What the Papers Say, July 23, 2012

Kommersant

1. Grigory Tumanov and Tatyana Serbina article headlined "Floods' Consequences" comments on the detention of the Krymsk town and district heads as part of a criminal investigation into the floods, the officials are accused of criminal negligence; pp 1, 3 (940 words).

2. Yelizaveta Surnacheva article headlined "To Upper Chamber by Means of Experiment" says United Russia used the scheme tested during Valentina Matviyenko's election for senior member of the party Alexei Chesnakov being elected to the town Duma in Kasimov, Ryazan region, to be further nominated for the post of Federation Council senator. The opposition reported on ballot-stuffing during the voting; pp 1, 3 (1,053 words).

3. Alexandra Bayazitova article headlined "Cash Machines to Be Sent Out of Mirror-Words" says the Central Bank has issued new safety recommendations to regional banks for the installation of cash machines. If the new regulations are met, banks will have to relocate most of their machines; pp 1, 8 (752 words).

4. Sergei Sobolev and Oleg Trutnev article headlined "Brewers Dilute TV Ads" reviews the reaction of large brewers to the ban on TV and radio ads for beer in Russia; pp 1, 7 (771 words).

5. Natalya Korchenkova et al. report headlined "Communists and United Russia Members Accuse Each Other of Defamation" comments on the row over the gubernatorial election in Novgorod region, where United Russia accused the Communists of putting local deputies under pressure while collecting signatures for their candidate. Meanwhile, the Communists accuse United Russia of defamation; p 2 (749 words).

6. Viktor Khamrayev et al. report headlined "Opposition Disagree in Numbers" says the State Duma opposition has once again informed President Putin of their disagreement with the new procedure for registering political parties. The president does not want to change the new scheme adopted by United Russia; p 2 (615 words).

7. Irina Nagornykh article headlined "It Is Decided to Make Single Voting Date Legally Irreproachable" says United Russia expects the new bill on a single voting day to be passed during the autumn session; p 2 (578 words).

8. Gleb Cherkasov article in opinion column headlined "Rules of Game" comments on the arrest of municipal officials in Krymsk and says that Russian mayors are potentially ready for dismissal and trial as they do not do their work properly not to spoil relations with governors; p 3 (503 words).

9. Grigory Tumanov and Alexander Chernykh article headlined "Emergency Situations Ministry's Radio Fails" says the personnel of the Emergency Situations Ministry's radio station were forced to quit their jobs after they made critical report on the Krasnodar region floods; p 5 (667 words).

10. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Candidates Do Not Join Exchange of Fire in Colorado" says that neither President Barack Obama nor his rival Republican candidate Mitt Romney started discussing the arms trade issue following the Colorado shooting rampage; p 5 (611 words).

11. Kabai Karabekov and Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Russia and Kyrgyzstan to Begin With Cascade" says Russia and Kyrgyzstan have reportedly come to an agreement over the distribution of property of hydroelectric power plants worth more than $2 billion; p 6 (766 words).

12. Yelena Pushkarskaya article headlined "Mario Monti to Visit Silvio Berlusconi's Friends" comments on Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's visit to Moscow. Russian-Italian relations are to become more pragmatic; p 6 (455 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "They Are True to Kudrin's Ordinances" says the Finance Ministry has suggested that the personnel of the law enforcement agencies should be reduced and expenses on arms be cut 20 percent; pp 1 — 2 (837 words).

2. Andrei Serenko article headlined "Kalmyk Victims of Repression Remind Moscow About Stalin" says around 2,000 Kalmyk people are seeking compensation for Stalin-era repression. The work of the Elista court was paralyzed for a week due to the influx of lawsuits; pp 1, 5 (986 words).

3. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "United Russia imposed in Krymsk" says United Russia's ratings have grown following the detention of local authorities in Krymsk over their failure to inform people about the flood; pp 1, 3 (1,090 words).

4. Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "Who Needs Social Payments Flow" says the Finance Ministry opposes the cancellation of the cumulative components of Russian pensions as the money allocated by people may be used for financing state projects; pp 1, 4 (800 words).

5. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Quriltai in Scandal Mode" says a two-day national congress of the Crimean Tatars, or Quriltai, has failed to reach an agreement on major issues; pp 1, 6 (819 words).

6. Vladislav Maltsev article headlined "Pussy Riot Case Evokes Wide International Response" says a number of political parties in Germany are calling for protests against the prosecution of the Pussy Riot punk group as their trial continues in Moscow; pp 1 — 2 (574 words).2 (506 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Sovereign Protection of Procedures and Freedoms" comments on the controversial bill on foreign NGOs and says the Russian people should decide whether they could sacrifice their rights if they are protected by NGOs financed from abroad; p 2 (506 words).

8. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Mikhail Fedotov Expects Enlargement" says some rights activists who have recently quit the presidential human rights council are expected to return to the organization; p 2 (427 words).

9. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Rights Activists Preparing Boycott" says NGOs financed from abroad may be closed and their heads may face imprisonment as President Putin has signed the controversial law on foreign NGOs; p 3 (776 words).

10. Savely Vezhin article headlined "Most of Country's Population Want to Know Who Are Foreign Agents" says rights activists are wrong when protesting against the new law on NGOs as most Russians want to know whether these organizations receive financing from abroad; p 3 (789 words).

11. Igor Naumov article headlined "Russians to Pay for Offshore Haven Again" says Moscow is to allocate financing for Cyprus' troubled economy to save money kept by Russian businesses in the Cyprus offshore zone; p 4 (785 words).

12. Nikolai Surkov article headlined "Opposition Tests Bashar Assad's strength" says the U.S.A. has decided to suspend work on resolving the Syrian conflict and to focus on a "controlled revolution" in the country; p 6 (471 words).

Vedomosti

1. Natalya Kostenko and Polina Khimiashvili article headlined "Friendly Billion" says Italy's Rizzani de Eccher is to invest 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion) in the North Caucasus Resorts company. The deal is to be announced during Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti's visit to Moscow; p 1 (585 words).

2. Rinat Sagdiyev article headlined "Fairy Tales of Rublyovka Forest" says before his resignation, former Moscow region Governor Boris Gromov handed over 500 hectares of forest to villages and towns in the prestigious Rublyovka district. The author notes that business groups connected with Vladimir Kozhin, head of the president's administrative department, are the new owners of the land; pp 1, 12 (2,763 words).

3. Olga Plotonova article headlined "Eternal Debt" says VTB has decided not to wait for financial support from the state and to issue bonds having no fixed period of repayment; p 1 (460 words).

4. Editorial headlined "No Use From Privatization" criticizes the government over the plans to authorize an initial issue of shares by state-controlled banks as an anti-crisis measure; pp 1, 4 (557 words).

5. Tatyana Lysova article headlined "Man of Week: Vladimir Kolokoltsev" welcomes Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev's personnel policy as he sacks police chiefs over crimes committed by their subordinates; p 4 (285 words).

6. Another editorial headlined "Party Traps" criticizes the Kremlin over unfair play with the opposition as the law simplifying the registration procedure for political parties may be amended any time; p 4 (296 words).

7. Konstantin Sonin article headlined "Rules of Game: It Cannot Be any Different" slams the Russian authorities over the prosecution of the Pussy Riot punk band; p 4 (442 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Yelena Kukol article headlined "Here Is WTO" says Russia will become a WTO member in August. The author interviews a senior official from the Economic Development Ministry, Maxim Medvedkov, speaking on the changes in the Russian economy triggered by the accession to the organization; pp 1 — 2 (600 words).

2. Mikhail Gusman interview with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti ahead of his visit to Russia in which he speaks on economic cooperation with Moscow; p 9 (1,823 ).

Izvestia

1. Vladimir Barinov and Nadezhda Gladchenko article headlined "Interior Minister Forbids to Block Roads for Convoys of Police Chiefs" says experts welcome Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev's order banning blocking of roads for convoys of cars of police chiefs; pp 1, 5 (588 words).

2. Anastasia Novikova and Olga Tropkina article headlined "Russians to Be Allowed to Own Short-Barrel Arms" says a bill allowing Russians to own and use short-barrel guns for individual protection may be submitted to the State Duma next year; pp 1, 5 (679 words).

3. Anastasia Kashevarova article headlined "Organizers of Immoral Performances to Be Jailed" says a Just Russia deputy has drafted a bill on legal responsibility for public performances undermining the moral principles of Russian society; pp 1, 5 (442 words).

4. Mikhail Rubin interview with Yaroslavl Mayor Yevgeny Urlashov speaking on his decision to send letters to the president and the prime minister to complain about problems with water and gas supplies; p 2 (698 words).

5. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Damascus Chemical Weapons May Be Seized by Terrorists" says the U.S.A., Israel and Jordon are worried by the large stock of chemical weapons that can be seized by rebels in Syria; p 10 (338 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Melor Sturua article headlined "Bloody Aurora" details the shooting rampage in Colorado; pp 1, 5 (2,175 words).

2. Oleg Adamovich article headlined "Delayed Response Authorities" criticizes Moscow city authorities for ignoring problems of ordinary people; pp 1 — 2 (638 words).

3. Marina Perevozkina article headlined "Victims of Fight for Tatar Caliphate" comments on the probe into the murder of Islamic religious leaders in Tatarstan and notes that the republican authorities will try to portray the murder as a conflict of business interests rather than a religious conflict; pp 1, 3 (1,229 words).

4. Andrei Yashlavsky article headlined "They Will Watch Syria for Another Month" says the international observers' mission in Syria has been extended 30 days; p (354 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Reality Show 'Master and Margarita'" comments on the trial of the Pussy Riot female punk group and says that obscurantism is spreading in Russia; p 10 (485 words).

2. Pavel Felgengauer article headlined "Modest Charm of Arms" says the Russian authorities are telling lies when speaking about the risk of a hefty fine for the failure to supply S-300 missile systems to Iran; p 7 (649 words).

3. Article by Anatoly Lysenko, director general of Public TV, headlined "Rating Will Be Small, It Does Not Matter" speaking on the tasks and editorial policy of the channel; p 15 (810 words).

4. Anastasia Nitochkina interview with opposition activist Ksenia Sobchak speaking on her TV career and protest activity; pp 12 — 13 (2,627 words).

July 23, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC