What the Papers Say, Dec. 2, 2013

Kommersant

1. Alexander Chernykh and Yelena Ladygina article headlined "No credit for Olympic competition" says the head of the Higher School of Economics, Yaroslav Kuzminov, has questioned the value of school academic competitions which give winners benefits in entering universities. He suggested that the winners of the competitions should take the Single State Exam for these subjects anyway, the Education and Science Ministry backed the idea; pp 1, 3 (832 words).

2. Svetlana Dementyeva article headlined "Central Bank slows chain reaction down" says the Central Bank has resorted to the restructuring of the Solidarnost bank in Samara, which has lost its funds as its clients started withdrawing their money due to uncertainty on the financial market. The Deposit Insurance Agency will take the situation in the bank under control; pp 1, 10 (473 words).

3. Vladislav Novy et al. report headlined "Ela does best to get hold of Nezavisimost" says the group of companies Ela is going to buy a stake in the company Nezavisimost to become Russia's largest car dealer; pp 1, 12 (711 words).

4. Maria Yakovleva article headlined "Tranche of thousands of billions" says pensions funds are receiving the last money before their funds are frozen. It is still unclear how private banks will be allowed to use this money; pp 1, 10 (510 words).

5. Ilya Barabanov et al. report headlined "Too-many-party system" says a party set up by political strategist Andrei Bogdanov has been renamed People's Alliance. Opposition politician Alexei Navalny, who was trying to register his party with the same name, is going to sue Bogdanov. Meanwhile, the fund for development of civil society has suggested that all political parties in Russia should be developed into several groups in accordance with their electoral success; p 2 (1,302 words).

6. Taisia Bekbulatova and Irina Borodina article headlined "Saratov Region decides to get separated from RPR-Parnas" says the RPR-Parnas party has lost its Saratov region branch. The party leadership claimed that they only had to replace the top figures in the party branch as the latter were far from liberal values; p 2 (427 words).

7. Irina Nagornykh article headlined "United Russia not to lose control over Moscow City Duma election" says United Russia plans to carry out an aggressive election campaign in the City Duma election. It will carry out primaries with the involvement of the electorate; p 3 (673 words).

8. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Rosimushchestvo to work with Oboronservis assets" says the Defense Ministry and the Federal Agency of the State Property Management have started working on the reform of the holding company Oboronservis. The agency will distribute Oboronservis's shares among other state holding companies; p 3 (439 words).

9. Vyacheslav Kozlov report "Opposition goes into defense" says that the defense will present its evidence in court in the case of disorders on Moscow's Bolotnaya Square; p 4 (650 words).

10. Alexandra Larintseva report "They approach Naftabank via cooperative" says that the management of the bank Naftabank is suspected of a large-scale cash out transaction; p 5 (500 words).

11. Sergei Strokan article headlined "America not to leave Asia" says that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is on his Asia tour starting with Japan as part of the new Asia strategy of President Barack Obama. Biden is to show support to U.S. allies without escalating confrontation with China; p 7 (530 words).

12. Maxim Yusin article headlined "Maydan dispersed up to loss of control" says opposition protests have resulted in violent clashes with police in Kiev. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is going to visit Moscow to sign a road map agreement on trade and economic cooperation with Russia; p 8 (779 words).

13. Article by Dmitry Polikanov, vice-president of PIR-center in opinion column headlined "Price of issue" looks at the results of the Vilnius summit and notes that the Ukrainian president will continue "hesitating" about signing the association deal with the EU up to the presidential election to bargain better conditions for Ukraine; p 8 (430 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Ukraine goes out of control" says opposition protests in Kiev have grown into a conflict between the authorities and society, as the police have resorted to violence against protesters thus triggering a bigger wave of protests among those who have not backed the European integration before; pp 1, 6 (1,434 words).

2. Yekaterina Trifonova article headlined "Navalny defends People's Alliance in court" says the Justice Ministry has registered Andrei Bogdanov's party with the name borrowed from Alexei Navalny, People's Alliance. Navalny is going to sue Bogdanov, the latter says he invited the opposition activist into his party; pp 1, 3 (530 words).

3. Igor Naumov and Ivan Shvarts article headlined "Cancellation of mobile slavery postponed due to Sochi Olympics" says Russian mobile phone subscribers will be able to keep their numbers when changing a phone provider only after April 2014; pp 1, 4 (813 words).

4. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Banking mopping-up shakes ruble" comments on the situation with the Russian currency, which is aggravated by instability of the banking sector; pp 1, 4 (771 words).

5. Gleb Postnov article headlined "Arson of churches in Tatarstan found to be terrorist attacks" reports on arson of churches in Tatarstan and notes that the prosecutor's office plans to regard the arsons as terrorist attacks; pp 1, 5 (498 words).

6. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Putin turns on manual control over defense sector" says the President Vladimir Putin will control the upgrading of the army and navy armament via a special service set up within the presidential administration; pp 1, 5 (945 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Unproductive summit in Vilnius" says only Georgia and Moldova have signed agreements with the EU at the summit in Vilnius; the rest four countries, including Ukraine, did not sign any deals. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych explained the decision by unaffordable cost of the partnership; p 2 (518 words).

8. Article by Sergei Neverov, secretary of United Russia's general council, headlined "Five myths about United Russia" tries to defend United Russia's principles as rumors have it that it is losing supporters and All-Russia People's Front will replace it; p 2 (1,746 words).

9. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Government winds internet democracy down" says Dmitry Medvedev's government has decided to reduce its openness and not to discuss on-line the bills they draft; p 3 (947 words).

10. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "European politicians not eager to go to Olympics" says the European Parliament is likely to adopt a new resolution on Russia including its "Magnitsky list" in January 2014. No European politicians are expected to visit the Winter Olympics in Sochi; p 3 (606 words).

11. Alexander Chernyavsky article headlined "Federal digital TV kills regional TV" says the heads of regional television stations have appealed to President Vladimir Putin for help, as the current digital modernization of the federal television channels will make smaller companies close; p 4 (517 words).

12. Alexandra Samarina report "How Euro-Maidan differs from Bolotnaya square" looks at protests in Ukraine and says that people in that country have no fear; p 6 (700 words).

13. Sergei Kulikov report "How much Ukrainian road map will cost Russia" says that winning over Ukraine may cost Russia $20 billion a year. Whereas Brussels is not ready to pay this sum, Moscow may agree to these expenses for political reasons; p 6 (700 words).

14. Yury Simonyan report "Not only allies want to meet Putin in Yerevan" says that Putin is visiting Armenia on a state visit today; p 7 (700 words).

15. Dmitry Orlov article headlined "100 leading politicians in Russia in November 2013" says Putin is again on top of the rating of Russian politicians. Officials responsible for internal and information policy are gaining power; p 9 (1,847 words).

16. Vladimir Ivanov article headlined "Pentagon not going to leave Europe" says Washington is redeploying its military bases close to the Russian border in Europe; p 9 (787 words).

17. Alexandra Samarina report "Serdyukov, constitution and magic sticks of United Russia" says that criminal proceedings have been instituted against former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov; p 11 (500 words).

Vedomosti

1. Margarita Lyutova article headlined "Budget beneficiary" says that the Russian ministries and government bodies, which have failed to use all of the budget funds allocated to them, will hand over the money to the Russian Direct Investment Fund; pp 1, 5 (750 words).

2. Yelizaveta Sergina article headlined "SIM-card slaves" says the scheme of keeping a phone number when changing a mobile phone operator has started working in Russia. However, people who apply for this service, are unlikely to have it done until April 2014; pp 1, 17 (615 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Yanukovych's second Maidan" says the division of Ukraine into eastern and western parts does not allow President Viktor Yanukovych to conduct autocratic policy. Opposition rallies against his decision not to sign the association deal with Europe have shown that Yanukovych may lose power due to street protests again; pp 1, 6 (744 words).

4. Dmitry Kazmin article headlined "Person of week: Elvira Nabiullina" comments on the policy of new Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina who has stripped 23 banks of their licenses in six months; p 7 (339 words).

5. Maxim Glikin report "Anarchy instead of Europe" says that demands for European integration have grown into demands for the resignation of the government in Ukraine; p 2 (750 words).

6. Lilia Biryukova report "Filter for small parties" says that pro-Kremlin analysts have said that only parliamentary parties should be allowed to stand in the State Duma election; p 3 (600 words).

7. Yulia Vymyatnina report "Unselfish union" looks at the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan; pp 6-7 (1,400 words).

Izvestia

1. Anastasia Kashevarova article headlined "Fight for science grows into fight for property" accuses Nobel Prize winner Zhores Alferov of trying to get hold of some property of the Russian Academy of Sciences during its reform; pp 1-2 (1,175 words).

2. Article by political analyst Boris Mezhuyev headlined "Europe loses face" criticizes the EU's reaction to the Ukrainian decision not to sign the Association Agreement with Europe and notes that European politicians have begged Yanukovich to sign the agreement and even threatened him; pp 1, 7 (1,137 words).

3. Natalya Bashlykova article headlined "Russian language can become official one in EU" says the Motherland party leader, lawmaker Alexei Zhuravlev, has come up with an initiative to make the Russian language one of official languages of the European Union; pp 1-2 (434 words).

4. Svetlana Subbotina and Alena Sivkova interview with Russian child ombudsman Pavel Astakhov speaking on the aftermath of the Dima Yakovlev law which bans Americans from adopting Russian orphans; p 4 (1,807 words).

5. Yury Matsarsky and Vladimir Suvorov article headlined "'Kill Yanukovych, kill generals'" reports on opposition protests and clashes with police in Kiev and notes that the opposition has managed to gather 300,000 supporters; p 7 (919 words).

6. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Syrian opposition coalition agrees to Geneva-2 with limitations" says the Syrian opposition coalition members have confirmed their decision to take part in the international peace conference Geneva-2. However, they insist on some conditions to be met; p 8 (594 words).

7. Yegor Sozayev-Guryev report "They report to president on preparation for Olympics opening ceremony" looks at Putin's visit to Sochi where he inspected Olympic facilities; p 2 (500 words).

8. Svetlana Povoraznyuk report "State Duma deputies and bloggers save Louis Vuitton $20M" looks at the Louis Vuitton's giant suitcase installed on Red Square; p 6 (750 words).

9. Maxim Sokolov report "Need as teacher of diplomacy" looks at protests in Ukraine; p 7 (700 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Shadrina and Taras Fomchenkov article headlined "What are our codes!" says Russian mobile phone users will be able to change operators without changing their phone number; pp 1, 3 (400 words).

2. Pavel Dulman article headlined "Peaceful European bulldozer begins street fighting" says the state of emergency may be imposed in Kiev as opposition protests continue despite the authorities' ban; pp 1, 5 (1,400 words).

3. Vitaly Petrov report "Lock for nuclear bomb" says that Federation Council speaker Valentina Matviyenko has suggested that a legal procedure should be adopted for nuclear security cooperation among countries; p 2 (700 words).

4. Tatyana Zamakhina article headlined "There will be SCO bank" says prime ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states have agreed to set up a joint bank to finance projects carried out by the countries; p 4 (650 words).

5. Yevgeny Shestakov report "European commissars deliver strike" says that Europe continues blackmailing the leadership of Ukraine over its integration with the EU; p 5 (1,400 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Oleg Bazak article headlined "New Year tree in place of fight" says members of the Ukrainian Party of Regions have started "abandoning" Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych as the political situation in the country is aggravating; pp 1-2 (1,137 words).

2. Yulia Kalinina article headlined "Peculiarities of national slavery" comments on the Global Slavery Index 2013 and says that labor migrants in Russia can be considered to be slaves; pp 1, 3 (657 words).

3. Ignat Kalinin report "Why Putin needs army" looks at Putin's visit to Sochi where the country's military doctrine has been elaborated; p 4 (750 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Alexander Mineyev article headlined "You do not want it, so do not do that" sums up the results of the Vilnius summit and notes that the EU will alienate itself from Russia; p (861 words).

2. Vadim Dubnov article headlined "Vilnius summit closed. For inventory" says Ukraine made the Vilnius summit not to go as planned, the EU would accept cooperation with the country only when it gets new leadership; p (606 words)

RBC Daily

1. Yulia Kalachikhina et al. article entitled "Revolution by Christmas" says it was during the Orange revolution of 2004 that Kiev last saw violence like the one witnessed today and warns that events may lead to a revolution; pp 1-2 (600 words).

2. Ivan Petrov article headlined "Antihackers in epaulettes" says the Interior Ministry has announced its intention to prepare 44 information security experts, to protect personal information as well as materials of high-profile criminal cases; pp 1-2 (300 words).

3. Stepan Opalev article entitled "One cannot hide from terror" quotes the results of an opinion poll which show that half of Russians believe it impossible to hide from terrorists; pp 1-2 (300 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Yana Sergeyeva and Konstanin Nikolayev article headlined "Revolutionary situation" on the clashes in Ukraine between the EU supporters and the police. For the first time over 22 years blood of peaceful demonstrators has been shed; pp 1-2 (600 words).

2. Zoya Grigoryeva article entitled "Give me a complaint book" says defenders of consumers' rights are thinking of tools that will allow Russians to stand up for their rights together; pp 1, 3 (1,100 words)

3. Sergei Putilov article entitled "Postflight debriefing" says President Vladimir Putin's meetings in Sochi devoted to Russia's defense industry have shown that three days are not enough to resolve all the industry problems; p 3 (600 words).

4. Artem Lunkov article entitled "Russian authorities are ready to confiscate property from foreigners" on a new draft law that will allow Russian authorities to seize property of terrorists, corrupt officials and organized crime ringleaders on Russian territory. Opposition leader Boris Nemtsov describes this initiative as "comic"; p 2 (200 words).

Tvoy Den

1. Andrei Muravyev article headlined "Maidan on blood" gives an account of events in Kiev over the weekend, generously peppered with photos of clashes between EU supporters and police; p 2 (300 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Andrei Berezovikov article entitled "Time for Russia to gather stones" says Russian diplomacy has won a victory at the EU Eastern Partnership summit. It sums up the results of the summit, focusing on Ukraine's decision to suspend its pact with the EU; pp 1, 3 (700 words)

2. Dmitry Smirnov article sums up the result of President Putin's meetings on defense industry that were held in Sochi last week; p 2 (700 words).

3. Alexander Grishin and Yevgenia Suprycheva article entitled "'Berkut' against opposition falcons" on the events in central Kiev when the central square changed hands three times over two days; p 4 (400 words).

4. Yevgenia Surpycheva first-hand report from a monastery where protesting students were spending the night headlined "Trouble brought onto students"; p 4 (300 words).

5. Vladimir Demchenko article headlined "20 seconds without steering wheel" looks at the results of journalistic investigation into the Boeing crash in Kazan; pp 10-11 (1,600 words)