What the Papers Say, Feb. 10

Kommersant

1. Unattributed interview with Education and Science Minister Dmitry Livanov headlined "'I realized that it was necessary to make fairly serious and often unpopular steps,'" speaking about security measures at Russian schools following the shooting at a Moscow school and about reforms in the Russian Academy of Sciences, among other things; pp 1, 4 (2,799 words).

2. Anna Balashova article headlined "CNN does not feel significance of monument" says that Federation Council member Igor Morozov has suggested blocking the U.S. television channel CNN in Russia following its decision to rank a Soviet-era war memorial in Brest, Belarus, among the world's ugliest monuments; pp 1, 3 (524 words).

3. Alexei Dospekhov article headlined "Our ice skates" reports on the first Olympic gold medal won by the Russian figure skating team in Sochi; pp 1, 12 (787 words).

4. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Kalashnikov misses Vietnam" says that Russia has dropped out of the Vietnamese Defense Ministry's tender to build a plant to produce Kalashnikov guns due to the high cost of the bid. Russia has yielded to Israel, article says; p 2 (489 words).

5. Vsevolod Inyutin article headlined "Communist Party promises coalition to Orlov Region" says that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation has announced its candidates for the Sept. 14 governor elections in Voronezh and Orlov regions; p 2 (539 words).

6. St. Petersburg-based Anna Pushkarskaya article headlined "Removability added to deputy governors" says that the Constitutional Court has acknowledged a right of regional heads to dismiss deputy governors without giving any reasons and meeting the Labor Code requirements; p 2 (580 words).

7. Sergei Goryashko article headlined "Vladimir Ryzhkov loses party again" says that co-chairman of the RPR-Parnas party Vladimir Ryzhkov and his supporters have quitted the party following Ryzhkov's dismissal as the executive secretary of the party's federal political council; p 3 (568 words).

8. Unattributed article headlined "Is coalition possible here?" features comments by politicians and experts on the split in the RPR-Parnas party; p 3 (487 words).

9. Sergei Strokan article headlined "Anti-Maidan cover" looks at the "people's guard" being formed by the Ukrainian authorities to counteract the Ukrainian opposition forces; p 6 (899 words).

10. Sergei Strokan comment published in the regular opinion column headlined "Price of issue" says that the publication of the text of a secret telephone talk between Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and the U.S. envoy in Kiev, when Nuland used obscene language about the EU and its policy on Ukraine and condescendingly spoke of Ukrainian opposition leaders, has turned the scales in favor of Moscow in the struggle for Ukraine; p 6 (428 words).

11. Yulia Rybina report "'Russian Wahhabi' fails to break through from flat" says that four rebels from the Buynaksky subversive group have been killed during a special operation in Makhachkala; p 5 (600 words).

12. Yekaterina Istomina report "To Channel One without ceremony" looks at the celebration at Russia's Bosco House in Sochi where Channel One's director and general producer for the Olympic ceremony Konstantin Ernst has been congratulated on the success of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games; p 7 of Kommersant Boscosport supplement (800 words).

13. Yury Barsukov report "Gazprom tied to oil too much" looks at a conflict between Russia's gas giant Gazprom and the European Commission over gas prices and at the European Commission's possible lawsuit against the company; p 9 (700 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Yekaterina Trifonova article headlined "Parliamentarians complain about pressure" says that the State Duma committee on legislation will debate today an initiative to introduce criminal responsibility for exerting pressure on lawmakers; pp 1, 3 (698 words).

2. Alexandra Samarina and Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Opposition in force majeure regime" says that opposition activist Alexei Navalnyy has renamed his party from People's Alliance into the Progress Party. Republican Vladimir Ryzhkov has quitted the RPR-Parnas party; pp 1, 3 (1,222 words).

3. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Kiev has to deserve new aid from Russia" says that according to Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Russia will transfer a second tranche of its aid to Ukraine only after Kiev pays off its gas debt for 2013. Ukraine is now on the brink of default; pp 1, 4 (943 words).

4. Igor Bolotin and Alexandra Samarina article headlined "'Dark horse' of election in Novosibirsk" says that the Rodina party has nominated former Novosibirsk Region deputy governor Andrei Ksenzov for the early mayoral election in the region's capital city Novosibirsk; pp 1, 6 (638 words).

5. Oleg Matveichev article headlined "'Superweapon' in soft power" comments on a documentary called "The Philosophy of the Soft Way" about the people who have made the 2014 Winter Olympics possible, which was broadcast by Rossia 1 television channel just after the opening ceremony on Feb. 7, as a display of President Vladimir Putin's personal philosophy; p 2 (1,030 words).

6. Editorial headlined "Geneva process is rather alive than dead" previews a second round of talks on the settlement of the Syrian crisis to be held today in Geneva; p 2 (510 words).

7. Igor Naumov article headlined "Police guard Olympic calmness in Sochi" looks at security measures that have been taken during the Olympics in Sochi; p 2 (512 words).

8. Vladimir Mukhin article published in the regular Carte Blanche column headlined "Anatoly Serdyukov's lucky star" says that former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov is said to have been secretly awarded the Hero of Russia decoration in March 2012; p 3 (662 words).

9. Yekaterina Trifonova article headlined "Wedding without Federal Penal Service's blessing" says that the president's human rights council has become concerned about prisoners' forced labour and will discuss the issue at a special meeting in March. Meanwhile, the Federal Labour and Employment Service has already launched mass audits of jails; p 3 (593 words).

10. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Ukraine on brink of default" describes the political and economic situation in Ukraine and says that Russia's aid to Ukraine will not save the Ukrainian economy, but just delay its collapse; p 7 (1,158 words).

11. Yury Roks article headlined "Political clouds over Georgia" says that the Georgian opposition has demanded that the Georgian authorities should take adequate measures in response to Russia's ruse at the Olympics opening ceremony. The outlines of Georgia's breakaway republics South Ossetia and Abkhazia were covered with clouds at the map of Georgia displayed at the ceremony; p 7 (603 words).

12. Yevgeny Grigoryev article headlined "U.S. undermines diplomacy of Old World" looks at a scandal provoked by the publication of a secret telephone conversation between Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and the U.S. envoy in Kiev, when Nuland used obscene language about the EU and its policy on Ukraine; p 8 (571 words).

13. Article by Stephan Richter, publisher and editor-in-chief of The Globalist, headlined "'F*** EU': How Victoria Nuland makes havoc of Ukraine" looks at a scandal over Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Victoria Nuland's recent statements; p 8 (700 words).

Vedomosti

1. Editorial headlined "Law-making contest" describes the State Duma's law-making activities; pp 1, 6 (600 words).

2. Maria Zheleznova et al. article headlined "Too tight for three men in Parnas" says that Vladimir Ryzhkov has quitted the RPR-Parnas party. More party members may follow his example; p 2 (900 words).

3. Maria Snegovaya article headlined "Olympics as basic instinct" says that the Olympic Games play an important role in legalizing political regimes and forming national identity; pp 6-7 (1,400 words).

4. Ksenia Boletskaya article headlined "Russia remains pirate" says that the U.S. Trade Representative Office still considers Russia a country having a high level of piracy in intellectual property; p 19 (600 words).

5. Rinat Sagdyev article headlined "What Mikhail Khodorkovsky refuses?" tries to find out the financial situation of former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky and former Menatep head Platon Lebedev, who have recently been released from prison; pp 20-21 (3,100 words).

6. Olga Kabanova article headlined "Not Olympya" says that many people have described the Olympics opening ceremony as surprising in its contents; p 22 (600 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Difficulties of transition" looks at the causes and consequences of demographic problems; p 6 (500 words).

Izvestia

1. Dmitry Runkevich article headlined "Kremlin does not back law banning rehabilitation of Nazism" says that the presidential administration has debated a bill on criminal liability for criticism of the actions of anti-Hitler coalition's troops and concluded that it cannot be backed because it lacks legal specifics; pp 1, 3 (630 words).

2. Alexandra Yermakova article headlined "Prosecutor's office and Federal Security Service find violations in privatization of Roskartografiya" says that a joint commission of the Prosecutor General's Office and the Federal Security Service has checked the legality of handing over federal property in the joint stock company Roskartografiya and revealed gross violations; pp 1, 4 (842 words).

3. Edvard Serzhan article headlined "Russia's first gold won by team" reports on the first Olympic gold medal won by Russia in Sochi; pp 1, 12 (687 words).

4. Yegor Sozayev-Guriyev article headlined "'Putin devotes himself to Olympics to last drop of his blood'" gives an account of Vladimir Putin's meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in Sochi; p 2 (442 words).

5. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Day of Northern Territories held unusually calmly" says that a traditional rally in front of the Russian Embassy in Tokyo held by nationalists on Feb. 7 on the occasion of the Day of Northern Territories, or the Southern Kurils in Russia, has turned to be few in number than usually; p 7 (484 words).

6. Tatyana Baykova interview with Ivan Eland, director of the Washington-based Centre of Peace and Liberty, headlined "'Barack Obama should not be carried out by Hamed Karzai's bluff'", speaking about disadvantages of the U.S. policy on Afghanistan and about Russia-U.S. cooperation, among other things; p 7 (540 words).

7. Maxim Sokolov article headlined "Notes by stranger" compares media coverage of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi; p 9 (693 words).

8. Dmitry Drobnitsky article headlined "Between ethics and aesthetics" comments on a scandal around the U.S. television channel CNN, which has ranked a Soviet-era war memorial in Brest, Belarus, among the world's ugliest monuments; p 9 (941 words).

9. Mikhail Shakhnazarov article headlined "Girl Lyuba's beautiful true story" praises the Olympics opening ceremony in Sochi and condemns the performance of Pussy Riot punk band girls Marya Alekhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova at Madonna's concert in New York; p 9 (693 words).

10. Sergei Podosenov report "Extremists and terrorists to be isolated from ordinary prisoners" says that State Duma members from the All-Russia People's Front have prepared amendments to the law aiming to isolate people convicted of extremism and terrorism from other prisoners; pp 1, 3 (750 words).

11. Vladimir Zykov report "Museums to hide paintings and statues 18+ from children" says that experts from the Federal Service for Supervision in Telecommunications, Information Technology and Mass Communications have suggested that "recommendations" regarding exhibiting works of art should be drafted taking into account "age marking" before 2015; pp 1, 4 (600 words).

12. Alexei Krivoruchek report "8 billion rubles ($230 million) to be allocated to create high-precision weapons" looks at four companies producing high-precision weapons for radar stations; p 3 (500 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Nikolai Dolgopolov article headlined "Test of gold" gives an update on the Sochi Olympics; pp 1, 3 (2,200 words).

2. Maxim Makarychev article headlined "Russia opens itself to world" says that the Olympics opening ceremony has impressed the entire world; pp 1-2 (776 words).

3. Kira Latukhina article headlined "It was brilliant" reports on Putin's meetings with the Japanese prime minister and the Kyrgyz president on the sidelines of the Sochi Olympics; p 2 (433 words).

4. Tatyana Zamakhina article headlined "They fail to share 'nuclear push-button'" says that following Vladimir Ryzhkov's quitting the RPR-Parnas party, the party has found itself on the brink of dissolution; p 7 (386 words).

5. Brief excerpt from article by Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Federal Agency for CIS Affairs, Compatriots Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation, headlined "Diplomacy official and people's" details Russia-EU relations, which have recently worsened, in the light of the Ukrainian political crisis; p 8 (150 words).

6. Pavel Dulman report "Everyone becomes deaf at once" says that the Ukrainian authorities pretend they have not heard about the recent "scandalous" statements made by Victoria Nuland about Ukraine; p 8 (600 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Irina Stepantseva article headlined "Do not be afraid, Russia!" gives an update on the Sochi Olympics; pp 1, 8 (1,314 words).

2. Lina Panchenko and Irina-Lika Sukhova article headlined "Fascist organizes massacre in temple" says that in Sakhalin region, a local resident has broken into the main cathedral of the South Sakhalin and Kurils diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church and fired several shots, killing two people and injuring six; pp 1, 3 (1,453 words).

3. Yeva Merkacheva article headlined "Death camp No 6" says that the trial of Denis Mekhanov, former head of a prison in the town of Kopeysk, Chelyabinsk region, who is under investigation following a mutiny of prisoners in November 2012, has begun; pp 1, 5 (2,544 words).

4. Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "To Olympics denouncers" ridicules a U.S. journalist who has written a critical article about the Sochi Olympics; pp 1, 7 (840 words).

5. Mikhail Zubov interview with co-chairman of the RPR-Parnas party Boris Nemtsov, headlined "Boris Nemtsov offers Ryzhkov to return to RPR-Parnas", speaking about Republican Vladimir Ryzhkov and his supporters quitting the party; p 2 (772 words).

6. Leonid Berres article headlined "Chinese get to Ukrainian garner" focuses on Ukrainian-Chinese economic cooperation. The article also features a Russian expert's comment on the issue; p 3 (886 words).

7. Mikhail Delyagin article headlined "Crisis of middle class" looks at a gap between the rich and the poor in Russia; p 3 (1,163 words).

8. Tatyana Fedotkina article headlined "Ceremony of pride for Russia" glorifies the Olympics opening ceremony; p 7 (644 words).

9. Andrei Yashlavsky report "Iran to send ships to U.S. borders" says that Iran has decided to react to the presence of U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf; p 2 (300 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Yelena Mishalina article headlined "Entry to jail" looks at human rights campaigners' work in Russian jails; pp 2-3 (3,200 words).

2. Yekaterina Fomina article headlined "The last words of Russia's Maidan" summarizes the last statements made by the Bolotnaya mass riot case suspects before sentencing; pp 7-9 (4,000 words).

3. Andrei Lipsky interview with Russian human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin headlined "Ombudsman as combination of court bailiff and village priest" summarizes Lukin's 10 years of work as ombudsman; pp 12-13 (2,300 words).

4. Nadezhda Prusenkova and Vera Chelishcheva article headlined "Twenty-six seconds to murder" covers court proceedings in the case of deceased liberal journalist Anna Politkovskaya over the last week; p 14 (1,400 words).

5. Diana Khachatryan article headlined "Deal with Gabrelyanov" says that as the niche liberal television Dozhd is being persecuted, Russia's largest government-owned telecommunications company Rostelecom is preparing to invest into the pro-government channel LifeNews and summarizes experts' opinions; p 20 (700 words).

Tvoi Den

1. Unattributed article headlined "I have caused much grief to people" publishes a statement by suspected Moscow school shooter Sergei Gordeyev. It is unclear where the author sourced the statement from; p 6 (400 words).

Feb. 10, 2014 /  BBC Monitoring / ©BBC