What the Papers Say, Oct. 29, 2012

Kommersant

1. Oleg Sapozhkov and Dmitry Butrin article headlined "Sting Replaces Auditors' Pen" says that the State Duma passed a bill in the first reading to allow the Audit Chamber and the Federal Service for Financial and Budgetary Supervision to impose fines and disqualify officials for violations; pp 1, 6 (666 words).

2. Pyotr Rudenko article headlined "Pre-Sale Dismissal" says that CEO of the Aton investment company Andrei Shemetov was offered to become deputy head of the board of the Moscow Stock Exchange, which may become the first step toward Aton's sale; pp 1, 9 (802 words).

3. Yevgenia Pertseva and Oleg Trutnev article headlined "Retailers to Begin Treating Themselves" says that retail chains may be allowed to sell nonprescription medicines, which account for almost half of medicines sold in Russia; pp 1, 12 (615 words).

4. Anna Pushkarskaya et al. reports headlined "City Court to Be Here" says that the Supreme and Higher Arbitration courts will move to St. Petersburg to new residences yet to be built downtown, in the area designated for an elite housing compound to be financed by VTB; pp 1, 3 (1,441 words).

5. Viktor Khamrayev and Sofya Samokhina article headlined "Parties That Return From Street" says that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and A Just Russia have virtually dissociated themselves from their members supporting the nonsystemic opposition; p 2 (1,101 words).

6. Natalya Korchenkova et al. report headlined "Vertical Chain Offered to Bloggers" says that some 200 bloggers from 50 regions are expected to take part in the Non-Forum of Bloggers organized by the RIA-Novosti news agency. The participants in the meeting will join the closed Club of Bloggers and get access to the agency's contents; p 2 (721 words).

7. Musa Muradov article headlined "'We Come Here Not to Talk About Cows and Sheep'" says that participants in the congress of Dagestan's peoples held in Moscow demanded the resignation of the republic's head; p 2 (652 words).

8. Natalya Bashlykova article headlined "Mikhail Prokhorov Decides to Become 3rd Force" says that former presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov has headed his Civil Platform party and called it a third force, somewhere between the pro-Kremlin parties and the nonsystemic opposition. Experts are skeptical about the party's prospects; p 2 (666 words).

9. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Post-Soviet Mafia Writes U.S. Prescriptions" says that a probe into the case of a group of swindlers from former Soviet republics who caused losses of $163 million to the U.S. budget using frauds with health-care insurance has been virtually completed; p 4 (563 words).

10. Alexander Chernykh article headlined "New Opposition Body Begins Work With Detentions" looks at the first session of the opposition's Coordination Council and the rally it organized at the weekend. During the rally, Alexei Navalny and Sergei Udaltsov, who were under a written pledge not to leave the city, were detained; p 5 (592 words).

11. Maxim Yusin article headlined "Syrian Curds Open 2nd Front" says that Kurdish armed units have begun fighting against the opposition in the town of Aleppo. If Syrian President Bashar Assad manages to take advantage of the trend, the balance of forces in the Syrian confrontation may change in his favor; p 7 (428 words).

12. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Hurricane to Meet Voters" says that the presidential candidates have cancelled their campaign events as the East Coast with undecided states is preparing for hurricane Sandy; p 7 (548 words).

13. Yelena Chernenko interview with the Russian Foreign Ministry commissioner for human rights, democracy and the rule of law, Konstantin Dolgov, headlined "'No Country Can Be Model of Democracy,'" in which he speaks about the first report on human rights issues in the U.S.A. drafted by the Russian Foreign Ministry; p 8 (837 words).

14. Andrei Odinets article headlined "Important Information Stuffed Ahead of China's Communist Party's Congress" says that the Chinese government has dismissed as "untrue" a media report that the family of Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has amassed a fortune of $2.7 billion in the past two decades. However, the revelations ahead of the ruling party's historical congress may affect the struggle for power; p 8 (900 words).

15. Alexander Gabuyev article published in the opinion column headlined "Price of Issue" says that the reports about the fortune owned by China's prime minister's family signal the intensity of the power struggle ahead of the ruling party's congress and about the issues the Chinese transition is faced with; p 8 (366 words).

16. Yevgeny Khvostik article headlined "Conflict in Island's Phase" says that the territorial dispute over a group of islands between Japan and China has already affected companies working in various spheres. The consequences of the conflict may cause multibillion losses for a number of companies and aggravate the conditions of Asia's leading economies which have already been impacted by the European crisis; p 13 (1,557 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1.Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Minister Serdyukov Underestimates Intelligence Community" says that the scandal involving Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov is growing, but the minister is unlikely to face dismissal: the campaign is aimed to signal that he must not cross the line; pp 1-2 (1,025 words).

2. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Another Surrender for Investigation" says that journalist working for the Russian version of the Rolling Stone magazine, Yevgeny Levkovich has given himself up and confessed to being the only organizer of mass disorders on May 6. However, he has not been arrested; pp 1, 3 (722 words).

3. Alexei Gorbachev and Darya Garmonenko article headlined "Mikhail Prokhorov Changes Platform" says that at the congress of the Civil Platform party billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov stated he would hand over his business to partners and head the party; pp 1, 3 (775 words).

4. Ivan Rodin article headlined "A Just Russia Dissociates Itself From Radicals" says that the A Just Russia party has stated it will not support the nonsystemic opposition in any way and warned its members against backing it. Meanwhile, another member of the party has left the faction and become independent. Thus, the State Duma now has a constitutional majority of 302 votes consisting of United Russia, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and eight members of A Just Russia who left the party; pp 1, 3 (612 words).

5. Yury Roks article headlined "Australian State Recognizes Karabakh" says that the recognition of the legislation council of New South Wales, Australia's biggest state, of the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh has enraged Azerbaijan; pp 1, 6 (549 words).

6. Igor Naumov article headlined "Dmitry Medvedev's Risky Experiment" says that the government is drafting a bill to cancel retirement benefits for working pensioners; pp 1, 4 (835 words).

7. Nikolai Surkov article headlined "Failure of Truce in Syria Does Not Discourage UN" says that the UN and Arab League's special envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi is to arrive in Moscow today to discuss his new proposals on settling the Syrian crisis; p 2 (443 words).

8. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Parliament Elected in Ukraine" looks at the parliamentary elections in Ukraine; p 2 (837 words).

9. Editorial headlined "Unnatural Selection" says that since the regional elections the Justice Ministry has refused to register dozens of new parties having all of a sudden toughened its approach to paperwork. The artificial selection the authorities are resorting to in order to control the number of parties hampers the development of society, editorial concludes; p 2 (519 words).

10. Dmitry Labin article headlined "Seeking Strategy of Success in Northeastern Asia" says that after the APEC 2012 summit in Vladivostok, Russia is close to getting a historical chance of becoming a leader in northeastern Asia, if it tackles the Korean issue properly; p 3 (659 words).

11. Anton Khodasevich article headlined "Belarussian Opposition Does Not Believe in Its Forces" says that only several hundred people attended an opposition rally in Minsk while organizers expected some 5,000 participants. The protests are becoming less numerous while the number of political emigrants is growing; p 6 (680 words).

12. Ivan Rodin article headlined "In Politics: Putin's Back, Medvedev's Chair and Udaltsov's Head" comments on the most talked-about events of the previous week: rumors about President Vladimir Putin's health problems, reports that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is unlikely to stay in office for long and the new charges against opposition activists including Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov; p 8 (473 words).

13. Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "In Economy: Privatization Gradually Turning Into Nationalization" comments on the acquisition of TNK-BP by Rosneft and the upcoming sale of 6 percent of its shares; p 8 (550 words).

14. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "In CIS Countries: Ukrainian Special Services Get Confused in Razvozzhayev's Case" says that Ukrainian law enforcement officers differ in their interpretation of how opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev left the country. The Ukrainian Security Service stated they would find out why the activist had come to Ukraine in the first place, with what purpose and how he had left for Russia, which means a case linked to Razvozzhayev himself, not his kidnapping, may appear; p 8 (438 words).

15. Artur Blinov article headlined "U.S.A. Ahead of Election" comments on the outcome of the early voting at the presidential election in the U.S.A. where 54 percent voted for the incumbent president and 39 percent for Mitt Romney; p 9 (904 words).

16. Boris Vinogradov article headlined "Vietnam-U.S.A.: Metastases of 'Orange Reagent'" says that the U.S.-Vietnamese relations are booming as the countries have a common threat: China and its growing influence. However, the heritage of the chemical war the U.S.A. conducted in the country somewhat tars the friendship; p 9 (1,143 words).

17.Vitaly Kulik article headlined "Failure of Meseberg Initiative" looks at the visit of top Russian diplomats to Tiraspol and says that the Kremlin is sticking to its line of preserving the Transdnestr republic's status quo; p 11 (543 words).

18. Yury Simonyan article headlined "Ivanishvili to Leave in Year and Half" looks at the challenges the Georgian Dream coalition and its leader Bidzina Ivanishvili are faced with; p 11 (1,457 words).

Vedomosti

1. Dmitry Kazmin article headlined "Tax on Loss" says that Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has asked President Vladimir Putin to allow to impose a certain fee on loss-making companies in order to fight against tax evasion; p 1 (663 words).

2. Roman Shleynov article headlined "Orthodox Trade" looks at business flourishing at Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral and people in charge of it; pp 1, 12 (2,093 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Battle of Ice" says that the struggle between the state monopolies and private companies for the Arctic offshore hydrocarbons deposits has significantly intensified recently; pp 1, 4 (559 words).

4. Yekaterina Sobol article headlined "Aeroflot to Estimate Itself Cheap" says that Aeroflot is ready to set up a low-cost airline on the condition that some amendments to the Air Code are made; p 1 (468 words).

5. Editorial headlined "Dog's Laws" says that some 1,000 Muscovites gathered downtown to demand that the authorities stop so-called dog hunters from poisoning their dogs in the streets and parks and looks at the reasons behind the problem; p 4 (290 words).

6. Konstantin Sonin article headlined "Rules of Game: Defending Investigative Committee and Federal Security Service" says that law enforcement damages its reputation when it engages in persecuting opposition activists like Leonid Razvozzhayev, Alexei Navalny and Sergei Udaltsov; p 4 (435 words).

7. Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "Man of Week: Silvio Berlusconi" says that the former Italian prime minister has managed to get away again and is determined to pursue his political career; p 4 (309 words).

8. Maxim Grigoryev article headlined "Cloud Democracy: For Honest Opposition Elections!" contemplates whether the nonsystemic opposition campaigning for honest elections conducted an honest election to the opposition Coordination Council; p 4 (691 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Zykova and Tatyana Shchadrina article headlined "Saga About Websites" says that the government has assigned the Russian media regulator Roskomnadzor to keep a registry of websites harmful for children; pp 1, 10 (750 words).

2. Svetlana Braylovskaya article headlined "What Happens in Kazan" says that several days after the militants preparing a terrorist attack in Tatarstan were eliminated the authorities have not made an official statement yet; pp 1-2 (650 words).

3. Konstantin Novikov article headlined "Pressure and Disruption" says that that the leader of the Just Russia party, Sergei Mironov, has put forward an ultimatum to party members: to choose between working for the party and participating in the nonsystemic opposition's activities; p 5 (500 words).

4.Alexander Gasyuk article headlined "Texas Does Not Need Strangers' Eyes" comments on the refusal of the authorities of the state of Texas to allow OSCE members to monitor the presidential election; p 8 (400 words).

Izvestia

1. Vladimir Gusev article headlined "Mikhail Prokhorov to Head Civil Platform" says that former presidential candidate and billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov has headed his party, Civil Platform, and announced plans to quit business; p 2 (950 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Igor Subbotin article headlined "Cease-Fire in Syria Ends in Victims" says that a bomb exploded in Damascus on the first day of what was supposed to be a cease-fire and claimed almost 50 lives; p 2 (343 words).

2. Andrei Yashlavsky interview with presidential candidate Roseanne Barr headlined "Racism and Sexism Should Disappear" where she speaks about her decision to run for president; p 3 (622 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Yulia Latynina article headlined "Criminal Case Sign of Showdown" says that the high-profile criminal case over fraud with property owned by the Defense Ministry is a result of conflicts within the elites; p 17 (730 words).

2. Roman Anin article headlined "Military Meters" looks at the fraud case over sale of property owned by the Defense Ministry; pp 1, 3 (1,378 words).

3. Kirill Rogov article headlined "2nd Front of Putin's Defense" says that radicalization of propaganda and repressive methods and shifting the focus of persecution from angry urbanites to left-wing radicals like Udaltsov is the aggressiveness the authorities resort to disguise their weakness; p 9 (903 words).

4. Boris Vishnevsky article headlined "How to Survive Betrayal" comments on a new bill on treason passed by the State Duma; p 8 (700 words).

RBK Daily

1. Alexei Sakhnin, a member of the Left Front opposition movement, article headlined "Left Wing and October" comments on the anti-opposition film "Anatomy of Protest 2" shown on the Gazprom-owned TV channel NTV, on the election to the opposition Coordination Council and on the arrest of opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev; p 5 (800 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Andrei Karev interview with economist Mikhail Khazin headlined "Crisis to Not Affect Integration." Khazin comments on Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's visit to Russia last week and on the development of economic ties between the former Soviet republics; p 5 (400 words).

Moskovskiye Novosti

1. Natalya Konygina interview with editor-in-chief of the English-language broadcaster RT Margarita Simonyan; p 6 (420 words).

2. Svetlana Babayeva interview with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, who comments on the development of Russia-U.S. relations after the U.S. presidential election; pp B7-B8 (1,750 words).

Oct. 29, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC 

Related articles:

• What the Papers Say, Oct. 26, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Oct. 25, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Oct. 24, 2012