What the Papers Say, Oct. 25, 2013

Kommersant

1. Alexander Gabuyev article headlined "Far East gains independence" says that envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev has won his first victory: Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered to empower the Far East Development Ministry with many of the functions of the federal bodies of power; pp 1, 6 (688 words).

2. Yegor Popov article headlined "Car industry to be subsidized under WTO rules" says that the government has come up with a plan aiming to make up for the disposal charge that car making plants will have to pay as of 2014. It will subsidize the production of environmentally friendly cars, energy costs and research; pp 1, 11 (681 words).

3. Khalil Aminov and Yekaterina Gerashchenko article headlined "Hundred billions to one gate" says that the Sports, Tourism and Youth Politics Ministry will be granted the exclusive right to use the money allocated for the construction of stadiums for the 2018 World Football Cup; pp 1, 12 (797 words).

4. Yury Barsukov article headlined "Gazprom to pay in full" says that the government is discussing ways to make the Russian gas monopoly Gazprom pay more taxes; pp 1, 9 (682 words).

5. Kirill Antonov article headlined "Mintimer Shaymiyev not ready to part with presidential title" says that former Tatarstan president Mintimer Shaymiyev has stated that Tatarstan will not observe the federal law under which heads of Russian regions should not be called president as of January 2015; p 2 (595 words).

6. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Lifelong ban to stand in elections put to figures" says that upon the Constitutional Court's ruling to cancel a lifelong ban for people with convictions to stand in elections, United Russia deputies have drafted amendments to introduce a 10- and 15-year ban; p 2 (624 words).

7. Taisia Bekbulatova article headlined "Boris Titov offers amnesty to migrants" says that business ombudsman Boris Titov has drafted a proposal on an a migration amnesty which will enable the mass legalization of migrants if they sign labor agreements with employers and register with the tax office; p 3 (487 words).

8. Grigory Tumanov and Vyacheslav Kozlov article headlined "Hooligans of Pechora Sea" says that piracy charges against 30 Greenpeace activists have been replaced with hooliganism charges; p 3 (589 words).

9. Tatyana Grishina and Natalya Ilyina article headlined "Audit Chamber fights against consistency" says that the first report published by the Audit Chamber after Tatyana Golikova became its head, has raised doubts over the current budget policy initiated by former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin. A few hours after the report had been published, this part of the report was referred to as a technical mistake and removed from the report; p 6 (736 words).

10. Sergei Strokan article headlined "U.S. and Israel disagree on Iranian nuclear program" says that Washington's readiness to reach a compromise on the Iranian nuclear program may repel one of its key allies, Tel Aviv, which insists on Iran's closing its nuclear program completely; p 7 (533 words).

11. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Gracious integration processes" gives an ironic account of the session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Minsk and says that the Kazakh president has suggested that the Eurasian Economic Community be eliminated and Syria and Turkey join the Customs Union; p 7 (1,089 words).

12. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Term of friendship prolonged for commonwealth" says that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has met his counterparts from the CIS in Minsk ahead of the CIS summit set for today. Experts warn that despite numerous plans for cooperation, the CIS will exist only as long as there is no visa regime between its countries; p 7 (492 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Igor Naumov article headlined "Dmitry Medvedev grows mellow towards state corporations" says that Medvedev has suggested that companies in the Far East should first develop their export potential. The idea of creating a state corporation to facilitate the Far East's development is becoming increasingly vital, the presidential envoy Yuriy Trutnev said. Experts, however, remain sceptical about the idea; pp 1, 4 (1,000 words).

2. Petr Tverdov article headlined "It turns out that authorities like opposition. But only parliamentary and systemic" wonders why head of the presidential administration Sergei Ivanov at a meeting with mayors, and head of the president's directorate for domestic policy Oleg Morozov at a meeting with chairmen of regional electoral commissions have neglected the issue of corruption and called the non-systemic opposition the main threat to the country's security; pp 1, 3 (1,350 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Filter named after Navalny and Khodorkovsky" says that United Russia lawmakers have tabled a bill to replace the ban for people convicted for grave and particularly grave crimes to stand in elections with a restriction of 25 or at least 18 years; pp 1, 3 (704 words).

4. Anton Khodasevich article headlined "Kyrgyz president ignores meeting in Minsk" says that Kyrgyzstan's leader have not shown up for a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Minsk, which is yet another proof that Moscow's integration plans are at risk; pp 1, 7 (758 words).

5. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Dniester region to seal the EU's border on Dniester" says that the Dniester region authorities have announced that as of Nov. 1 Moldovan law enforcers, who show up in the security zone in the Dniester area, will be detained; pp 1, 7 (725 words).

6. Yevgeny Grigoryev article headlined "American ear in Merkel's mobile phone" says that Berlin is indignant over the U.S. National Security Agency's tapping of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone; pp 1, 8 (538 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Interethnic code of silence" comments on Prosecutor-General Yury Chayka's initiative to introduce administrative responsibility for mass media outlets which publish inadequate information about conflicts, thus contributing to the escalation of ethnic tension. A ban for mass media outlets to mention the nationality of offenders will only fuel xenophobia in society; p 2 (461 words).

8. Yekaterina Trifonova article headlined "Churov concerned over voter turnout" says that head of the Central Elections Commission Vladimir Churov has put forward a range of initiatives aimed at boosting people's trust in the outcome of elections; p 2 (404 words).

9. Andrei Melnikov report "Imams responsible for those whom they trained" says that the law on responsibility of local officials if ethnic conflicts break out, came into force on Oct. 24 ; p 2 (500 words).

10. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Entrepreneurs lose confidence" says that businessmen are becoming increasingly sceptical about the prospects of their businesses; p 4 (612 words).

11. Mikhail Sergeiev article headlined "Tatyana Golikova exposes Alexei Kudrin's secrets" says that the Audit Chamber headed by Tatyana Golikova has published a report which shows the authorities' policy of increasing the state debt even with surplus budget is inadequate; p 4 (830 words).

12. Article by chairman of the State Duma's labor and social policy committee Andrei Isayev headlined "Migrants and ethnic issue" where he dwells upon migration and ethnic relations in the country in the light of mass disturbances in Moscow's Biryulyovo district; p 5 (1,275 words).

13. Kirill Rodionov article headlined "Russia and Ukraine: After empire" looks at Russian-Ukrainian relations over the last decade and says that Russia's influence on the territory of the former Soviet republics will remain, but change its nature completely; p 5 (1,145 words).

14. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "'Careless' tragic consistency" looks at recent tragic accidents in the Russian army resulting in the death of servicemen due to explosions or negligence and says that the system of security in the army needs updating; p 6 (835 words).

15. Svetlana Gavrilina article headlined "St. Petersburg authorities oust advocates of tolerance to outskirts" says that for the first time in a decade, the St. Petersburg authorities have refused to approve the route for the march against enmity; p 6 (552 words).

16. Darya Tsiryulik article headlined "Bloody winter looms for allies in Afghanistan" says that as Washington and Kabul are negotiating the terms of military assistance after the pullout of NATO forces from Afghanistan, experts predict a rise in the Taliban's terrorist activities; p 8 (715 words).

17. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "Netanyahu does not convince Washington" says that despite all its efforts, Tel Aviv has failed to make Washington toughen its demands concerning the Iranian nuclear program, and features Russian experts' comments; p 8 (832 words).

Vedomosti

1. Vladimir Shtanov article headlined "State to help car industry with subsidies" says that Russian car manufacturers may get multi-billion subsidies from the federal budget as compensation for the cancellation of disposal fee preferences; pp 1, 5 (665 words).

2. Valery Kagachigov and Anastasia Golitsina article headlined "iPhone with limited capabilities" says that iPhones 5c and iPhones 5s will not function in Russia's LTE frequencies until the Apple company finds the quality of the LTE network in Russia satisfactory; pp 1, 17 (500 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Loss of quality" says that although some 22 percent of Russians are willing to leave the country, only 10-15 percent are serious about the idea. The bad news is that this 10-15 percent is the most economically active and prosperous part of the population; pp 1, 6 (437 words).

4. Article by head of the Centre for Studies of Ideological Processes under the Institute of Philosophy at the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Rubtsov headlined "Metaphysics of power: Private interests dictate reforms" comments on recent reforms in culture and science; p 7 (1,148 words).

5. Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "Cultural recruitment" says that U.S. newspapers have reported that the FBI suspects the head of the Russian centre for culture and science, Yury Zaytsev, of assisting the Russian special services in recruiting U.S. citizens; p 3 (333 words).

6. Editorial headlined "Russia without Yukos" says that the campaign against the Yukos oil company and its co-owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky, that the authorities started 10 years ago, has resulted in the degradation of the most important state institutes; p 6 (500 words).

7. Lilia Biryukova and Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "Union of discontent" says that Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev has accused Russia of politicizing the work of the Eurasian Economic Commission; p 2 (457 words).

8. Anastasia Kornya article headlined "To vote like in the 1990s" says that the Central Electoral Commission has drafted proposals aimed at increasing voter turnout; p 3 (460 words).

9. Ksenia Boletskaya report "Alexei Pivovarov goes to STS" says that YV journalist Alexei Pivovarov has left NTV and has been appointed head of the TV and trans-media projects of STS Media; p 18 (700 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Shadrina interview with the new head of the Post of Russia Dmitry Strashnov headlined "Letter to Father Frost" where he speaks about the changes awaiting the postal service; pp 1, 6 (2,000 words).

2. Anna Roze article headlined "Obama listening" says that Berlin has expressed its indignation over the U.S.'s eavesdropping on Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone conversations; pp 1, 8 (800 words).

3. Kira Latukhina article headlined "Compromise for three" says that ahead of the summit of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, Russian, Kazakh and Belarusian leaders have met behind closed doors; p 2 (1,100 words).

4. Natalya Kozlova article headlined "Pirates become hooligans" says that piracy charges against Greenpeace activists have been dropped; p 2 (450 words).

5. Valery Vyzhutovich article headlined "Long-standing partnership" looks at the outcome of the international media forum in Yerevan and at Russian-Armenian relations; p 3 (800 words).

6. Sergei Ptichkin article headlined "Glock gun costs fortune" says that the tender for the purchase of the Austrian Glock guns for the Defense Ministry has been suspended; p 7 (900 words).

7. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Cultural exchange of 'spies'" says that amid escalating surveillance scandals, the U.S. special services are using their trump card: they have accused the head of the Russian centre for culture and science in Washington of recruiting U.S. citizens; p 8 (850 words).

Izvestia

1. Olesya Yelkova report "Rosatom explores Dutch coast" says that the state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom is looking for jurisdiction to attract financing and plans to locate its subsidiary in the Netherlands; pp 1, 6 (700 words).

2. Natalya Bashlykova interview headlined "There should be a balance between security and freedom" with member of the Federation Council Ruslan Gattarov; pp 1-2 (1,200 words).

3. Viktor Loginov report "Communications Ministry invites 200,000 migrants" says that the ministry plans to employ migrants in IT companies in Moscow; pp 1, 4 (650 words).

4. Yury Matsarskiy article headlined "Egypt says goodbye to state of emergency" says that Egypt's interim president has announced that the state of emergency will be lifted on Nov. 14 and features a Russian expert's comment; p 7 (560 words).

5. Igor Yavlyansky and Maria Gorkovskaya article headlined "U.S. special services accused of eavesdropping on Angela Merkel" gives highlights of the scandal reeling in Germany over the NSA's tapping the chancellor's mobile phone; p 7 (548 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Maxim Grigoryev article headlined "Fear and hatred in Volgograd" looks at the aftermath of the bus blast in Volgograd; pp 1, 5 (1,660 words).

2. Yulia Kalinina article headlined "Be more attentive to people" gives a sarcastic account of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's visit to flood-stricken Komsomolsk-na-Amure; pp 1-2 (507 words).

3. Igor Subbotin article headlined "Russian man becomes Caucasus militants' captive in Syria" says that in a video posted on YouTube a Russian engineer, who has been captured in Syria, asks to exchange him for a certain Saudi Arabian man captured by the Syrian governmental troops; p 2 (368 words).

4. Natalya Rozhkova report "Tolokonnikova transferred to myrrh-streaming icon" says that jailed Pussy Riot band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is being transferred from a prison in Mordovia to Chuvashia; p 2 (400 words).

5. Renat Abdullin article headlined "Saudi Arabia stages mild blackmail" looks at possible changes in relations between Saudi Arabia and the U.S., and features a Russian expert's comment; p 3 (383 words).

6. Stanislav Belkovsky article headlined "Khodorkovsky: Live in present" looks back at the arrest of Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky on Oct. 25 2003, at the reasons and people behind it and prospects for Khodorkovsky; p 3 (1,279 words).

7. Igor Subbotin brief interview with lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, who represents the interests of former CIA contractor Edward Snowden, headlined "Snowden still endangered" where he speaks about Snowden's meeting with his father; p 3 (372 words).

RBK Daily

1. Alexei Kuzmenko report "Onishchenko's shadow" looks at the reshuffle in the leadership of the Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection (Rospotrebnadzor); pp 1, 3 (650 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Andrei Kolesnikov report "Captured by time" says that former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky was arrested 10 years ago today in a move that consollidated Vladimir Putin's regime ; p 2 (1,400 words).

2. Alexander Mineyev report "Brussels does not understand our guys" says that deputies of the European Parliament are puzzled: why does Moscow place its stake on cruelty in the case of the Greenpeace ship crew's arrest; p 3 (600 words).

3. Elvira Goryukhina report "Themis. Dead-end case" looks at the Yukos case; pp 11-14 (4,300 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Arina Raksina report "Are they planning to replace Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev with Valentina Matviyenko?" looks at Federation Council speaker Valentina Matviyenko's recent initiatives; p 2 (350 words).

2. Margarita Alekhina report "Two-thirds of Muscovites are in favor of release of Khodorkovsky" looks at a study conducted by the Levada Centre about former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky; p 3 (300 words).

3. Konstantin Nikolayev brief report "Americans suspect Russian man of spying" says that the U.S. authorities suspect head of the Russian culture centre in Washington of spying; p 3 (150 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Semen Yelenin report "Did terrorist recruit supporters via recruitment agency in Moscow?" looks at new details about suspected suicide bomber Naida Asiyalova; p 6 (800 words).