What the Papers Say, June 3, 2013

Kommersant

1. Yulia Rybina and Alexander Zheglov article headlined "Makhachkala mayor brought to Moscow" comments on the arrest of Said Amirov, the Makhachkala mayor who was considered to be one of the most powerful politicians in Dagestan. The authors predict redistribution of the spheres of influence among the ruling elite in the republic; pp 1, 3 (1,078 words).

2. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Why Motherland begins" reports on the congress of the Motherland party held in a military style. The party intends to support President Vladimir Putin; pp 1, 3 (825 words).

3. Mikhail Serov and Olga Mordyushenko article headlined "Shtokman to be set aside for fund of next generations" says that development of the Shtokman gas field is to be postponed in Russia for an indefinite period due to high costs; pp 1, 11 (728 words).

4. Sergei Sobolev article headlined "Moscow takes control over street signs" outlines new regulations for shop signboards adopted in Moscow; pp 1, 9 (526 words).

5. Viktor Khamrayev and Taisia Bekbulatova article headlined "State Duma opposition launches offensive against non-systemic one" says the opposition factions in the State Duma have drafted amendments to the bill on parliamentary elections, which make additional obstacles for new parties to get seats in the State Duma; p 2 (668 words).

6. Viktor Khamrayev et al. report headlined "Forty-eight parties ready for electoral marathon" reports on preparation for the regional elections to be held in Russia in early September; p 2 (822 words).

7. Sofya Samokhina and Natalya Bashlykova article headlined "Even hospitals make donations to United Russia" says that according to a report published by the Central Electoral Commission, United Russia remains the party with the biggest budget; p 3 (773 words).

8. Igor Lesovskikh report "Surgut without Drugs sued under city article" says that criminal proceedings have been instituted against the center Surgut without Drugs in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area; p 4 (650 words).

9. Pavel Tarasenko and Yelena Chernenko article headlined "No changes in visa free talks" says the Russian-EU summit is likely to become the most problematic in the recent years as EU delegates will raise an issue of human rights violations at the talks; p 7 (714 words).

10. Maxim Yusin article headlined "Via park to barricades" says Turkey is facing the Arab Spring revolution as protesters have demanded reforms from the Islamist prime minister and repression by the authorities have spurred up the protest mood; p 8 (683 words).

11. Article by Yevgeny Satanovsky, president of the Middle East Institute, in opinion column headlined "Price of issue" analyses the political situation in Turkey; p 8 (380 words)

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Russia says farewell to Shtokman era" says Gazprom has officially acknowledged that the company lacks resources to develop the Shtokman gas field. The gas monopoly management has noted that the future generations are likely to extract gas there; pp 1, 4 (776 words).

2. Andrei Vaganov article headlined "Academicians do not like Kovalchuk" gives details of the election of vice-presidents of the Russian Academy of Sciences; pp 1, 3 (743 words).

3. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Magnitsky list fails to reach Urals" says the Russia-EU summit to be held in Yekaterinburg may cause a scandal in the EU, as European deputies want the delegation to raise an issue of violations of human rights in Russia, while this issue is not on the agenda of the talks; pp 1, 3 (739 words).

4. Milrad Fatullayev article headlined "Honorary prisoner Said Amirov" looks at Makhachkala mayor Said Amirov's arrest and notes that he was expected to be replaced; pp 1-2 (731 words).

5. Tatyana Dvoynova article headlined "Maritime Territory authorities in no mood for ballet" says that completion of some facilities built in Vladivostok for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit has been postponed until September. The local authorities incur huge losses; pp 1, 5 (735 words).

6. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Kiev residents called for starting revolution" reports on disagreement between the authorities and the opposition over the date of the mayoral election in Kiev; pp 1, 6 (712 words).

7. Editorial headlined "In academic rut" outlines challenges that new head of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Fortov is facing; p 2 (547 words).

8. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "U.S. and China to discuss cyber spying rules" says that cyber security will become one of the main topics to be discussed at the upcoming meeting of the US and Chinese heads; p 2 (530 words).

9. Alexandera Samarina article headlined "Guriyev goes beyond borders" says that a decision by Russian economic expert Sergei Guriyev to leave the country shows the overall mood of Russian experts who feel unsafe in the country; p 2 (738 words).

10. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Carte blanche: This long military service" says defense Minister Sergei Shoigu wants to raise the age limit for military service of senior officers. The author supposes that the Russian government may take this measure to reduce pension payments to retired servicemen; p 3 (744 words).

11. Darya Tsilyurik article headlined "Al-Qa'idah arms itself with sarin and mustard gas" says Al-Qa'idah plans to commit mass killings in Europe and the U.S with the use of chemical weapons, as a group of insurgents manufacturing sarin and mustard gas has been detained in Iraq; p 6 (608 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Roman Markelov article headlined "Rouble for euro" comments on the growing euro rate and the falling value of the rouble caused by lower oil prices; pp 1, 4 (408 words).

2. Ivan Yegorov interview headlined "Whom prosecutor hinders" with chief military prosecutor Sergei Fridinsky speaking on bullying and corruption in the Russian Armed Forces; pp 1, 6 (1,151 words).

3. Timur Aliyev article headlined "Escorted to Moscow" says Makhachkala mayor Said Amirov, arrested over charges with organizing a murder of an investigator, claims the case was fabricated against him; pp 1, 5 (625 words).

4. Vladislav Vorobyev article headlined "Attempt turns into torture" says that international forces hamper the efforts of the U.S. and Russia to restore peace in Syria. An international conference on Syria is unlikely to be held before the G8 summit scheduled for mid-June; p 5 (470 words).

Vedomosti

1. Olga Plotonova article headlined "Guriyev not allowed to leave" says economic expert Sergei Guriyev has been elected member of the Sberbank supervisory council without his consent. Minority shareholders have voted for him; pp 1, 14 (608 words).

2. Maria Zheleznova and Anastasia Kornya article headlined "Turkey protests" says that mass protests in Istanbul and Ankara have shaken the positions of the Turkish government; pp 1, 3 (675 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Amirov's special case" says the arrest of Makhachkala mayor Said Amirov has shown the growing role of law-enforcement agencies and secret services in the Russian politics; pp 1, 6 (453 words).

4. Another editorial headlined "Russians love democracy" analyses the political situation in Latvia where the Russian minority has voted for democratic leaders; p 6 (297 words).

5. Maxim Trudolyubov article headlined "Person of week: Sergei Guriyev" analyses the legacy of economic expert Sergei Guriyev who has left Russia; p 6 (415 words).

6. Lilia Biryukova report "Special operation to catch mayor" says that one of the most influential politicians in Dagestan, Makhachkala mayor Said Amirov, has been arrested. This could not happen without the country leadership's agreement, article says; p 2 (800 words).

7. Lilia Biryukova report "Amendments to autumn" says that consideration of the presidential bill on State Duma elections has been postponed for the second time as deputies want to thoroughly think over the filter mechanism for new parties; p 2 (650 words).

8. Ksenia Boletskaya report "How to close pirate" says that the Culture Ministry has given up an idea to block websites with illegal content before trials; p 16 (1,000 words).

Izvestia

1. Anna Akhmadieva article headlined "Axel Springer looks for buyer of Russian assets" says that the German concern Axel Springer is looking for a buyer of its Russian assets including the Forbes magazine; pp 1, 4 (655 words).

2. Andrei Gridasov et al. report headlined "Said Amirov fitted to case of Traktorist gang" reviews the reaction of Dagestan's authorities and the relatives of Makhachkala mayor Said Amirov to the arrest of the senior official; pp 1, 3 (1,414 words).

3. Viktor Toporov article headlined "Arrest in mirror world" looks at political and security problems in the North Caucasus, which Moscow cannot take under control; pp 1, 3 (675 words).

4. Yelena Teslova interview with opposition politician Gennady Gudkov claiming he is selling his stake in a foreign company to be able to take part in the Moscow Region governor elections; p 2 (695 words).

5. Anna Akhmadieva article headlined "Moskovsky Komsomolets removes from its website text on links between ex-mayor and militants" says the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets has removed from its website an article alleging that the former Makhachkala mayor used to have ties with militants. The paper does not comment on the move; p 3 (512 words).

6. Alexei Mikhaylov report "defense Ministry to flood army with digital ranges" says that the Russian Armed Forces will receive new equipment to train servicemen; p 8 (850 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Yekaterina Petukhova article headlined "Best Russian mayor arrested" gives details of the arrest of Makhachkala mayor Said Amirov who used to be considered one of the most powerful politicians in Dagestan; pp 1-2 (802 words).

2. Alexander Melman article headlined "Hour of sheep" comments on a TV show featuring former Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov who has bred sheep in Kaliningrad Region. The show rehabilitated the former politician, the author noted; p 1 (512 words).

3. Commentary by Vladislav Inozemtsev headlined "What did Sergei Guriyev leave?" says the departure of economic expert Guriyev from Russia has shown that the country is undergoing a period of reaction and the authorities do not need any advisers; p 2 (488 words).

4. Viktoria Prikhodko report "Putin has special-purpose unit with toy assault rifle" says that the leader of the party Rodina, Alexei Zhuravlev, has said that the party's main idea is "president's special-purpose unit"; p 2 (350 words).

RBK Daily

1. Unattributed article headlined "Bolotnaya case: beginning" features comments of opposition activists, lawyers and officials on their expectations regarding the outcome of the high-profile Bolotnaya case; p 2 (800 words).

2. Yulia Yakovleva article headlined "President's special forces" says that the Rodina party that has been brought back to life after a six-year pause has held its first meeting, declaring its support to president Vladimir Putin, the army and the naval forces; p 2 (400 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Kirill Rogov article headlined "Big stake" analyses the recent political developments Russia and the on-going anti-corruption campaign and notes that President Putin losing popularity among the voters must have decided to lead the campaign by the law-enforcement agencies; p 8 (936 words)

2. Pavel Felgengauer article headlined "S-300 as spiritual tie" says S-300 missile defense systems supply to Syria has become a sign of the Russian sovereign democracy and foreign policy; p 14 (950 words).

3. Yulia Latynina article headlined "Doctor, where did you get these pictures from?" analyses problems of Russian economic expert Sergei Guriyev and notes that he could have become a victim of a new case launched against former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky or opposition activist Alexei Navalny; p 7 (813 words).

4. Andrei Kolesnikov and Leonid Nikitinsky interview with Supreme Arbitration Court chairman Anton Ivanov speaking on the work of judges and ways of combating corruption; pp 12-13 (2,341 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Alexander Kolesnichenko interview with Olga Romanova, leader of the Russia Behind Bars movement, speaking on the court ruling to release her husband businessman Alexei Kozlov; pp 1, 5 (952 words).

2. Gennady Savchenko article headlined "With no one-sidedness" says that Russia has blocked the UN Security Council declaration that condemned the actions of the Syrian authorities, calling it "one-sided"; p 2 (300 words).

3. Maria Konstantinova article headlined "Zone of influence" says that Maria Alekhina, the jailed member of Russian feminist punk group Pussy Riot, has ceased her hunger strike as the penal colony officials have agreed to satisfy all her demands; p 5 (350 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Yelena Krivyakina interview with pundit Vladislav Inozemtsev on the current political situation in Russia; pp 6-7 (2,300 words).

Moskovskiye Novosti

1. Svetlana Babayeva interview with journalist and civil activist Maxim Shevchenko on national unity within Russia; pp B2-B4; (2,400 words).

2. Svetlana Babayeva interview with pundit Gleb Pavlovsky on the role of Russian elite; pp B5-B7 (2,500 words).

3. Alexei Chesnakov article headlined "Small fry luxury" features an analysis of the restrictive policy towards the officials' luxurious possessions; p B8 (700 words).

Related articles:

• What the Papers Say, May 31, 2012
• What the Papers Say, May 30, 2012
• What the Papers Say, May 29, 2012