What the Papers Say, Feb. 21, 2014

Kommersant

1. Sergei Strokan and Gennady Sysoyev article headlined "Time for Yanukovych to get out" says that while German, French and Polish foreign ministers arrived in Kiev to offer their solution for overcoming the crisis, Russia is in no haste to act as a mediator in settling the crisis; p 1 (512 words).

2. Olga Shestopal et al. report headlined "Banks taken away from state companies" says that new selection criteria for banks in which funds of state companies and corporations are to be deposited will reduce the number of applicants by half, from 60 to 30 banks; pp 1, 8 (683 words).

3. Nikolai Sergeiev et al. report headlined "British justice reciprocates Omsk justice" says that the British justice has begun recovering debts from the founder and beneficiary of the SAHO group of companies, Pavel Skurikhin, based on the decisions taken by Russian courts; pp 1, 4 (910 words).

4. Alexei Dospekhov article headlined "First woman" says that figure-skater Adelina Sotnikova has won a gold medal in single skating; pp 1, 12 (800 words).

5. Vadim Pasmurtsev and Taisia Bekbulatova article headlined "Far East Development Ministry spreading across country" says that the Far East Development Ministry will have offices in Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Moscow to be able to cope with new tasks ; p 2 (543 words).

6. Irina Nagornykh and Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "'Sovereign democracy reaches conservatism" says that the Kremlin has initiated several public discussions on conservatism and comments on the trend; p 3 (492 words).

7. Irina Alexandrova and Natalya Korchenkova article headlined "Nikita Belykh relieved of United Russia" says that the Kirov legislative assembly has approved amendments enabling self-nominees to run for governor. The amendments are designed for acting governor Nikita Belykh who opposes an alliance with United Russia, experts note; p 3 (689 words).

8. Alexei Baranovsky article headlined "Protest checkpoint" features correspondent's report from a road checkpoint near Kiev as the authorities have ordered to restrict traffic moving to Kiev; p 5 (500 words).

9. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Everything not quiet in Baghdad" looks at Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to Iraq and says that Russian companies, mostly oil ones, are getting increasingly active on the Iraqi market; p 5 (532 words).

10. Ilya Barabanov article headlined "Truce does not strike root in Kiev" looks at the recent developments in Kiev where the truce Yanukovych and the opposition agreed on did not last long; p 5 (721 words).

11. Vladimir Barinov article headlined "Oboronservis's accomplice emerges" says that the former head of the military construction directorate of Moscow has been found guilty of fraud and abuse of office and sentenced to five years in prison. His lawyers have appealed against the sentence; p 4 (520 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Ukraine ends up without center of power" says that President Viktor Yanukovych has lost control over Kiev since one of his most loyal officials, the member of the ruling Party of Regions and the mayor of Kiev said he was withdrawing from the party and refused to obey the central authorities; pp 1, 7 (2,117 words).

2. Anton Khodasevich article headlined "Minsk concealing dialogue with Brussels from Moscow" says that the Belarussian Foreign Ministry has accused Dirk Schuebel, head of the Eastern Partnership Bilateral Division in the European External Action Service, of "distorting" information on talks between Minsk and Brussels; pp 1-2 (785 words).

3. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Alliance backs Ilya Ponomarev" says that opposition figure Ilya Ponomarev is likely to run for Novosibirsk mayor as a candidate for the Green and Social Democrats' Alliance; pp 1, 3 (933 words).

4. Yekaterina Trifonova article headlined "They suggest business replace migrants with prisoners" says that Communists are drafting a bill to enable businessmen to engage prisoners in production; pp 1, 3 (595 words).

5. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Banks do not want to be held responsible for ruble's collapse" looks at Standard & Poor's report on the problems of the Russian banking system and features experts' comments; pp 1, 4 (721 words).

6. Editorial headlined "One-third of society want reforms" looks at a poll conducted by public opinion poll Levada Center which show that 54 per cent of those polled consider the situation in the country to be on the verge of crisis and chaos. Moreover, some 35 percent speak in favor of prompt and drastic reforms; p 2 (496 words).

7. Igor Naumov article headlined "Sochi offering model for Rio, Pyeongchang" says that preparations for the Winter Olympics in Sochi will be used as tips and helpful experience by the organizing committees of the Summer Olympics 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and the Winter Olympics 2018 in Pyeongchang; p 2 (485 words).

8. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Civil Platform without central candidate so far" says that the leader of the Civil Platform Irina Prokhorova does not rule out that she and her brother Mikhail Prokhorov, tycoon and founder of the party, may run for seats in the City Duma election; p 3 (571 words).

9. Oleg Nikiforov article headlined "Carte blanche. Currency troubles" says that experts are puzzled by the actions of the Russian financial authorities, which result in significant weakening of the ruble, and adds that in the current situation the financial aid to Yanukovych's regime becomes a heavy burden for Russia; p 3 (768 words).

10. Mikhail Sergeiev article headlined "Medvedev, Putin pulling economics by arms, legs" looks at the authorities' attempts to find reserves for economic growth; p 4 (684 words).

11. Tamara Lebedeva article headlined "Business realizes its social responsibility" says that the federal authorities' efforts aimed at motivating business to help the state solve social problems have begun to yield results and provides glimpses of the presidium of the State Council dedicated to the implementation of the state policy as regards family and children; p 6 (916 words).

12. Yevgeny Grigoryev article headlined "Merkel does not forget about Putin when meeting Hollande" looks at the reaction of European leaders to the aggravation of the political crisis in Ukraine; p 7 (499 words).

13. Alexei Fenenko article headlined "Berlin's Kiev strategy" says that Germany plays a leading role in supporting the Ukrainian opposition and attributes the trend to Berlin's rapprochement with the U.S.. Moreover, the Ukrainian crisis has highlighted a new direction in American policy: efforts to weaken Russian-German partnership; p 7 (668 words).

14. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "UN Security Council split on Syrian resolution" says that the UN Security Council is unlikely to pass a resolution on Syria today and looks at the recent developments in the country; p 8 (682 words).

15. Yury Paniyev article headlined "North American trio enhancing integration" looks at the 7th summit of North American leaders and quotes the U.S. President as saying that Ukraine must not trigger another round of competition between Moscow and Washington; p 8 (684 words).

16. Svetlana Gamova and Yury Simonyan interview with Russian Foreign Deputy Minister Grigori Karasin headlined "Moscow stays on the same parallel with Kiev", in which he speaks about the current political crisis in Ukraine and Russia's policy in other CIS countries; p 5 (2,500 words).

Vedomosti

1. Alexei Nikolsky and Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "Opposition of force" says that law enforcers and protesters in Kiev are openly using guns and quotes experts as saying that Maidan has more combat resources than the authorities; pp 1-2 (1,050 words).

2. Dina Ushakova article headlined "Loss-making loans" says that according to Standard & Poor's estimates, Russian banks will have so spend over 400 billion rubles ($11 billion) to create additional reserves for unsecured loans; pp 1, 15 (500 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Sentence from position of strength" says that the sentence on Bolotnaya Ploshchad defendants will definitely be a demonstration of force, soft or tough, and a message to society amid protests in Kiev; pp 1, 6 (400 words).

4. Sergei Titov article headlined "Oligarchs get down to courts" says that the co-owner of Alfa-group and deputy head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Mikhail Fridman, has written a letter to the Justice Ministry, criticizing the reform of arbitration courts; p 4 (470 words).

5. Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "Law enforcers attack" says that the number of criminal cases on tax crimes has grown; p 5 (380 words).

6. Editorial headlined "Europe late" contemplates Europe's role in the ongoing Ukrainian crisis and further developments; p 6 (250 words).

7. Article by president of Kiev-based Foundation of Quality Politics Mikhail Minakov headlined "Delayed revolution" blames Yanukovych for bringing back revolution to Ukraine; p 6 (600 words).

8. Kirill Kharatyan article headlined "Thing of week: Armored vehicle-80" comments on the aggravating confrontation in Kiev; p 7 (310 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Mediocre mediators" says that Western politicians lay the blame for violence and people's deaths in Kiev on the Ukrainian authorities only, refusing to see the fault of opposition; pp 1, 10 (400 words).

2. Vladimir Kuzmin article headlined "No partners for chaos" says that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stated that the Russian government is ready to continue cooperation with their Ukrainian counterparts and stick to all deals on condition the authorities in Kiev are legitimate; p 2 (470 words).

3. Valery Vyzhutovich article headlined "Public affairs attorneys" says that the president has approved 40 members of the Public Chamber and looks at the role the chamber will play; p 7 (600 words).

4. Vladislav Vorobyev article headlined "Some 30 kilometers to war" looks at Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to Iraq; p 10 (260 words).

5. Taras Fomchenkov article headlined "Pirate gold" says that the number of leaks of information officially admitted by companies increased by 36 percent in Russia last year; p 8 (320 words).

Izvestia

1. Yury Matsarsky article headlined "'It is definitely war now'" provides an update on the latest developments in Kiev; pp 1, 10 (712 words).

2. Article by political analyst Andranik Migranyan headlined "Conservatives in name and spirit" says that it is the Western mass media outlets and experts who had been forecasting apocalypses during the Sochi Games that suffered the biggest defeat at the Olympics; pp 1, 11 (1,840 words).

3. Sergei Podosenov article headlined "Most Russian citizens consider Crimea to be our territory" looks at a report compiled for the president by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VTsIOM) on contemporary Russian identity, its challenges and answers; pp 1, 4 (673 words).

4. Svetlana Subbotina article headlined "Security Council to discuss unrest in Ukraine" looks ahead at a session of the Russian Security Council to discuss the Ukrainian crisis set for today; p 2 (504 words).

5. Yanina Sokolovskaya article headlined "Churches provide water, food, clothes to protesters" looks at how Ukrainian churches help protesters in Maidan; p 10 (463 words).

6. Darya Tsoy et al. report headlined "Ukrainians abroad demand that EU impose sanctions against Kiev" says that Ukrainians living abroad have asked the EU to impose sanctions against President Yanukovych and his team; p 11 (560 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Mikhail Rostovsky interview with Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization Nikolai Bordyuzha headlined "Why will visas not save Russia" where he says that imposing visa regime on the borders with Central Asian countries means geopolitical suicide for Russia; pp 1, 4 (2,691 words).

2. Marina Perevozkina article headlined "Kiev-style morning: dozens of new victims" says that the truce in Kiev did not last long and looks at a new turn in the confrontation; pp 1, 3 (935 words).

3. Yulia Kalinina article headlined "Cossacks beating up Pussy Riot" slams the Cossacks' attack on the Pussy Riot band; pp 1, 20 (490 words).

4. Yelena Gamayun article headlined "Peaceful face of violence" speaks about escalating violence by extremists in Ukraine and blames the West for turning a blind eye to it; p 3 (796 words).

5. Matvey Ganapolsky article headlined "Ukraine behind threshold of war" says that civilians suffer most from the ongoing protests in Kiev and that they have become refugees in their own city; p 3 (600 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Olga Bobrova report "One law remains in Kiev. The law of war" looks at the situation in Kiev and says that snipers are operating in the center of the city. Most people, who have died there, have been shot in the neck, the article says; pp 1-2 (1,000 words).

2. Alexander Mineyev report "'This is not civil war. This is Yanukovych's war against the people"' features excerpts from a news conference in Brussels in which a Ukrainian Maidan activist, the chairman of the confederation of Ukrainian trade unions and European lawmakers have taken part. The events in Ukraine over the last 24 hours have come as a surprise for European politicians, the article says; p 3 (900 words).

3. Alexei Polikovsky report "Vyshinsky trial" [reference to state prosecutor of Joseph Stalin's Moscow trials] says that the political trial of opposition activists Sergei Udaltsov and Leonid Razvozzhayev has begun in Moscow; pp 4-5 (1,800 words).

4. Semen Novoprudskiy report "Krivichs versus Rabimovichs" looks at the political situation in the country and says that Putin's Russia has "hopelessly lost the Olympics in terms of the economy and is now trying to win in our traditional sport: ideological messing with people's heads"; p 5 (800 words).

5. Sergei Kanev report "'Medvedev's entourage mopped up again'" says that a series of high-profile dismissals has begun in security forces, "including the Federal Security Service director"; p 10 (850 words).

RBK Daily

1. Andrei Kotov et al. report "Price of friendship with Yanukovych" says that the Finance Ministry has postponed the purchase of Ukrainian eurobonds worth $2 billion. Russian business operating in Ukraine has already incurred losses totaling $4 billion ; pp 1, 3 (800 words).

2. Alexander Litoy report "Bolotnaya on a visit to Maidan" says that hundreds of Russian opposition activists have taken part in protests in Kiev; p 3 (500 words).

3. Unattributed report says that Putin has sent ombudsman Vladimir Lukin to Kiev as mediator; p 3 (300 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Yana Sergeieva report "First Ukrainian front" looks at what is happening in Kiev and says that the center of the city has finally turned into a battlefield; pp 1, 4 (950 words).

2. Alexander Rodin report "Fear and hatred in Sochi" looks in detail at the atmosphere in Sochi and tries to dispel myths about the Games; p 13 (800 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Alexander Kots report "Kiev on blood" says that judging by the number of people killed and wounded with firearms, a civil war has begun in Ukraine; pp 3-4 (1,200 words).

2. Dmitry Smirnov report "Lukin goes to reconcile Maidan and Yanukovych" says that Putin has sent ombudsman Vladimir Lukin to Ukraine to act as a mediator between conflicting parties; p 2 (200 words).

3. Yelena Krivyakina report "Moscow does not refuse loans to Kiev" says that Russian-Ukrainian economic cooperation depends on whether the authorities are legitimate and effective in Ukraine; p 2 (350 words).

4. Dmitry Nadezhdin report "They shoot at Russian journalists in Maidan" says that it has become dangerous for journalists to work in Kiev; p 5 (700 words).

5. Article by political analyst Alexander Dugin "This is a war of continents" looks at the situation in Ukraine and says that in the "battle for Ukraine", the U.S. does not have a constructive role ; pp 6-7 (2,700 words).

6. Boris Andreyev report "'Kremlin's like-minded people' appear in U.S. ruling elite" says that a group of respectable politicians have appeared in the U.S. who "support Putin's ideas of inviolability of human and Christian values"; p 8 (650 words).

Trud

1. Sergei Ilchenko report "Everything becomes more expensive except lives" looks at the situation in Ukraine and says that there appears to be no force that could stop the war in Kiev; pp 1-2 (1,300 words).

Krasnaya Zvezda

1. Alexander Alexandrov report "Kiev plunges into chaos" says that despite the truce reached between the Ukrainian authorities and the opposition, street fights in Kiev have intensified; pp 1, 3 (2,300 words).

Tvoi Den

1. Andrei Muravyev report "Purple Dnieper" looks at the situation in Kiev; pp 6-7 (400 words).