (437 words).

2. Olag Musafirova article headlined "Putin Visiting Khirurg [Nickname of Biker]" slams President Vladimir Putin for keeping the Ukrainian authorities waiting for him for three hours while he was chatting with bikers; p 7 (682 words).

3. Open letter by Natalya Magnitskaya, mother of late lawyer of the Hermitage Capital fund Sergei Magnitsky, addresses the Federation Council after a group of senators prepared a report on the Magnitsky case that was made public in Washington. The woman asks the council to stop the defamation of her late son; p 6 (527 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Sergei Putilov article headlined "Military Paradox" says the Russian army is not becoming any more modern or combat-ready despite huge expenses; pp (1, 3950 words)

July 16, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC