What the Papers Say, Nov. 18, 2013

Kommersant

1. Kirill Antonov and Tatyana Grishina article headlined "Tragically hard landing" says that the crash of the passenger aircraft in Kazan has claimed 50 lives, including that of Tatarstan's president's son; p 1 (1,200 words).

2. Vyacheslav Kozlov and Sergei Sobolev interview with Alexander Zharov, the head of the Federal Service for Supervision in Telecommunications, Information Technology and Mass Communications (Roskomnadzor), headlined "'Fears that Russian internet will be completely blocked unjustified'", where he speaks on how the Russian internet will be regulated; pp 1, 4 (2,524 words).

3. Maria Yakovleva article headlined "Mega reformist" says that the Central Bank has put forward its own initiatives on the pension reform; pp 1, 10 (783 words).

4. Sofya Samokhina article headlined "Bashkortostan's head revoked louder" says that Bashkir activists will challenge in the Constitutional Court the refusal of the republican supreme court to recall Bashkortostan's head Rustam Khamitov from the post for violating federal and regional laws; p 2 (696 words).

5. Anna Pushkarskaya article headlined "Constitutional Court concerned about brotherly merger" says that today the State Duma's constitutional legislation committee is to discuss amendments in the second reading of the bill on the court reform. Over 50 companies have signed a petition asking to cancel the merger of the Supreme Arbitration Court and the Supreme Court or at least postpone it; p 2 (621 words).

6. Yulia Rybina and Irina Borodina article headlined "Terrorist claims telephone responsibility" says that law enforcers have eliminated a terrorist group in Dagestan including the boyfriend of the female suicide bomber who exploded herself on a bus in Volgograd; p 3 (612 words).

7. Ivan Safronov report "Military property returns to units" says that the Defense Ministry is restoring property rights to the facilities sold when Anatoly Serdyukov was defense minister; p 6 (850 words).

8. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Nuclear-free enrichment proposed to Iran" looks ahead at the next round of talks on the Iranian nuclear programme. In exchange for the freezing of work at Iranian nuclear facilities for six months, the West offers to return the assets frozen in banks worth $3 billion and suspend international sanctions, which will bring another $10 billion to Iran; p 7 (545 words).

9. Olga Kuznetsova article headlined "Counter-revolution spreads over Libya" comments on the situation in Libya and says that a new civil war unleashed in Libya has marked failure to build a secular regime in the country and will inevitably boost Islamists' activities; p 7 (384 words).

10. Maria Yefimova article headlined "Albania remains chemically neutral" says that as Albania has decided against providing its territory for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons, the entire plan of eliminating dangerous stockpiles is at risk of failure; p 7 (422 words).

11. Yury Barsukov report "Gas issue solved at top level" says that following a telephone conversation between Russian and Ukrainian prime ministers, Ukraine has been allowed to delay payment for Russian gas; p 11 (450 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Alexandra Samarina and Yekaterina Trifonova article headlined "Navalny opens presidential race" says that protest leader Alexei Navalny has been elected chairman of the unregistered People's Alliance party. Navalny claims he is going to "fight for power"; pp 1-2 (737 words).

2. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Vladimir Shamanov's rapid response" says that the General Staff of the Armed Forces is putting finishing touch on the concept of rapid response forces to be based at airborne troops; pp 1-2 (868 words).

3. Alexei Gorbachev and Vladislav Maltsev article headlined "Yaroslavl becomes city of bribe takers" says that amid high-profile corruption scandals, the Yaroslavl region may be declared bankrupt. Experts' assessments of the recent developments vary from attempts to introduce external control over the region to moves aiming to counter corruption; pp 1, 3 (770 words).

4. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Moscow, Kiev actually give up gas contact" says that random gas discounts and Kiev's impulsive refusals to buy Russian gas have shown that Russia and Ukraine are not fulfilling the 2009 gas contract and are using some non-transparent agreements instead; pp 1, 4 (618 words).

5. Maria Bondarenko article headlined "Cossacks demand that map of Caucasus be re-drawn" says that chieftains of Cossacks from Russia's south have decided to send letters to President Vladimir Putin asking him to change the borders of the Southern Federal District and the North Caucasus Federal District. The move will prevent the Stavropol region from becoming a foothold of terrorist activities, the chieftains say; pp 1, 6 (646 words).

6. Darya Tsiryulik article headlined "Israel, Saudi Arabia make friends against Iran" says that Israel and Saudi Arabia are reportedly drafting a plan of attacking Iran in case they will be discontent with the agreement on the Iranian nuclear program to be signed in Geneva this week. Experts regard the reports thereof as an attempt to affect Iran's talks with the 5+1 group; pp 1, 8 (670 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Moral of different levels" says that former German President Christian Wulff is on trial for receiving and granting favors in office and looks at the corruption situation in Russia; p 2 (530 words).

8. Viktor Myasnikov article headlined "Pentagon against Glonass" says that the U.S. administration has put on hold a decision to deploy Glonass stations on its territory fearing it will boost Russia's intelligence activities; p 2 (527 words).

9. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Government wants to save on elections" says that the authorities seem to be giving up actual modernization of the electoral system; p 3 (686 words).

10. Andrei Serenko article headlined "Carte blanche. Volgograd and Dagestan poles of war against terrorism" says that Dagestani law enforcers have eliminated a group of terrorists, including the boyfriend of the female suicide bomber who blew herself up in Volgograd and speculates over achievements and measures to be taken to boost the fight against terrorism; p 3 (647 words).

11. Svetlana Gavrilina article headlined "St Petersburg Egida punished for disobedience" says that the NGO Peterburgskaya Egida, whose work is dedicated to protection of female rights, has challenged the court ruling obliging it to suspend its work for 30 days; p 6 (568 words).

12. GrigoryMikhaylov article headlined "Bishkek follows in Kiev's footsteps" says that the Kyrgyz parliament seems to have changed its mind as to selling its gas distribution system to Gazprom for a symbolic price; p 7 (638 words).

13. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Chisinau suggests that Russian peacekeepers be controlled" says that Moldova has suggested that international monitoring of the security zone on the Dniester river, controlled by Russian peacekeepers, be introduced; p 7 (852 words).

14. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "Assad fights to clear road for sarin to be removed" comments on the latest developments in Syria; p 8 (750 words).

15. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "In politics: Putin, Medvedev, intimidated jurors and patriotism on the loose" comments on last week's most notable events in Russia; p 11 (568 words).

16. Artur Blinov article headlined "Worldwide: Anonymous hackers on trial, FBI gets away" says that a member of the Anonymous hackers' group Jeremy Hammond has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in the U.S. and comments on the involvement of the FBI in the case; p 11 (547 words).

17. Viktor Litovkin article "Week in army: Vikramaditya off our hands" looks back at the last week's most notable events concerning the Armed Forces; p 11 (734 words).

Vedomosti

1. Alexandra Terentyeva and Maria Rozhkova article headlined "Kerimov to provide fertilizers to Prokhorov and Mazepin" says that Suleiman Kerimov may sell 33.6 percent of Uralkali's shares to Prokhorov and Mazepin. The new owners may restore cooperation with Belaruskali; pp 1, 12 (707 words).

2. Svetlana Bocharova and Maxim Glikin article headlined "Opposition amends president" says that the Kremlin has approved amendments to the constitution defining the work of the prosecutor's office drafted by the parliamentary opposition; pp 1-2 (568 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Control instead of development" says that recent statements made by the Kremlin and the government have shown that Putin is placing all his stakes on law enforcers and the stepping up of control; pp 1, 6 (404 words).

4. Alexei Nikolsky interview with Yevgenia Vasilyeva, the main defendant in the Oboronservis fraud case over the sale of Defense Ministry's property, headlined "'There will be no amnesty for me'", where she speaks about the case and her relations with the defense minister; pp 8-9 (3,153 words).

5. Editorial headlined "Humiliation of law" looks back at the reforms of the first Russian government some 20 years ago and attributes the current unlimited power of the authorities and law enforcers to the poor reform of law-enforcement structures at the time and absence of legal institutes; p 6 (310 words).

6. Maria Zheleznova article headlined "Navalny's people's front" says that Alexei Navalny has been elected chairman of the unregistered People's Alliance party and looks at the party's program; p 2 (632 words).

7. Filipp Sterkin article headlined "Man of week: Dmitry Medvedev" says that after Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev had dared to criticize Putin's initiative to return a right to launch tax cases to the Investigative Committee, Putin suggested that those who criticize him publicly should leave; p 7 (351 words).

8. Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "Shokhin's alternative" says that president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin has proposed an alternative to the president's bill empowering the Investigative Committee with a right to launch criminal cases over tax violations; p 5 (584 words).

9. Maxim Glikin article "Sovereign democracy exported" says that people from the team of Former Russian Deputy Prime Minister and incumbent presidential aide Vladislav Surkov are coming to work at the Ministry of Regional Development headed by Oleg Govorun; p 3 (600 words).

10. Alexei Nikolsky report "Total of $40 billion within three years" says that according to the strategy of Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, in the next three years the sale of Russian weapons will not be lower than in 2013 and will total some $13 billion a year; p 3 (650 words).

11. Yelena Khodyakova report "Ukraine does not sell" says that Ukraine's Naftohaz has survived a week without Russia's gas giant Gazprom and agreed with the old partner on new delay of payment for Russian gas; p 12 (700 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Timur Alimov et al. report headlined "Deadly round" says that a passenger aircraft carrying 50 people has crashed in Kazan when landing; pp 1, 6 (1,00 words).

2. Valery Vyzhutovich report "'No' in order to get 'yes'" looks at Ukraine's European integration plans; pp 1, 9 (3,700 words).

3. Tamara Shkel article headlined "Defense reaction" says that the State Duma has given the Federal Security Service the powers to ensure information security; p 2 (650 words).

4. Yury Gavrilov article headlined "Serdyukov placed in center" says that former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who is currently a witness in a major and high-profile corruption scandal known as the Oboronservis case, has been appointed head of the Federal Machine-Building Research and Testing center, which is part of the Rostekhnology (Russian Technologies) state corporation; p 4 (450 words).

5. Article by director of the Institute of Globalization Problems Mikhail Delyagin headlined "Risky partner" looks at Russia-Ukraine relations and attempts of some Ukrainian businessmen to strengthen their influence ahead of the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius; p 4 (800 words).

6. Taras Fomchenkov article headlined "To mark frost index" says that although Kiev has resumed gas import from Russia, its debts still bear a risk of disruption of gas supplies to Europe; p 5 (600 words).

7. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Friendship shoved for Iran" wonders if Israel and Saudi Arabia really agreed to act against Iran jointly and looks at the situation ahead of another round of talks on Iranian nuclear problem with the 5+1 group in Geneva set for Nov. 20; p 8 (1,000 words).

8. Article by president of the Russian Council on International Affairs and former Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov headlined "Who are we for America?" where he says that at present Moscow and Washington have no significant differences and contradictions which would make confrontation inevitable; p 8 (900 words).

Izvestia

1. Yelena Teslova article headlined "Mikhail Fedotov suggests adapting constitution to internet" says that the head of the presidential human rights council has stated that the constitution should be amended in order to fit new reality with the spread of internet; pp 1, 3 (755 words).

2. Yelizaveta Mayetnaya et al. article headlined "Anatoly Serdyukov in command of unit of researchers" provides journalists' impressions of the Federal Machine-Building Research and Testing center, where former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov was appointed general director; pp 1, 4 (1,225 words).

3. Andrei Gridasov article headlined "Main version of tragedy in Kazan is human factor" looks at the passenger aircraft crash in Tatarstan's capital Kazan, which has claimed 50 lives; pp 1-2 (919 words).

4. Alena Sivkova report "Prosecutors' control may be returned to investigation" says that the Prosecutor General's Office may get more power in relation to the Investigative Committee. Federation Council speaker Valentina Matviyenko will discuss this with Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika; pp 1, 3 (600 words).

5. Alena Sivkova report "Defense Ministry not to buy foreign equipment" says that the Russian Defense Ministry has refused to buy U.S. equipment; pp 1-2 (750 words).

6. Alexei Krivoruchek article headlined "Nuclear bomber aircraft put on Wing-A" says that Russian Air Force will begin to use the automated control system Wing-A; p 3 (539 words).

7. Natalya Bashlykova article headlined "Special services to begin investigative activities in internet" says that the Federal Security Service has been granted a right to gain information relating to Russia's information security in the internet; p 5 (776 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Melor Sturua article headlined "Glonass intimidates U.S. intelligence" says that Washington is split on whether they should let Russia install its Glonass stations on the U.S. territory; p 2 (785 words).

2. Andrei Yashlavsky article headlined "Saudi Arabia to help Israel" gives glimpses of reports in the British mass media outlets which state that Saudi Arabia is ready to assist Israel in its attack on Iran; p 2 (503 words).

3. Dmitry Katorzhnev article headlined "Navalny does win election" looks at the congress of the unregistered People's Alliance party which elected protest leader Alexei Navalny its chairman; p 2 (476 words).

4. Marina Perevozkina article headlined "New Georgia or long-forgotten Georgia?" comments on the situation in Georgia as the new president has been sworn in; p 3 (959 words).

5. Alexander Melman report "There is no longer TEFI" says that major Russian television channels are setting up a new television award to replace TEFI; pp 1-2 (600 words).

6. Irina Bobrova interview "Nails should be put out of these people" with artist Pyotr Pavlensky charged with hooliganism for his latest performance on Red Square; pp 1, 9 (1,700 words).

7. Yeva Merkacheva report "We will not forget, will not forgive, will take revenge in internet" looks at how virtual killers are hired to commit political murders; p 5 (2,000 words).

RBC Daily

1. Ivan Petrov article headlined "Serdyukov not in case" says the former defense minister, Anatoly Serdyukov, is no longer a suspect in a corruption case on Slavyanka housing company; pp 1-2 (300 words).

2. Denis Levko et al. article headlined "'Third place in Sochi Olympics — our ceiling'" is an interview with Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko about 2014 Winter Olympics and 2018 FIFA World Cup, to take place in Russia; p 5 (1,600 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Valery Yakov article headlined "Skirt for defense minister" slams the decision to appoint former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov as head of the Federal Machine-Building Research and Testing center, which is part of the Rostekhnology (Russian Technologies) state corporation; pp 1-2 (851 words).

2. Anatoly Bodin article headlined "State Duma member and secretary of A Just Russia party presidium Alexander Romanovich: 'Our split is fiction'" is an interview with lawmaker Alexander Romanovich about the developments within the A Just Russia party; p 2 (600 words).

3. Sergei Putilov article headlined "Space wars" says the Pentagon is against locating the components of Russia's Glonass satellite navigation system in the United States. However, Glonass is facing more serious problems at home, where the system is opposed by drivers, the article says; p 3 (500 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Sergei Semushkin article headlined "Glonass — not for us!" says the Pentagon is against locating the components of Russia's Glonass satellite navigation system in the United States. Russian expert Konstantin Krideyko says Glonass poses no threat to the U.S. security; p 2 (300 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Yulia Polukhina article headlined "Tired like dogs" says the trial over 2012 unrest in Moscow's Bolotnaya Ploshchad has become a mere formality; p 8 (900 words).