What the Papers Say, May 11 2014

Kommersant

1. Olga Shestopal and Yelena Kovaleva article headlined "Bi-ruble basket" says that the Finance Ministry has approved the government's proposal to increase the volume of ruble payments under export contracts; pp 1, 10 (782 words).

2. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Hero of hero-town" gives an ironic account of President Vladimir Putin's visit to Sevastopol to celebrate Victory Day; pp 1, 6 (1,145 words).

3. Afsati Djusoyti and Yury Baletov article headlined "Zenit's defeat equalled to technical one" says that football fans have disrupted a Zenit-Dynamo match again; pp 1, 16 (1,139 words).

4. Ilya Barabanov article headlined "Units of self-determination" features correspondent's report from Mariupol, Ukraine's Donetsk region, where a referendum on independence has been held; pp 1, 7 (924 words).

5. Ivan Safronov et al. report headlined "Expression of will on brink of international one" says that the Kremlin will most likely try to use the results of referendums in Donbass as a bargaining chip in talks with Kiev and the West. Article also quotes presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov as saying that Putin will decide if to recognize the referendums on the basis of their results; pp 1, 7 (885 words).

6. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Aviation for export" says that Russia will supply 10 fighter aircraft to Vietnam and India this year; p 2 (477 words).

7. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Citizens ignore restrictions for bloggers" features results of the polls conducted by the Levada Centre to reveal people's attitude to a new law which imposes restrictions on popular bloggers; p 2 (334 words).

8. Vladimir Solovyev interview with Deputy Prime Minister and the president's special representative for the Dnestr region Dmitry Rogozin headlined "Moldova taking handle of door to NATO" where he says on what conditions Russia may recognize or incorporate the Dnestr region and what Moscow will do in retaliation to Moldova's signing an association agreement with the EU; p 6 (562 words).

9. Pavel Korobov article headlined "Church diplomat fails to pass border control" says that the Ukrainian authorities have banned Metropolitan of Volokolamsk Ilarion, the head of the foreign relations directorate of the Moscow Patriarchate, from entering the country; p 6 (287 words).

10. Yanina Sokolovskya article headlined "Kiev surrounds itself with checkpoints" says that the Kiev authorities have set up checkpoints to prevent "subversives" and "agents provocateurs" from entering the city as they expect clashes either ahead of the presidential election or right after it; p 6 (795 words).

11. Unattributed article "What will referendum result in?" features politicians' comments on referendums in Ukraine's southeast; p 7 (556 words).

12. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Polling station in Moscow allocated for referendum" says that residents of Donetsk and Luhansk regions living in Moscow have had an opportunity to take part in the referendum on the regions' independence at a special polling station in Moscow; p 7 (673 words).

13. Natalya Nemolchanova and Anna Solodovnikova article headlined "Alexander Lukashenko on way to Emirates" says that Minsk has voiced its price for joining the Eurasian Union; p 8 (540 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Dnestr region striving for Novorossia" says that Dmitry Rogozin, deputy prime minister and the president's special representative for Moldova's breakaway Dnestr region, has said on Facebook that the Moldovan special services have seized only a small part of the signatures that Dnestr residents collected in support of the integration into Novorossia in Ukraine's southeast; pp 1-2 (1,020 words).

2. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Honorable senators to be included in constitution" says that the government has approved the LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky's bill to let the president appoint presidential representatives in the Federation Council. Some regions strongly criticized the bill; pp 1, 3 (768 words).

3. Igor Naumov article headlined "Citizens like currency in cash" says that in March Russians bought and withdrew more currency than in February amid the weakening ruble, the aggravating Ukrainian crisis and the cleansing of the banking sector; pp 1, 4 (712 words).

4. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Central Bank sets course for 1998" refers to experts as saying that the Central Bank acts just like it did during the 1998 and 2009 crises: it is trying to ease expectations of ruble devaluation by increasing rates and currency intervention; pp 1, 4 (872 words).

5. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Donbass does not take Putin's advice" says that four referendums have been held in Ukraine's eastern regions. The announcement of their results may turn into a farce as no legal procedure was followed; pp 1, 7 (1,322 words).

6. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Beijing intends to teach lesson to Hanoi" says that China and Vietnam are on the verge of an armed conflict as Beijing has installed a drill rig near the islands Vietnam considers to be its own territory; pp 1, 8 (550 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Class alien economic element" says that the situation in the country, a lack of state support and protection by law enforcers have made it extremely difficult for farmers to survive; p 2 (495 words).

8. Oleg Vladykin article headlined "Russia checks its readiness for global war" says that ahead of Victory Day, Putin has held a scheduled drill as regards command and control of the Armed Forces. In fact, it was a check of readiness for a global military standoff, experts note; p 2 (621 words).

9. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Half of Russians do not fear return behind iron curtain" says that polls conducted by the Levada Center have shown that the number of people who think that Russia should distance itself from the West has reached its maximum, 39 percent. Experts attribute the change to the efficient information campaign, mostly via television, which remains the source of information for 94 percent of the polled; p 3 (514 words).

10. Yekaterina Trifonova article headlined "Patriotic censorship in demand again" says that United Russia has drafted a bill to block for circulation among children the information where patriotism is denied or distorted. Experts are convinced that the struggle for patriotism may become yet another method to restrict mass media outlets and the internet; p 3 (655 words).

11. Alina Terekhova article headlined "International aid to Kiev floats past Gazprom" says that experts doubt that Ukraine will use the international aid to settle its gas debts with Gazprom as it helps Ukraine obtain new loans and step up pressure on Russia; p 4 (800 words).

12. Alexander Shapovalov article headlined "Cossacks prepare to head for Donbass" says that Cossacks' chieftain Nikolai Kozitsin has called for setting up the Cossacks national guard in Ukraine's southeast in order to defend its population; p 6 (411 words).

13. Anton Khodasevich article headlined "Price of Lukashenko's friendship" says that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has decided not to block the setting up of the Eurasian Union in exchange for $2.5 billion and other benefits; p 7 (711 words).

14. Yevgeny Grigoriyev article headlined "Barrel of herring, benevolent calls and sanctions" says that Berlin is getting more involved in the Ukrainian crisis. Meanwhile, German papers have published a report about the participation of hundreds of mercenaries from the U.S. in the Ukrainian conflict; p 8 (452 words).

15. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "Syrians to elect president out of three candidates" comments on the beginning of a presidential election campaign in Syria; p 8 (693 words).

16. Darya Tsiryulik article headlined "Michelle Obama begins fight against Boko Haram" says that the Nigerian authorities do not rush to accept Washington's assistance in the liberation of female hostages as they fear the U.S. will use it to strengthen its positions in Nigeria and interfere in its domestic affairs; p 8 (620 words).

17. Nadezhda Arbatova article headlined "Ukrainian fracture: Anatomy of conflict" looks at the reasons behind the Ukrainian crisis and a clash between the Eastern Partnership program and the Eurasian Union project; p 9 (2,801 words).

18. Yury Paniyev article headlined "West avoids total confrontation with Moscow" looks at the political developments in the Ukrainian crisis that took place last week; p 11 (613 words).

19. Ivan Rodin article headlined "May holidays pass like weekdays" says that due to the Ukrainian developments, the last week was more eventful than it is common for May holidays; p 11 (452 words).

Vedomosti

1. Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "Putin no president for Donetsk, Luhansk" says that the Donetsk and Luhansk self-proclaimed administrations have conducted referendums despite Putin's advice to postpone them; pp 1, 3 (750 words).

2. Milana Chelpanova and Vitaly Petlevoi report headlined "Russian chilling" says that Russian Railways has stopped buying foreign-made rails as Mechel and Evraz supply the required quantity; pp 1, 13 (650 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Reinforcing dependence" comments on Putin's calls for making Russia self-sufficient and independent from the West and looks at the factors hampering the process; pp 1, 6 (500 words).

4. Anastasia Kornya and Maria Zheleznova article headlined "Pussy Riot case acquires values" says that international human rights organizations will take part in the Pussy Riot versus Russia case at the ECHR which may turn Russia's domestic case into an international dispute about traditional values; p 2 (500 words).

5. Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "Union at any cost" looks at the price Russia will have to pay for Belarus joining the Eurasian Union; p 5 (700 words).

6. Editorial headlined "Unpleasant facts" says that Russians are not very interested in the history of World War II and the new law on criminal responsibility for rehabilitation will only discourage them even more; p 6 (400 words).

7. Maria Repnikova article headlined "China's double game" looks at Beijing's moderate stance on Crimea's incorporation into Russia and the benefits it has yielded; p 7 (800 words).

8. Yelena Khodyakova article headlined "Gazprom switches to pre-payment plan" says that Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak has announced the introduction of a pre-payment plan for Russian gas supplies to Ukraine as of June; p 11 (650 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Referendum: What next" says that 72 percent of residents of Donetsk Region and almost 80 percent of people in Luhansk Region have taken part in referendums; pp 1, 3 (950 words).

2. Yury Snegirev interview with "people's governor" of the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic Pavlo Hubaryev headlined "I do not want to try on martyr's outfit" where he speaks about his experience as the leader of the republic and about the referendum; pp 1, 3 (1,400 words).

3. Andrei Vasilyev article headlined "Day of grief" looks at the clashes in Ukraine's Mariupol on May 9; pp 1-2 (850 words).

4. Unattributed article headlined "Lyashko in command of massacre in Mariupol" says that Oleh Lyashko, a Ukrainian presidential candidate and an lawmaker, was "personally in charge" of the reprisals in Mariupol and is now enrolling his own group of militants; p 2 (500 words).

5. Yury Gavrilov et al. report headlined "From 'Tula' to Kura" says that ahead of Victory Day, Putin along with leaders of Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan watched a command drill of the Russian Armed Forces; p 5 (500 words).

6. Yekaterina Zabrodina report "German intelligence service spots American mercenaries in Ukrainian steppes" says that mercenaries from the U.S. are probably taking part in a military operation in the southeast of Ukraine; p 2 (150 words).

7. Vladislav Rilsky report "How Nuland tried to bribe Yarosh" says that details of secret talks between U.S. State Department representative Victoria Nuland and Right Sector chief Dmytro Yarosh appear in the Internet and the press; p 2 (200 words).

8. Sergei Ptichkin interview "Heading for takeoff" with Mikhail Pogosyan, head of the United Aircraft Corporation; pp 1, 8 (1,900 words).

Izvestia

1. Tatyana Baykova article headlined "Referendum makes southeast closer to creating Novorossia" says that referendums on independence have been held in Ukraine's Luhansk and Donetsk regions; pp 1, 8 (779 words).

2. Yegor Sozayev-Guryev article headlined "CSTO backs peaceful settlement of conflict" looks at the results of the informal summit of several CSTO countries in Moscow; p 8 (434 words).

3. Anastasia Kashevarova article headlined "U.S. authorities offer money to Right Sector" says that in late April Washington offered some $5 million-10 million to Ukraine's Right Sector to help it become a political party; p 8 (684 words).

4. Andrei Gridasov report "Head of United Shipbuilding Corporation accuses Industry and Trade Ministry of disrupting state defense order" says that head of United Shipbuilding Corporation has written a letter to Putin about the situation in the company; pp 1, 3 (1,000 words).

5. Svetlana Subbotina report "Young American politicians arrive for experience" says that despite sanctions, a delegation of young American politicians has arrived on an official visit in Russia; p 3 (200 words).

6. Svetlana Subbotina report "State Duma prepares symmetrical response" says that State Duma member from the party Rodina Alexei Zhuravlev has said he is drafting a bill banning NATO aircraft from flying in Russia's airspace; p 8 (650 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Igor Karmazin article headlined "Queue as if to mausoleum" looks at the referendum in Ukraine's Donetsk region; pp 1-2 (500 words).

2. Yelena Gamayun report "Who shot at whom in Mariupol" says that the body of the head of the Mariupol city police directorate has allegedly been found near a local airport; pp 1-2 (700 words).

3. Tatyana Fedotkina report "At end on Conchita" looks at the victory of Conchita Wurst in the Eurovision song contest; pp 1, 7 (300 words).

4. Mikhail Zubov interview "How will scandal with Rogozin end up" with State Duma member Alexei Zhuravlev who comments on a recent scandal with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin in Moldova; p 2 (500 words).

5. Mikhail Zubov report "Russian observers barred from referendum" says that Russian human rights activists have been banned from entering Ukraine to observe the referendum in Donetsk region; p 2 (250 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Gennady Petrov interview with a member of Moscow Carnegie Endowment Centre's scientific board, Russian political analyst Alexei Malashenko headlined "Russia won't cope with Luhansk, Donetsk, let alone Kharkiv joining it" on the situation in Ukraine and around it after the poll in the country's south-east; pp 1-2 (500 words).

2. Donetsk-based Dmitry Durnev report entitled "Everything is just beginning" on the way the referendum on the region's independence was held in the region; pp 1-2 (400 words).

3. Yekaterina Dyatlovskaya article entitled "Loving Motherland the right way" says a United Russia lawmaker, Arkady Ponomarev has prepared a bill that is aimed at protecting children from information that distorts or rejects patriotism. Pundits say similar initiatives intend to prove their loyalty to the country and punish someone at the same time; pp 1-2 (400 words).

4. Yana Sergeyeva article headlined "Politicians in deadlock" says the Kiev authorities have said they will not recognize the referendum in Donetsk and Luhansk but they do not know what's to be done next; p 2 (300 words).

5. Arina Raksina article entitled "Saved for rainy day" says that Russians are buying foreign currency given the unstable political situation in the world; p 3 (500 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Alexander Mineyev article "Yanukovych's money: the more of it is confiscated the fewer people will be killed in Ukraine" says Britain and the U.S. are trying to persuade high-ranking officials from high-profile offshore companies to disclose information about the bank accounts of Russian and Ukrainian corrupt officials; p 13 (600 words).

2. Rock singer Yury Shevchuck article entitled "In loving memory" pays tribute to heroes of the Great Patriotic War , as World War II is known in Russia, as well as to rank-and-file people and world politicians of today, among them acting Ukrainian President Oleksandr "Turchynov from Kiev", German Chancellor Angela "Merkel from Berlin" and Russian President Vladimir "Putin from Moscow"; pp 2-3 (300 words).

3. Sociologist Dmitry Oreshkin article headlined "There is no Novorossia [formerly southeast Ukraine]" says the conflict in Ukraine is becoming a war of outlooks and systems of values and looks at the ideas and opinion behind the conflict; pp 7-9 (3,000 words).

4. Yulia Polukhina and Valeria Ivashkina article entitled "There were weapons on both sides" on the events in Odessa on May 2 and 4; pp 10-11 (1,300 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Darya Aslamova article entitled "Donetsk residents who voted at the referendum say: 'We feel more Russian than the Russians!'" gives an array of opinions and views of people who voted at the referendum; p 5 (500 words).

2. Alexander Kots and Dmitry Steshin article entitled "Referendum after fighting" says the poll did take place in Slovyansk despite the "resistance of the Ukrainian army"; p 5 (300 words).

3. Unattributed article "Konchita la komedia" explains why a 26-year-old bearded young man from Austria dressed as a "languid woman" called Konchita Wurst has won the Eurovision contest. Among others, maverick politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky says: "It is the end of Europe", pp 1, 3, 22 (1,400 words).

4. Alexander Grishin article headlined "They kill politicians in Ukraine and easily train participants in punitive operations — following a note in Facebook" says a lot of interesting things were found out when Interior Minister Arsen Avakov's Facebook page was hacked; p 3 (700 words).

RBK daily

1. Zhanna Ulyanova article entitled "Referendum instead of polls" on the referendum in Ukraine's southeast; pp 1-2 (700 words).

2. Dmitry Koptyubenko et al. interview with presidential adviser Sergei Glazyev on Ukraine, Western sanctions and new economic policy; p 4 (1,700 words).

BBC Monitoring / ©BBC