What the Papers Say, Jan. 14, 2014

Kommersant

1. Oleg Rubnikovich and Vsevolod Inyutin article headlined "Loss does not stick to deputy minister" says the criminal case on fraud involving former Deputy Agriculture Minister Alexei Bazhanov has fallen apart. He received more lenient charges and was released from custody on written pledge not to leave the city; pp 1, 4 (706 words).

2. Vadim Visloguzov and Natalia Gorodetskaya article headlined "Governors to be checked for compliance with debt" says the Russian Finance Ministry wants the president to have power to sack governors if they fail to reduce their regions' debts down to 10 per cent of regional budget revenues. The regional heads should have similar power to sack town heads; pp 1-2 (707 words).

3. Yegor Popov and Roman Kondratyev article headlined "Automobile industry asks for subsidized loans" says the Russian government may resume the program offering subsidized car loans on low interest rates if car sales go down in the country in 2014; pp 1, 9 (704 words).

4. Sergei Sobolev article headlined "A la guerre comme a la guerre" says the recent unrest in Thailand and Egypt did not frighten Russian tourists who visited the countries as much as they had before while tourism from other countries had dropped drastically; pp 1, 10 (743 words).

5. Sofia Samokhina et al. article headlined "Format of report to be found for FSB and Interior Ministry" says explosions that occurred in Volgograd before the New Year holidays are likely to result in new, tougher anti-terrorism legislation; p 2 (453 words).

6. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Selective corrections" says the State Duma is to make yet another amendment to the electoral legislation to add the "against all" option in ballot papers and ban candidates from having property abroad; p 3 (751 words).

7. Viktor Khamrayev and Sergei Goryashko article headlined "Domestic grants enough for Russian NGOs" says the NGO Moscow Helsinki Group has decided to stop using foreign grants for a while to stop criticism over the use of foreign funds by Russian rights activists. Experts predict that Russian NGOs will step up work to find sources of financing within the country; p 3 (580 words).

8. Musa Muradov and Alexei Sokovnin article headlined "Investigators visit lawyer in his absence" looks at police searches in renowned lawyer Murad Musayev's house. Musayev is involved in the Anna Politkovskaya murder case and has claimed the searches were aimed at disrupting his work; p 4 (700 words).

9. Maria Yefimova article headlined "Egyptian constitution called up to army" says a two-day referendum on the constitution has begun in Egypt. If the current version of the document is approved, the armed forces will take the country under control; p 6 (436 words).

10. Grigory Tumanov article headlined "Russian trawler being driven out of fine" notes some progress in the talks between the Russian and Senegalese authorities over the detention of a Russian fishing ship in the African country. The ship may be released on bail; p 6 (460 words).

11. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Geneva 2 ripe for potatoes" reports on talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry on the Syrian peace conference. The participation of the Syrian opposition and Iran in the talks is still in question; p 6 (621 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Vladimir Ryzhkov leaves Parnas" says co-chairman of RPR-Parnas opposition party Vladimir Ryzhkov has called for giving up the radical approach to relations with the Kremlin, for stopping cooperation with opposition activist Alexei Navalny and for expelling Ilya Yashin from the federal political council of the party. Other co-chairmen Boris Nemtsov and Mikhail Kasyanov oppose the ideas; pp 1, 3 (555 words).

2. Yury Paniyev article headlined "Iran invited to take part in Geneva 2" says talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry have shown that the two countries are cooperating in resolving the Syrian crisis; pp 1, 7 (736 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Against all, not against Putin" says the "against all" option in ballot papers may be returned only for regional and municipal elections. It is unlikely to appear in ballot papers in presidential elections in Russia; pp 1, 3 (809 words).

4. Alexander Chernyavsky article headlined "Krasnoyarsk governor ready to get rid of villa in Nice" comments on a news conference by Krasnoyarsk Territory governor Lev Kuznetsov, in which he has pledged to get rid of his house in France as a bill banning officials from having housing abroad is passed; pp 1, 3 (453 words).

5. Igor Naumov article headlined "Presidential decrees inspire officials to sue ministers" says former Russian Agriculture Minister Alexander Chernogorov is trying to contest his dismissal in court and is hoping to win the case; pp 1, 4 (721 words).

6. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Ukrainian opposition finds loophole in constitution" says the opposition deputies in the Ukrainian parliament want to consider a bill on an early presidential election. The report says that the move does not seem to be in compliance with the constitution and assumes that the opposition is simply going to put the Ukrainian president under additional pressure; pp 1, 6 (1,016 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Russian politics as tender of left-wing forces" analyses the popularity of leftist ideas in Russia and notes that Putin satisfies the demand for a strong ruler in the country; p 2 (512 words).

8. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "China becomes leader in foreign trade" says the US economy is posed to lose its global leadership as China has already outstripped the USA in the volume of foreign trade; p 4 (1,050 words).

9. Alina Terekhova article headlined "Kudrin calls on Medvedev's government for an answer" says former Russian Finance Minister and opposition politician Alexei Kudrin has voiced distrust in the government's economic policy. Experts polled by the newspaper largely criticize the government; p 4 (600 words).

10. Gleb Postnov article headlined "Tatar nationalists create their own 'Memorial'" says that a human rights NGO will be formed in Russia's predominantly Muslim Republic of Tatarstan in order to defend Muslims who are charged with extremism; p 5 (500 words).

10. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Tokyo looks for allies in argument with Beijing" says that while the Chinese-Japanese territorial dispute is escalating, Beijing is looking for support in Russia; p 7 (506 words).

11. Daria Tsilyurik article headlined "Iranian atom to be paused" says the implementation of the agreement reached between Iran and the group of six international mediators will begin in a week. Tehran's nuclear program is to be suspended in exchange for lifting sanctions against the country; p 7 (711 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Zykova interview with Russian Audit Chamber head Tatyana Golikova speaking on the large-scale audit to begin in February that will focus on the implementation of the presidential decrees and the privatization of state facilities; pp 1, 3 (1,302 words).

2. Galina Bryntseva and Yelena Yakovleva article headlined "Evil interest" polls experts who comment on the growing on-line sales of Mein Kampf, the autobiographical manifesto by Adolf Hitler, in the U.K. and the U.S. Some experts attribute the trend to growing dissatisfaction with migrants in these countries; pp 1, 7 (1,500 words).

3. Tamara Shkel article headlined "For candidate 'against all'" says the State Duma opens its spring session today and outlines the most important issues to be considered by the parliamentarians; p 2 (697 words).

4. Vladislav Vorobyov article headlined "Enrichment of Iran" says Tehran will get access to its financial assets frozen in foreign banks by international sanctions in exchange for winding down its nuclear program; p 8 (580 words).

5. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Two potatoes as present" says Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry have discussed the Syrian peace conference and the Russian-US relations at their meeting in Paris; p 8 (766 words).

6. Maxim Makarychev article headlined "He leaves to desert" reports on the funeral of the former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon; p 8 (448 words).

Vedomosti

1. Anastasia Golitsina and Svetlana Bocharova article headlined "Law against blacklists" says Russia can pass a law on the blocking of websites posting false information on banks and public companies. In this situation, the fight against the panic of bank depositors can affect the freedom of speech; pp 1, 15 (900 words).

2. Editorial headlined "Queue for miracle" says that while an increasing number of Russians queue up to see Orthodox Church relics, moral values of the public do not improve; pp 1, 6 (500 words).

3. Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "Dividends for 13 percent" says the Finance Ministry is looking for new sources of budget revenues, officials want to charge 13 percent income tax on dividends; pp 1, 5 (550 words).

4. Lilia Biryukova article headlined "Million for freedom" says that only 1,700 imprisoned Russian entrepreneurs have applied for economic amnesty bringing 1.7 billion rubles(approximately $51 million ) to the budget; p 2 (600 words).

5. Alexei Nikolsky and Polina Khimshiyashvili article headlined "Greek kick-back" says it has been discovered over the course of a trial that the Russian arms manufacturer KBP has been bribing Greek officials; p 3 (500 words).

Izvestia

1. Lyudmila Podobedova article headlined "Oil companies to be stripped of tax benefits" says oil companies that fail to meet the deadline in shelf exploration will face economic sanctions in Russia, they will lose their tax benefits; pp 1, 4 (670 words).

2. Alexandra Bayazitova article headlined "Elvira Nabiullina approves new structure of Central Bank" outlines a new structure of the Central Bank adopted by its head Elvira Nabiullina; pp 1, 3 (879 words).

3. Nikita Mogutin interview with Investigations Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin, who slams the blogosphere over its response recent blasts in Volgograd, as the work of the law-enforcement agencies following the attacks was heavily criticized by web users; pp 1, 4 (1,391 words).

4. Yelena Teslova article headlined "SPCh spoke against deporting labour migrants" says members of the Presidential Council on Human Rights intend to propose amendments to the law on migration; pp 1-2 (700 words).

5. Andrei Gridasov and Dmitry Yevstifeyev article headlined "Anatoly Serdyukov left only in one case" says former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov is reading his case and notes that the former official is now charged only with negligence; pp 1, 4 (577 words).

6. Anastasia Kashevarova article headlined "Fetisov to spend 720 million rubles (about $21.8m) for alliance with Gudkov" says the Green Alliance of billionaire Gleb Fetisov is planning to merge with Gennady Gudkov's party, Social Democrats of Russia; pp 1-2 (779 words).

7. Anastasia Kashevarova brief interview with Moscow Helsinki Group head, human rights campaigner Lyudmila Alexeyeva, who says she intends to stop using foreign financing sources for her NGO; p 2 (300 words).

8. Pavel Chernyshev article headlined "Dozhd television channel to make money on clothing and bikes" says the television channel Dozhd has managed to register the trade mark of its show, Moskva Velosipednaya (Bike Moscow). The channel is expected to make money on selling goods with its brand; p 6 (473 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Yeva Merkacheva article headlined "Vaccine against Olympics" reviews "ridiculous" advice which the U.S. authorities have given to their tourists when they plan to visit Sochi Olympics; pp 1-2 (400 words).

2. Marina Ozerova article headlined "Authorities not 'against all'" comments on the State Duma's plans to return the "against all" option in ballot papers and notes that the authorities want to give the electorate a chance of expressing their protest mood; pp 1-2 (400 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Yekaterina Dyatlovskaya interview headlined "We forgot essence of our profession" with Vsevolod Bogdanov, chairman of the Russian Union of Journalists, who analyses the state of the Russian press as the country marked Day of Russian Press; pp 1-2 (900 words).

2. Artyom Lunkov report "Disagreeable line" says that on Jan. 17 the State Duma may hear in the first reading the bill to reinstate the "against all" option in ballot papers; p 2 (750 words).

3. Vardan Ogandzhanyan report "Unequal match" says that the South Ossetian authorities are so far reluctant to hold a referendum on South Ossetia being annexed to Russia; p 2 (500 words).

4. Vardan Ogandzhanyan report "'Accusations are lies'" says that according to Hermitage Capital, new criminal proceedings may be instituted against deceased lawyer Sergei Magnitsky; p 2 (500 words).

5. Vera Moslakova report "Alexei Navalny fears he may be placed under house arrest" says that protest leader Alexei Navalny has said in his Twitter that he may be placed under house arrest following an incident with traffic police in Moscow Region; p 2 (400 words).

6. Sergei Putilov report "Automatic choice" says that as from 2014, Kalashnikov Concern in Izhevsk will sell some 200,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles to the U.S.; p 3 (800 words).

RBK Daily

1. Ivan Petrov report "Calm worth thousands of billions" says that the Interior Ministry plans to spend some 8,000 billion rubles to fight against crime and ensure public order until 2020; pp 1-2 (750 words).

2. Alexander Litoi report "Intermeeting" says that a request to hold a rally against xenophobia in Moscow's Manezhnaya Square on Jan. 26 has been submitted to the Moscow mayor's office; p 2 (650 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Yevgeny Arsyukhin report "What kind of potato is it?" says that during a meeting of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris, Kerry gave Lavrov two enormous potatoes from Idaho and received a pink fur hat with earflaps in return; p 3 (200 words).

2. Sergei Titov report "People gave marks to ministers" says that according to a poll by the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM), Defence Minister Sergei Shoygu has been recognized as the best minister in the government; p 3 (650 words).

3. Unattributed report polls pundits, experts and readers on why Russia needs the Caucasus; p 3 (300 words).

4. Daria Aslamova report "Why Russia needs Caucasus" features author's impressions and comments following her trip to Dagestan; pp 1-13 (2,300 words).

Tvoi Den

1. Anton Stepanov report "My pain is unbearable" looks at the letter that assault rifle designer Mikhail Kalashnikov has written six months before his death to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill; pp 4-5 (500 words).