What the Papers Say, Apr. 1, 2013

Kommersant

1. Andrey Kolesnikov article headlined "Vladimir Putin unites both skates" reports on President Putin's meeting with sports officials where the future of the Olympic facilities in Sochi was discussed; pp 1, 3 (2,256 words).

2. Yelena Chernenko interview with NATO Deputy Secretary-General Alexander Vershbow headlined "We may start building joint ABM systems" speaking on the US decision not to develop the fourth stage of the European missile defense system and prospects for the Russian-NATO cooperation; pp 1, 8 (867 words).

3. Vladislav Novyy article headlined "Strategic task force" says President Putin has made the Russian Post Office a strategic company. The move is to make the privatization of the post office more problematic; pp 1, 12 (523 words).

4. Sergey Sobolev and Yevgeny Khvostik article headlined "Not to see Island of Freedom for 100 years" reviews the results of the 2012 tourism season in Russia; pp 1, 12 (735 words).

5. Taisia Bekbulatova and Natalya Korchenkova article headlined "Elections in Zhukovskiy drown in money" says acting Moscow Region governor Andrey Vorobyev has denied reports by some bloggers about the bribery of voters at Zhukovsky town mayoral elections. Candidate backed by the authorities Andrey Voytyuk has won the voting, according to exit polls; p 2 (712 words).

6. Natalya Bshalykov article headlined "One Russia needs Yevgeniy Urlashov" says Yaroslavl mayor and member of the Civil Platform party Yevgeny Urlashov has claimed that Yaroslavl Region governor Sergei Yastrebov has invited him to join the list of One Russia candidates for the regional duma elections; p 2 (770 words).

7. Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "Mikhail Gorbachev shows delayed action mines" comments on a lecture by former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev who called for new political reforms in Russia; p 2 (620 words).

8. Irina Nagornykh et al. report headlined "Officials' spending to be compared with revenues" says Russian officials and parliamentarians have to report both of their spending and revenues this year, as part of the on-going anti-corruption campaign; p 3 (1,038 words).

9. Article by former Russian ambassador to South Korea Georgiy Kunadze in opinion column headlined "Price of issue" looks into the possibility of a real armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula; p 8 (373 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Aleksandra Samarina article headlined "Front incubator of individual candidates in single-seat constituencies" says judging by President Putin's meeting with the All Russian People's Front, the movement will be turned into a source of individual candidates backing Putin to take part in elections in single-seat constituencies at all levels. Pro-Putin politicians are expected to have overwhelming majority together with One Russia deputies; pp 1, 3 (1,187 words).

2. Anastasiya Bashkatova article headlined "Cyprus crisis leaves Russia without investors" says following the outbreak of the Cyprus financial crisis , investors are withdrawing money from Russia-oriented funds; pp 1, 4 (806 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "State service without personal interest" says the Russian Labor Ministry has suggested that officials should inform the law-enforcement agencies about the possible conflict of interests in their work; pp 1, 3 (510 words).

4. Aleksey Gorbachev article headlined "Thousand rubles for canvassing 'butterfly'" reports on the violations noted by observers at the mayoral election in the Moscow Region town of Zhukovsky; pp 1, 3 (570 words).

5. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Russians to be made Romanians in Moldova" says Romanian MPs have come up with an initiative to grant Romanian citizenship to all Moldovans. Some Moldovan politicians oppose the plans; pp 1, 6 (801 words).

6. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Pyongyang chooses between war and hard currency" says the tensions between Pyongyang and Seoul are escalating, as North Korea threatened to close the joint industrial complex in Kaesong; pp 1, 6 (536 words).

7. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Russia and Ukraine go to peace water way" says the unscheduled military exercise launched by President Putin in the Black Sea have proven that Ukraine remains Russia's strategic ally in the region; p 2 (698 words).

8. Dmitriy Orlov article headlined "100 leading politicians in Russia in March 2013" says although experts still call President Putin the most powerful politicians in Russia the positions of some government officials are strengthening; p 5 (1,855 words).

Izvestia

1. Alexei Mikhailov article headlined "Main Intelligence Directorate to send spy to Hawaii and Alaska" says the new intelligence ship Yuriy Ivanov to monitor the US missile defense systems will be commissioned in 2014; pp 1, 4 (425 words).

2. Yelizaveta Mayetnana and German Petelin interview with former director-general of Slavyanka company Aleksandr Yelkin headlined speaking on charges brought against him and corruption within the Defense Ministry; pp 1, 5 (2,218 words).

3. Article by Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov headlined "Because — Motherland" speaks out for the restrictions imposed on Russian officials by President Putin and calls for banning foreign trips for top officials having access to state secrets all together; pp 1-2 (777 words).

4. Svetlana Subbotina and Alena Sivkova article headlined "Russian Foreign Ministry speaks about attempts to use organs of Russian children in USA" says the Russian Foreign Ministry claims it has information about two attempts to use organs of Russian children who died in the USA for transplantation; pp 1, 4 (522 words).

5. Margarita Kazantseva and Sergey Ispolatov article headlined "Arguments between Rosneft and Transneft to be resolved by government" says Rosneft oil giant cannot come to agreement with Transneft oil transportation company over the route of increased oil supplies to China; pp 1, 4 (670 words).

6. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "South Korea stakes on marines" says that despite the escalation of tensions with North Korea, Seoul does not plan to postpone the joint military exercise with the USA scheduled for early April; p 7 (633 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Smolyakova interview with presidential aide Yuriy Trutnev speaking on the development of small aviation in Russia; pp 1, 6 (1,649 words).

2. Marina Gritsuk et al. report headlined "Chasing inflation" says pensions have grown by 3.3 per cent in Russia; pp 1, 4 (1,074 words).

3. Aleksey Aronov interview with outgoing Central Bank head Viktor Gerashchenko speaking on the Cyprus financial crisis and Elvira Nabiullina to replace him on the post of the bank's head; pp 1, 4 (1,012 words).

4. Oleg Kiryanov article headlined "Neither war, nor peace" comments on the North Korean leadership tough rhetoric towards Seoul and the USA; p 8 (526 words).

Vedomosti

1. Maksim Tovkaylo article headlined "Gazprom without asking for permission" says Rosneftegaz has secretly bought 0.23 per cent stake in Gazprom. This was the share the government lacked to formally control the gas monopoly; pp 1, 12 (615 words).

2. Olga Kuvshinova article headlined "Russia not to jump high" says Russian Economic Development Minister Andrey Klepash has acknowledged that the country will not be able to reach the economic development level of 5 — 6per cent in the nearest future; pp 1, 4 (740 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Right of strong one" criticizes the State Duma lawmaking activity as ill-thought-out laws often create numerous problems to ordinary people; pp 1, 6 (418 words).

4. Another editorial headlined "Putin to pay" comments on President Putin's decision to pay bonuses to people donating blood; p 6 (305 words).

5. Maksim Tovkaylo article headlined "Person of week: Igor Sechin" analyses power and influence of Rosneft head Igor Sechin over Russia's energy sector; p 6 (361 words).

6. Aleksey Nikolskiy article headlined "Helicopters to be added to Iraq" says Russia's arms supply mega-contract with Iraq has been in fact approved by Baghdad and will be implemented this year; p 2 (497 words).

7. Denis Sokolov article headlined "North Caucasus: to separate or keep" reviews the Russian policy in the North Caucasus and outlines economic and security challenges of the region; pp 6 -7 (1,423 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Aleksey Lazarev article headlined "New mayor to need money and trust" says numerous violations were registered at the mayoral election in Zhukovskiy; pp 1, 5 (922 words).

2. Aleksandr Melman article headlined "Where are you, my Gertruda?" comments on President Putin's decision to revive the hero of labour title; pp 1-2 (877 words).

3. Vladislav Inozemtsev article headlined "It is better not to fight with corruption" reviews the shortcomings of the on-going anti-corruption campaign in Russia; p 3 (1,206 words).

4. Mikhail Zubov interview with Novaya Gazeta newspaper editor-in-chief Dmitriy Muratov speaking on the 20th anniversary of the paper and its editorial policy; p 6 (904 words).

RBK Daily

1. Unattributed article headlined "Berezovskiy's suicide under question" says there are doubts about the suicide of Russian tycoon Boris Berezovskiy, citing articles in The Sunday Times and The New Times magazine; p 2 (200 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Asya Khovanskaya article "Berezovskiy did not manage to get 300m dollars?" says there are doubts about the suicide of Russian tycoon Boris Berezovskiy, citing an article in The Sunday Times; p 1 (450 words).

2. Evgeniy Arsyukhin article headlined "Bank crisis in Cyprus will crash world financial system?" says the tax on deposits in Cyprus could trigger a global financial crisis; p 4 (1,600 words).

3. Aleksandr Kots article headlined "Confession of Ingush Mujahideen" features an interview with a militant wanted in connection with the Domodedovo airport bombing; p 8 (1,500 words).

Moskovskiye Novosti

Aleksandra Beluza article headlined "To challenge" says the upcoming regional election in Russia could change the political landscape; pp B2-B3 (800 words).

Unattributed article headlined "If 'Patriots of Russia' sometimes" features an interview with political scientist Grigoriy Golosov reflecting on Russian party building; pp B3-B5 (2,100 words).

Svetlana Babayeva article headlined "Printer and shredder" features an interview with the State Duma's deputy chairman, Nikolay Levichev, speaking about the situation with the Russian parliament; pp B6-B8 (2,600 words).

Novyye Izvestia

Vera Moslakova article headlined "Costly victory" says observers have registered violations in the mayoral election in the city of Zhukovsky; pp 1-2 (600 words).

Apr. 1, 2013/BBC Monitoring/©BBC

Related articles:

• What the Papers Say, Mar. 29, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Mar. 28, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Mar. 27, 2012