What the Papers Say, Feb. 25, 2014

Kommersant

1. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Orders of victory" reports on President Vladimir Putin's meeting with Russian athletes who have won Olympic medals; pp 1, 4 (1,845 words).

2. Irina Nagornykh et al. report headlined "Federation Council of elders" comments on an initiative by LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky to introduce honorary seats to the Russian Federation council that will be held by senators during their entire life; pp 1-2 (831 words).

3. Sergei Strokan and Maxim Yusin article headlined "Ukraine splits inter-authorities' powers" says representatives of Yulia Tymoshenko's party have taken control over key posts in the Ukrainian government. The party, however, has to take the opinion of the radical opposition into account; pp 1, 3 (650 words).

4. Olga Shestopal article headlined "Certify and rule" says the Finance Ministry wants to oblige auditors to provide tax collectors with information about their clients; pp 1, 8 (626 words).

5. Olga Kuznetsova interview with Deputy Chairman of the EU Parliament Committee on International Trade Pavel Zalevsky speaking on the EU plans to provide Ukraine with financial support; p 3 (386 words).

6. Ilya Barabanov article headlined "Maidan holds place" says opposition activists do not hurry to leave Kiev despite the fact that the new authorities are calling for dismantling barricades; p 3 (467 words).

7. Vyacheslav Kozlov article headlined "Bolotnaya case reduced to minimum" comments on the verdict to eight people tried as part of the so-called Bolotnaya case. Despite the fact that the people were sentenced to imprisonment, they will be able to apply for release on parole, article says; p 3 (558 words).

8. Yury Barsukov report in the column "Rules of game" says that the "coup in Ukraine is unlikely to create problems to Russian business in the near future", except the gas giant Gazprom and the Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom; p 7 (550 words).

9. Olga Mordyushenko report "Belaruskaly begins guerrilla war" says that the Belarusian potash company Belaruskaly is "taking away" consumers from the major Russian potash producer Uralkaly; p 9 (600 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Maidan's shadow over Black Sea Fleet" says the Russian Navy command have refuted information about the Black Sea Fleet's involvement in the escape of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych from the country. The fleet, however, is in the state of alert due to political instability in Ukraine; pp 1-2 (757 words).

2. Alexandra Samarina and Ivan Rodin article headlined "Senators with life term" says that after Putin has signed the new law on the State Duma elections, independent candidates are expected to push some members of political parties from of their seats in the Russian parliament. Meanwhile, LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky has come up with a proposal to introduce life-term Federation Council senator seats. The Kremlin is believed to be behind the initiative; pp 1, 3 (1,039 words).

3. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "They reach Bolotnaya defendants" says the Kremlin may pardon opposition activists sentenced to imprisonment over their participation in clashes with police on Bolotnaya Ploshchad in Moscow on 6 May 2012. Meanwhile, the opposition has held a rally in support of the convicts in central Moscow; pp 1, 3 (776 words).

4. Igor Naumov article headlined "Gazprom invited for Vienna waltz " says Austria has decided to return to the South Stream gas pipeline project implemented by Gazprom. Meanwhile, Russia will have to compete with LNG from the U.S. and Canada in Europe; pp 1, 4 (850 words).

5. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Ukrainian parliament gets uncontrolled country" says Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov has been recalled to Moscow, as Russia is concerned about the future of its businesses in Ukraine due to the political turmoil there; pp 1, 6 (1,928 words).

6. Andrei Melnikov article headlined "Locum tenens appears in Ukraine" says the clerics who oppose a breakup in relations with the Russian Orthodox Church have taken control over the Ukrainian branch of the church; pp 1-2 (389 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Maidan shows Russian authorities their main mistake" says Moscow can learn a lesson from the political crisis in the Ukraine as total suppression of political opponents is counterproductive. The article, however, rules out a possibility of a similar revolt in Russia; p 2 (486 words).

8. Alexei Mukhin article headlined "Carte Blanche. Winter fairy tale amid 'chilly war'" praises the organization of the Sochi Olympics and notes that the event has shown that Russian civil society is becoming more powerful; p 3 (803 words).

9. Viktoria Panfilova report "Washington looks for approaches to Rahmon" says that the U.S. is ready to invest in an energy project in Tajikistan and features comments of Russian experts; p 6 (750 words).

10. Artur Blinov and Anna Gushchina article headlined "Washington puts end to long-drawn-out wars" reports on the U.S.' plans to reduce the personnel of ground forces and features a comment of a Russian expert on the issue; p 7 (785 words).

11. Daria Tsilyurik report "U.S. creates myth about moderate al-Qaida" says that Americans have "found a pretext for arming Osama bin Laden's successors" and provides a comment of a Russian expert; p 7 (900 words).

12. Nikolai Gulbinsky report "Tree bearing fruit in winter" looks at the political situation in Russia and tries to answer a question about whether a revolution is possible in the country; pp 9, 12 (3,900 words).

13. Alexei Tokarev report "Transformation or vendetta in Kiev way?" looks at the phenomenon of "colored" revolutions; p 14 (3,100 words).

Vedomosti

1. Margarita Lyutova article headlined "Ukraine looks for $35 billion" says Ukraine is one step away from a financial crisis. Kiev is asking the EU, the U.S. and the IMF to provide the country with urgent financial support; pp 1, 5 (1,100 words).

2. Editorial headlined "Level of fear" criticizes the Russian justice system over the verdict to people involved in the so-called Bolotnaya case and the law-enforcement agencies over the recent detention of opposition activists who protested against the verdict in Moscow; pp 1, 6 (600 words).

3. Svetlana Bocharova and Lilia Biryukova article headlined "To Federation Council for entire life" comments on a bill by State Duma member from the LDPR Vladimir Zhirinovsky to introduce some life term seats in the Federation Council. The opposition MPs, who will lose their seats in the State Duma after the next election, may get those seats; pp 1, 3 (650 words).

4. Another editorial headlined "To borrow money for livelihood" says bank loans are becoming the only way for poor Russians to make both ends meet. As these people lack money to pay their loans back, the amount of bank debts is growing; p 6 (400 words).

5. Anastasia Kornya report "Education of Bolotnaya" looks at the verdicts passed in the so-called Bolotnaya case; p 2 (850 words).

6. Valery Zubov report "Marshall Plan for Ukraine" looks at the problems of the Ukrainian economy; pp 6, 7 (2,100 words).

Izvestia

1. Andrei Gridasov article headlined "Anatoly Serdyukov asks for amnesty" says the lawyers of former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, charged with negligence, have applied for amnesty; pp 1, 4 (528 words).

2. Lyudmila Podobedova article headlined "Price on gas for Ukraine may grow by one-third as from April" says Gazprom may raise prices on gas for Ukraine to $400 per 1,000 cubic meters. in the second quarter of 2014, in case political instability in Ukraine results in delay in payments and disruption in gas transit to Europe; pp 1, 4 (828 words).

3. Pavel Kochegarov report "Three candidacies selected for post of Moscow's main investigator" says that the leadership of the Interior Ministry has made a list of candidates for the post of the head of the main investigations directorate of the Interior Ministry main directorate for Moscow; pp 1, 4 (800 words).

4. Kirill Mogutin report "Reform of Defense Ministry's biggest scientific centre begins" says that the reform of the Defense Ministry's fourth central research institute has begun; p 3 (550 words).

5. Svetlana Povoraznyuk article headlined "Gazprom-Media closes Itogi" says the Sem Dney, or Seven Days, publishing house stops publishing the Itogi magazine as it has became unprofitable; p 6 (397 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Kira Latukhina article headlined "For our Olympic victory" says Putin has summed up the results of the Olympic Games in Sochi that has turned out to be the most successful for Russia in history; pp 1-2 (1,400 words).

2. Yulia Krivoshapko article headlined "Central Bank splits penalties for three" says two banks in Ingushetia have been stripped of their licenses due to violations of the law; pp 1, 7 (400 words).

3. Vladislav Vorobyev article headlined "Where is Yanukovych?" assumes that Americans could have helped toppled Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych leave the country if he promises not to get involved in the events in Ukraine; p 7 (500 words).

4. Leonid Radzikhovsky article headlined "History" says the revolt in Ukraine has not resolved any political or economic problems of the country. The author notes that the new authorities will have to develop relations with Russia; p 8 (750 words).

5. Ivan Yegorov report "Lower than lowest" looks at the verdicts passed in the so-called Bolotnaya case; pp 1, 13 (1,200 words).

6. Viktorya Chernysheva report "Something flew..." says that an unidentified UAV has been spotted over Ulyanovsk. A special commission is looking into the incident; pp 1, 18 (600 words).

7. Yury Sergeyev report "Who pulls whom into 'marsh"' looks at the situation in Ukraine and says that "Moscow liberals should learn Kiev lessons"; p 13 (600 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Alexander Minkin article headlined "Put on wanted list" advises Putin to help the new Ukrainian authorities find Viktor Yanukovych who is trying to escape punishment for the mistakes of his regime; pp 1, 3 (745 words).

2. Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "Triumph of Russiaphobes in Ukraine is impressive, but fortunately, temporary" slams the Ukrainian parliament over the bills violating the rights of the Russian-speaking population of the country. The author notes that anti-Russian mood among the Ukrainian authorities will not last long; pp 1, 3 (609 words).

3. Dmitry Katorzhnov report "Bolotnaya verdict passed for unrest" looks at the verdicts passed in the Bolotnaya case and says that the convicts' lawyers hope for release on parole for their clients; pp 1-2 (550 words).

4. Yevgeny Gontmakher report "One cannot go far on 'mad printer'" says that Russia needs a civilized party system to move forward; p 3 (1,100 words).

RBK Daily

1. Tatyana Aleshkina and Ivan Petrov article headlined "Crime re-enactment" says the Central Bank of Russia has asked the Investigative Committee to conduct a probe into the actions of former top managers and the owner of Moi Bank, which was stripped of its operating license on Jan 31; pp 1, 8 (950 words).

2. Yevgeny Novikov et al. article headlined "Yanukovych's legacy" speculates on the fate of the close associates of the deposed Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych; pp 1, 3 (1,200 words).

3. Alexander Litoi article headlined "Olympic closure" describes the announcement of verdicts to the defendants in the so-called Bolotnaya case, who have been sentenced to prison terms, and looks at the rally in their support held on Feb. 24 in Moscow; p 2 (600 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Vitaly Slovetsky article headlined "Upside down" says that the State Duma plans to table a bill suggesting the abolishment of superiority of the international right over the Russian law; p 2 (600 words).

2. Yana Sergeyeva article headlined "Revolutionary expediency" says the new Ukrainian authorities are searching for money and for the deposed president, Viktor Yanukovych; p 2 (450 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Alexei Ovchinnikov article headlined "Sevastopol runs up Russian flag" says that some Ukrainian cities and regions have distanced themselves from Maidan and showed a desire to unite with Russia, such as Sevastopol and Crimea; p 4 (1,200 words).

2. Yevgenia Suprycheva article headlined "Maidan feels sad... Power slipping from it" says Ukrainian revolutionaries are not satisfied with the outcome of the protest; p 5 (450 words).

3. Andrei Baranov article headlined "There will be attempt of aggressive incorporation of eastern Ukraine" is an interview with Russian pundit Alexei Vlasov saying that the U.S. is provoking Russia to make some decisive steps as regards Ukraine; p 10 (400 words).

Trud

1. Sergei Frolov article headlined "Translated from Ukrainian" outlines five lessons Russians should draw from the Kiev unrest; p 2 (650 words).

Krasnaya Zvezda

1. Alexander Alexanderov article headlined "Ukraine: Moment of truth" describes the situation in Ukraine, showing how democratic values can become an effective tool to overthrow the authorities; pp 1, 3 (1,500 words).

Feb. 25, 2014 / BBC Monitoring / ©BBC