Kommersant
1. Dmitry Butrin article headlined "Islands of revealed treasures" says that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has got access to information about some 120,000 offshore companies on the British Virgin Islands and looks at the consequences of making such sensitive information public; pp 1, 6 (1,219 words).
2. Yelena Kiseleva article headlined "Secret line to be laid under Kiev" says that the Transinzhstroi company that used to deal with the construction of secret lines of the Moscow underground may become the chief contractor for the construction of a new line of the Kiev underground; pp 1, 9 (827 words).
3. Anna Solodovnikova article headlined "Russian pipes too small for China" looks at the recently signed Russian-Chinese agreement envisaging an increase in oil supplies to China and wonders which side will pay for the widening of the pipeline; pp 1, 9 (600 words).
4. Alexandra Bayazitova and Yulia Orlova article headlined "Shares with deduction" says that the Finance Ministry has drafted a bill aimed to make investments in stock market more attractive for individuals; pp 1, 10 (844 words).
5. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Anton Ivanov divides judicial power into branches" says that the head of the Supreme Arbitration Court, Anton Ivanov, has criticized the expansion of the Constitutional Court and suggested setting up a body whose resolutions should become obligatory for all courts when making new decisions; p 2 (545 words).
6. Irina Nagornykh article headlined "One Russia deviates from presidential vertical" says that yesterday head of the United Russia party and Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev tested a new format by holding a round-table discussion with the participation of ministers and the party's leadership. It may be a sign of a new turn in the positioning of the ruling party and will make it more difficult for it to criticize the government for unpopular decisions, the article suggests; p 2 (559 words).
7.Natalya Gorodetskaya article headlined "U.S. ambassador questioned about intelligence officers' non-profit interests" gives an account of a round-table discussion at the Public Chamber in which U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul took part; p 2 (638 words).
8. Maxim Ivanov and Sofya Samokhina article headlined "Mass media outlets found to have extra billions" says that the State Duma's expert council on budget and taxes has decided that tax privileges for all printed mass media outlets should be cancelled as only some of the outlets need the support; p 2 (627 words).
9. Musa Muradov article headlined "Ingush opposition deprived of Internet access" says that an Ingush court has ruled that the opposition website Ingushetiyaru.org is extremist. Its owner, the leader of the local branch of the RPR-Parnas party, Magomed Khazbiyev, says that the authorities are trying to shut down the website in order to limit criticism ahead of the September polls in which the head of Ingushetia will be elected; p 3 (486 words).
10. Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "Alexei Kudrin lacks interpersonal trust" says that the Civil Initiatives Committee headed by former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has summed up the results of the first year of its work. Its experts say that a new political leader may appear in Russia only if the incumbent president decides so; p 3 (654 words).
11. Yevgeny Khvostik et. al report headlined "Viktor Bout's partner recognizes himself as U.S. convict" says that Viktor Bout's former partner Richard Chichakli has agreed to be extradited to the U.S.; p 4 (608 words).
12. Grigory Tumanov article headlined "Human rights activists initiate check of Justice Ministry" says that the Russian human rights NGO called Shield and Sword (Shchit i Mech) has asked the Prosecutor General's Office to check the Justice Ministry's refusal to register the organization as a "foreign agent" upon its request; p 5 (572 words).
13. Yury Senatorov article headlined "Prosecutor General's Office recruits statistics" looks at the launch of an Internet portal with statistics of violations of the law that the Prosecutor General's Office has been working on for several years; p 5 (400 words).
14. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Turkmenistan has been invited to keep Russian passport" says that during his visit to Turkmenistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov tried to convince the country's leadership not to force Turkmen residents with dual citizenship to give up their Russian passports; p 7 (645 words).
15. Maria Yefimova article headlined "Muslim Brotherhood aims for Persian Gulf" says that the authorities of the United Arab Emirates have accused 11 members of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood of involvement in a large-scale plot aimed at changing regimes in the UAE and neighboring Arab monarchies; p 7 (366 words).
16. Sergei Strokan and Ivan Safronov article headlined "North Korean missile ready for war" says that tensions on the Korean Peninsula keep escalating; p 7 (559 words).
17. Yelizaveta Kuznetsova article "Red Wings lands in new hands" says tycoon Alexander Lebedev has sold his troubled Red Wings airline to "a group of investors" for R1 and looks at the details of the deal and the company's prospects; p 11 (600 words).
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
1. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Better to give money to bank than to Pension Fund" says that a study conducted by the FinEkspertiza consulting company shows that the defined contribution pension scheme in Russia is not very beneficial for would-be pensioners; pp 1, 4 (800 words).
2. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Number of fictitious divorces in the State Duma may be on the rise" notes that as State Duma deputies submit their income declarations, there has been a drop in the number of married lawmakers, as deputies seek to disassociate themselves from assets by registering them into their spouses' names and then divorcing them; pp 1, 3 (750 words ).
3. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Gazprom preparing pliers for Kiev" says that the Russian gas monopoly has stepped up its efforts to build the third and forth lines of the Nord Stream and the Yamal-Europe-2 gas pipelines, the main purpose of these major construction projects being to deprive Ukraine of revenues for Russian gas transit; pp 1, 4 (650 words).
4. Vladislav Mukhin article headlined "Militants are waging mine war" says that militants' activities in the North Caucasus are on the rise; pp 1-2 (500 words).
5. Ivan Rodin article headlined "FSB to reduce number of honored servicemen" says that the Federal Security Service has drafted a resolution aimed to strip servicemen who are sacked over crimes, corruption, abuse of power, etc., of awards; pp 1-2 (400 words).
6. Darya Tsiryulik article headlined "Offshore scandal brings France to crisis" says that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has begun publishing information about politicians using offshores in the British Virgin Islands; pp 1, 8 (450 words).
7. Editorial headlined "Hero of Labor as an illusion" speculates why President Putin has decided to revive the Soviet-era title of Hero of Labor; p 2 (550 words).
8. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Opposition hurries to expose vote-rigging schemes prior to election" looks at several hearings where opposition activists are trying to prove vote rigging at the 2011 parliamentary election; p 3 (650 words).
9. Nikolai Sorokin article headlined "Are benefits for mass media outlets to become targeted?" looks at a sitting of the expert council of the State Duma's budget and taxes committee that considered tax benefits for printed mass media outlets; p 4 (600 words).
10. Tatyana Dvoynova article headlined "Gosstroi gets more suspended construction" says that the entity that was in charge of building facilities for the APEC summit in Vladivostok is being eliminated and its suspended construction projects are to be handed over to the Federal Agency for Construction and Utilities; p 6 (400 words).
11. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Another coup begins in Kiev" looks at what it describes as a systemic crisis of power in Ukraine as the opposition is about to issue a no-confidence vote in the government; p 7 (1,000 words).
12. Grigory Mikhaylov article headlined "Bishkek switches to Chinese" says that the weakness of the Kyrgyz economy makes its leadership seek outside sources of financing; p 7 (850 words).
13. Anton Khodasevich article headlined "Another nationalization in Belarus" says that the Belarussian authorities have dealt another blow at the investment climate by nationalizing the shoe factory Luch; p 7 (600 words).
14. Yury Paniyev article headlined "Pyongyang threatens Washington with nuclear strike" says that North Korea has moved a ballistic missile to its east coast, as an attack against the U.S. has been officially sanctioned by the country's leadership; p 8 (700 words).
15. Artur Blinov article headlined "Barrack Obama giving in to arms lobby" says that U.S. President Barack Obama has given up his demand to ban selling assault rifles under the pressure from the arms lobby; p 8 (650 words).
16. Yevgeny Grigoryev article headlined "Dialogue between Moscow and Berlin is not trouble-free" looks at Russian-German relations ahead of President Vladimir Putin's meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel; p 8 (400 words).
17. Vera Tsvetkova interview with the head of the Russian Public TV, Anatoly Lysenko, headlined "Television is ideology with multi-billion turnover"; pp 9-10 (1,800 words).
Vedomosti
1. Dmitry Kazmin and Margarita Lyutova article headlined "Constitution prevents Cyprus' salvation" says that the Supreme Court of Cyprus will decide whether the constitution allows to take a levy on deposits in the Bank of Cyprus and Laiki without a just compensation; pp 1, 4 (607 words).
2. Bela Lyauv and Anton Filatov article headlined "Chief entertainer" says that Arkady Rotenberg has invested in the construction of Russia's biggest shopping and entertainment center, Aviapark, to be built in Moscow; pp 1, 18 (482 words).
3. Editorial headlined "Crisis of Soviet science" comments on the growing number of accusations against deputies, senators, high-ranking officials and businessmen of plagiarism in their PhD papers; pp 1, 6 (386 words).
4. Maxim Glikin report "Big argument about small business" looks at the continued controversy between the government and small businesses over the latter's social insurance payments and says that President Putin may resolve this argument during his televised phone-in with the nation later this month; p 2 (400 words).
5. Editorial headlined "Logic of absurd" says that absurdity in Russian politics has reached its peak while the system of power is becoming increasingly more closed; p 6 (286 words).
6. Kirill Kharatyan article headlined "Thing of the week: Berezovsky's letter" speculates what the late tycoon Boris Berezovskiy might have been aiming to achieve with his letter to President Putin; p 7 (383 words).
Rossiiskaya Gazeta
1. Yury Medvedev interview with the head of the Federal Space Agency, Vladimir Popovkin, headlined "Dreaming of space" where he speaks about protection against asteroids, about the Bion apparatus to be launched on April 14 and whether Russia will continue using the Baikonur Cosmodrome; pp 1, 3 (800 words).
2. Kira Latukhina article headlined "On friendly terms with Europe" looks ahead at President Vladimir Putin's visits to Germany and the Netherlands; p 2 (700 words).
3. Valery Vyzhutovich commentary piece headlined "Between business and power" comments on President Putin's decree obliging state officials to declare large-scale spending; p 2 (500 words).
4. Sergei Ptichkin and Natalya Yachmenkova interview with the head of the United Aircraft Corporation, Mikhail Pogosyan, headlined "'Black wings' getting ready for takeoff" where he speaks about the new generation of military and civilian planes and the state defense order; p 5 (450 words).
5. Yelena Domcheva article "White, gray, black" looks at revelations made by Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets that out of 86 million able-bodied Russians, only 48 million are employed legally and pay their taxes in full; p 6 (550 words).
6. Natalya Kozlova article headlined "Telephone not to be handed over" says that an aide to State Duma Deputy Ilya Ponomaryov, Dmitry Rukavishnikov, has been arrested for participating in mass disorders on Bolotnaya Ploshchad on May 6, 2012; p 7 (400 words).
7. Oleg Kiryanov report headlined "Subjugation" says that North Korea has announced it is ready to counter the United States' hostile policy with various advanced means of nuclear strikes; p 8 (200 words).
8. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Lavrov sacrifices health" looks at the Russian foreign minister's recent talks in Turkmenistan; p 8 (400 words).
9 Viktor Feshchenko interview with former U.S. Ambassador to Russia James Collins headlined "Used to working against each other" where he talks about the outcomes of the meeting of ambassadors held in Moscow; p 8 (550 words).
Izvestia
1. Ivan Cheberko article headlined "Government to consider law on Roskosmos state corporation" looks at a draft law drawn up by the Federal Space Agency on setting up a state corporation called Roskosmos; pp 1, 4 (700 words).
2. Yelizaveta Mayetnaya et al. report "Federal Prisons Service is in for new prison reform" says the prison reform concept to 2020 is likely to be considerably revised; pp 1, 3 (800 words).
3. Polina Izvolskaya and Alexei Mikhaylov article headlined "Russia is running behind schedule with eliminating chemical weapons" says that Russia is to push back the deadline for the elimination of its Soviet-era stocks of chemical weapons from 2015 to 2020; pp 1, 4 (422 words).
4. Anastasia Alekseyevskikh and Maria Kunle article headlined "Central Bank needs international financial monitoring" says that head of the Central Bank, Sergei Ignatyev, has suggested that a special structure to ensure the observance of anti-money laundering laws be set up within the Customs Union; pp 1, 4 (558 words).
5. Anastasia Kashevarova report "'Direct line' with president to be hosted by Sittel and Kleymenov" gives some details of President Putin's upcoming televised phone-in with the nation expected to take place later this month; p 2 (400 words)
6. Yulia Tsoi and Yelena Teslova article "Seliger-2013 to become multi-party" says this year's Seliger and other youth forums will welcome members of various political parties and movements, not only pro-Kremlin ones; p 2 (500 words).
7. Alexei Mikhaylov article headlined "Defense Ministry to upgrade Soviet BMP-2s" looks at the Russian Defense Ministry's plans to upgrade 3,000 BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles; p 3 (600 words).
8. Maria Gorkovskaya article headlined "IMF delegation arrived to take away bread from Egyptians" says that the IMF's delegation demands that in exchange for a loan of $4.8 billion the Egyptian authorities should conduct a set of unpopular reforms; p 7 (559 words).
9. Svetlana Povoraznyuk report headlined "TV channels have asked Surkov for extra money" says several Russian national TV channels have asked the federal government to increase their 2013 subsidies for transmitting their programs; p 8 (400 words).
10. Mikhail Delyagin commentary piece headlined "Will there be enough grain?" looks at the situation on the Russian grain market; p 10 (600 words).
Moskovsky Komsomolets
1. Mikhail Zubov article headlined "Is there still gunpowder in Prokhorov's flask?" gives highlights of the journalist's conversation with Mikhail Prokhorov about his political plans and features experts' comments; pp 1, 6 (2,851 words).
2. Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "Why Kremlin is promoting Navalny" says that although opposition activist and anti-corruption whistleblower Alexei Navalny's approval rating is falling, his upcoming trial may boost his popularity; pp 1-2 (695 words).
3. Anzhelika Panchenko article headlined "Where is life more dangerous: in Russia or U.S.?" looks at the crime statistics available on a new portal launched by the Prosecutor General's Office; pp 1, 4 (1,087 words).
4. Mikhail Zubov article headlined "U.S. Ambassador McFaul states that those guilty of Dima Yakovlev's death will be punished" looks at U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul's meeting with members of the Public Chamber; p 2 (687 words).
5. Melor Sturua article headlined "President Obama cuts his salary by 5 percent" comments on U.S. President Barrack Obama's decision to return 5 percent of his salary to the budget; p 2 (511 words).
6. Stanislav Belkovsky article headlined "Anti-corruption fight to ruin Russian Federation" says that the first president of the U.S.S.R., Mikhail Gorbachev, has called on President Putin to revise the system of the country's management and adds that corruption has become the foundation of the Russian economy; p 3 (1,263 words).
7. Renat Abdullin article headlined "Deckert couple from U.S. gives up adopted Russian children" looks at another scandal escalating in Texas over allegations of abuse of adopted children from Russia; p 3 (992 words).
8. Yevgeny Balabas et al. headlined "Pavel Astakhov says anti-plagiarism bloggers should see a shrink" says that bloggers have accused children's ombudsman Pavel Astakhov of plagiarism in his doctoral dissertation; p 3 (654 words).
9. Ilya Baranikas article headlined "Pentagon announces deployment of U.S. ABM in Guam" says that in response to Pyongyang's threats Washington is going to step up missile defense; p 4 (632 words).
10. Olga Bozhyeva article headlined "U.S. nuclear big stick is a bit thicker than ours" looks at a report published in the U.S. about the two countries' nuclear capabilities; p 4 (389 words).
Novaya Gazeta
1. Unattributed article "Microblogs VKontakte with Staraya Ploshchad" gives "secret" information about cooperation of the network VKontakte with the presidential administration in The Twitter Journal project; pp 1-2 (1,600 words).
2. Unattributed interview with the author of The Twitter Journal project and the former press secretary of Vkontakte; p 3 (650 words).
3. Semen Novoprudskiy report "Sentenced to Russia" says that the Russian authorities are trying to "chain officials to Putin's galleys"; p 4 (1,000 words).
4. Yulia Polukhina report "Bolotnaya case: Left deviation" looks at yet another wave of detention of opposition activists that is politically motivated; p 4 (800 words).
5. Vasily Golovnin report "Kim Jong-un wants this" looks at confrontation on the Korean Peninsula; p 9 (1,600 words).
RBK Daily
1. Anastasia Fomicheva report "Tele2 joins bank" says that the group VTB has closed the deal to purchase Tele2; p 1 (400 words).
2. Anastasia Novikova report "Friendship bypassing state" says that U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul has reconciled Russian and U.S. NGOs that will from now on cooperate directly, without state institutions; p 2 (700 words).
3. Inga Vorobyeva report "Putin's 12 friends" looks at Putin's upcoming visit to Germany and says that his itinerary in Hannover has been changed several times; p 2 (950 words).
4. Yulia Sinyayeva report "Bonus for informing" says that the government has approved amendments to the Criminal Code, according to which the heads of companies, who admit they take part in cartels, will not bear criminal and administrative responsibility; p 2 (600 words).
5. Polina Stroganova report "Gazprom Neft to share shelf with Shell" says that Gazprom's subsidiary Gazprom Neft has found a partner, Royal Dutch Shell, to work in the offshore zone of Russia's Arctic area; p 6 (400 words).
Noviye Izvestia
1. Sergei Putilov report "U.S. State Department acknowledges that Russia lags behind U.S. in nuclear weapons" says that the State Department has published a report on the amount of nuclear weapons in Russia and the U.S.; p 2 (350 words)
2. Vera Moslakova report "Navalny's rating grows and his political influence decreases" says that blogger Alexei Navalny's popularity has risen over 30 percent over the last two years; p 2 (350 words).
3. Nadezhda Bulanova report "Prosecutor General's Office admits that police do not register most crimes" says that at least 3 million unregistered crimes were revealed in Russia in 2012; p 3 (250 words).
Trud
1. Alexander Protsenko report "Tale about lost population" says that according to Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets, 40 million Russians are employed in the "gray" sector; pp 1-2 (1,600 words).
2. Report by Boris Kagarlitsky, director of the Institute of Globalization and Social Movements, headlined "And then command to carry it to burrows will be given" says that no-one has cancelled the plan of Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich to quickly sell important state-owned energy assets; p 4 (2,000 words).
Komsomolskaya Pravda
1. Yelena Krivyakina report "Migrants who violate law to be denied entry for 10 years" says that the government has discussed a bill to toughen requirements for migrant workers arriving in Russia; p 2 (400 words).
2. Yelena Krivyakina report "Did Abramovich give Berezovsky's letter to Putin?" says that businessman Roman Abramovich could give late Boris Berezovsky's letter to Vladimir Putin; p 4 (400 words).
3. Asya Khovanskaya report "American family gives up adopted Russian orphans" says that U.S. foster parents have given up three children adopted in Russia; p 4 (300 words).
4. Sergei Davydov report "Mass media to get preferences in line with new rules" looks at tax preferences for media outlets in Russia; p 5 (700 words).
Krasnaya Zvezda weekly
1. Andrei Gavrilenko interview with the commander of air forces and air defense of the Southern Military District, Major-General Andrei Yudin; p 5 ( 2,300 words).
Apr. 5, 2013/BBC Monitoring/©BBC
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