What the Papers Say, May 31, 2013

Kommersant

1. Alexander Chernykh article headlined "Unified exam leaks to internet" says that numerous leaks of tasks of Unified State Exams to the internet have sparked an animated discussion of how to prevent them; pp 1, 3 (710 words).

2. Dmitry Butrin article headlined "Domestic economic turnover" looks at possible reshuffles in the economic bloc after Elvira Nabyullina has become head of the Central Bank; pp 1, 6 (797 words).

3. Yelena Kiseleva and Pavel Belavin article headlined "State loses in Sportloto" says that the Federal Agency of State Property Management has initiated audits of the state-owned Russian Lotteries suspected of illegal withdrawal of property; pp 1, 9 (824 words).

4. Maxim Ivanov et al. report headlined "Amended by Front" says that the All-Russia People's Front has suggested that an additional tax on luxurious cars be imposed on cars above R3m rather than those above R5m as the government proposed; pp 1-2 (827 words).

5. Irina Nagornykh et al. report headlined "United Russia to make do without five governors" says that regional election campaigns have been launched in Chukotka Autonomous District, Khabarovsk Territory and Irkutsk Region; p 2 (859 words).

6. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Throwing of gold" gives an ironic account of President Vladimir Putin's visit to St. Petersburg to look at Olympic medals and meet the president of the International Olympic Committee; p 3 (853 words).

7. Sofia Samokhina article headlined "Pavel Astakhov ponders new status" says that children's ombudsman Pavel Astakhov has met State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin and voiced his desire to obtain a right to legislative initiative. Meanwhile, U.S. congressmen met State Duma deputies and brought up the issue of U.S. adoptions of Russian orphans; p 3 (574 words).

8. Natalya Bashlykova article headlined "Congressmen agree to participate in Winter Olympics-2014" says that U.S. congressmen have met members of the Federation Council and offered assistance in ensuring security at the Winter Olympics in Sochi. The senators do not rule out possible cooperation, which makes experts think that another reset in relations between Russia and the U.S. is possible; p 3 (584 words).

9. Article by pundit Vladimir Petukhov published in the opinion column headlined "Price of issue" looks at civil activity in Russia; p 4 (405 words).

10. Maxim Ivanov interview with State Duma deputy from United Russia Sergei Popov, one of those behind the law on NGOs as foreign agents, headlined "'Law passed? Fulfil it. We live in a legal state'" where he speaks about the functioning of the law on NGOs; p 4 (632 words).

11. Olga Allyonova interview with the head of the NGO Committee Against Tortures, Igor Kalyapin, headlined "'If there are dozen of us, machine will stop'" where he speaks about the law on NGOs as foreign agents and his determination not to get registered as one; p 4 (692 words).

12. Olga Allyonova and Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Law of direct counteraction" looks at the strategy the authorities have adopted regarding NGOs and wonders how NGOs will counter it; p 4 (1,029 words).

13. Vladimir Vodo and Musa Muradov article headlined "Lithuanian woman does not become either suicide bomber or prisoner" says that a Lithuanian court has passed a 10-month sentence instead of the 10-year sentence that the prosecution demanded on a young woman found guilty of plotting a terrorist attack in Russia; p 5 (626 words).

14. Sergei Strokan and Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Bashar Assad launches S-300 along wild trajectory" says that Syrian President Bashar Assad has put Russia in an awkward situation by stating that Russian S-300 systems have been delivered to Syria and voicing his intention to personally attend the Geneva peace talks; p 7 (614 words).

15. Maria Yefimova article headlined "Russia gives grenade-launcher support to Jordan" says that a plant to produce manual anti-tank grenade launchers designed specifically for Jordan by Russian specialists has been launched in Amman; p 7 (523 words).

16. Kirill Melnikov and Anna Solodovnikova article headlined "China goes from sea to land" says that Rosneft has offered China partnership in joint projects in three Russian regions; p 11 (506 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Defense Ministry limits draft from North Caucasus, after all" says that the Defense Ministry has once again reduced the number of men to be called up in the North Caucasus, compared to the number of conscripts from the regions populated mostly by Russians; pp 1-2 (667 words).

2. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Preparations for most costly Olympics in full swing" says that President Vladimir Putin has met the president of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, in St. Petersburg to discuss preparations for the Winter Olympics in Sochi. Meanwhile, a report on possible embezzlement at the Olympic construction sites has been published in Moscow; pp 1, 4 (1,191 words).

3. Igor Naumov article headlined "Citizens to account for tax collection" says that the Finance Ministry has put forward a sensational idea: to oblige citizens to report on their property to officials, assess taxes for themselves and bear responsibility in case of miscalculation; pp 1, 4 (900 words).

4. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Gazprom smells coal in Europe" says that as Gazprom keeps insisting on linking gas prices to the oil ones and counting on Europe as its main consumption market, its shares have dropped to their lowest; pp 1, 4 (789 words).

5. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Kiev to sign temporary memorandum with Customs Union" says that Europe is becoming increasingly concerned as Ukraine is getting ready to sign a memorandum on cooperation with the Customs Union; pp 1, 7 (889 words).

6. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "Syrian insurgents fight for caliphate" says that a UN commission investigating possible human rights abuses in Syria has published its conclusions: both sides have been committing cruel crimes abusing human rights, most insurgents are radicals and are fighting for a religious state; pp 1, 8 (820 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Bugaboo of hurt feelings" says that by stepping up control over the religious sphere, the state provides bigots with a powerful tool; p 2 (504 words).

8. Viktor Litovkin article headlined "Hot Finnish gamekeepers stun Sergei Shoigu" looks at a visit of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to Finland; p 3 (829 words).

9. Ivan Rodin and Alexandra Samarina article headlined "New fifth column" says that at the parliamentary hearings in the Federation Council to discuss the fight against illegal migration, a high ranking official of the Federal Security Service has stated that they exposed "certain forces among illegal migrants carrying out sabotage and intelligence-gathering activities against Russia"; p 3 (854 words).

10. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Business agents fear parties" says that neither of 71 parties registered in Russia directly represent the interests of the Russian business where some 6 percent of citizens are employed; p 3 (789 words).

11. Dmitry Orlov article headlined "Hundred Russian leading politicians in May 2013" features a rating of influence of Russian politicians in May with Putin topping the list; p 5 (2,069 words).

12. Unattributed article headlined "Ingush people prepare congress in exile" says that Ingush activists are going to hold an open people's congress in Moscow and voice their no-confidence in the incumbent head of Ingushetia, Yunus-bek Yevkurov; p 6 (1,403 words).

Vedomosti

1. Dmitry Kazmin et al. report headlined "Billion pumped" says that law enforcers suspect the All-Russia Bank of Regional Development owned by Rosneft of the withdrawal of 900m dollars out of the country via false import contracts; pp 1, 14 (750 words).

2. Margarita Papchenkova and Vitaly Petlevoy article headlined "Skolkovo illegality" says that the Audit Chamber has found numerous violations in the work of the Skolkovo foundation, as it has no right to issue grants and sign contracts with MIT; pp 1, 4 (824 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Medvedev's trap" says that the authorities have started persecuting the expert community for the conclusions they have made while fulfilling Dmitry Medvedev's instructions; pp 1, 4 (500 words).

4. Alexei Nikolskyarticle headlined "S-300 do not arrive yet" refutes the reports that S-300 systems have been delivered in Syria; p 2 (452 words).

5. Andrei Babitskyarticle headlined "Agents instead of people" looks at the problems Russian NGOs are faced with; p 7 (414 words).

6. Editorial headlined "Moscow for its own people" criticizes the state policy on migration; p 6 (333 words).

7. Lilia Biryukova report "Fewer bosses" says that United Russia leaders in many regions have decided not to have governors topping party lists and replace them with public activists from the All-Russia People's Front; p 2 (750 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Natalya Kozlova interview with the head of the Interior Ministry Main Directorate for Moscow, AnatolyYakunin; pp 1, 4 (800 words).

2. Article by the chairperson of the Federation Council Valentina Matvyenko headlined "Both mother's and father's" where she speaks about the national strategy of actions in the interests of children; pp 1-2 (1,100 words).

3. Tamara Shkel article headlined "Marriage with drawback" says that the State Duma plans to draft amendments banning adoptions of Russian orphans to same-sex marriages; p 2 (350 words).

4. Valery Vyzhutovich report "Stockholm syndrome" looks at failure of the multi-culture policy in Europe; p 3 (750 words).

5. Vladislav Vorobyov report "Measure 300 times" says that the Syrian president has put on alert practically all intelligence services of the world by making a statement on the delivery of Russian S-300 missiles to Syria; p 8 (200 words).

Izvestia

1. Dina Ushakova article headlined "Pension funds to undergo comprehensive audit" says that the Audit Chamber has started a large-scale audit of non-state pension funds; pp 1, 4 (673 words).

2. Yulia Tsoy article headlined "Syrian Circassians not allowed to enter Russia" says that the Regional Development Ministry has refused to assist Syrian Circassians, whose ancestors used to live in the North Caucasus, in returning to Russia; pp 1, 3 (542 words).

3. Yulia Tsoy et al. report "Deputies decide not to nationalize law on mass media" says that the State Duma has decided to debate again a document that will teach media outlets to cover ethnic issues; p 2 (650 words).

4. Alexei Mikhaylov report "Special-purpose troops to get new Shmel" says that the Defense Ministry has decided to upgrade Shmel thermobaric grenade-launchers; p 3 (600 words).

5. Anna Sivkova report "Young United Russia members will block websites en masse" says that United Russia's Young Guard youth division has developed a system that will make it possible to block a maximum number of websites with illegal content; p 3 (900 words).

6. Igor Yavlyanskyarticle headlined "Obama to reserve FBI for Republicans" says that U.S. President Barack Obama has nominated a Republican candidate to the post of the FBI director and features an expert's comment on the move; p 7 (521 words).

7. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Iran closes during election" says that the Iranian authorities are going to close the border for several days in order to prevent outside troublemakers from getting into the country ahead of the presidential election; p 7 (534 words).

8. Boris Mezhuyev article headlined "Assets not for activists" says that the upcoming autumn election in Moscow Region is becoming intriguing; p 9 (610 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Yulia Kalinina report "Expert review of Yukos case done with Guriyev's participation financed with Khodorkovskiy's money" says that resignation of prominent liberal economist Sergei Guriyev from the post of vice-chancellor of the Russian Economic School and his hasty departure abroad are likely to be linked to the investigation of circumstances of preparation of an expert review of the second Yukos case; pp 1, 3 (550 words).

2. Ignat Kalinin interview headlined "Slavyanka is Defense Ministry's structure, not a firm" with Oleg Belaventsev, general director of the Slavyanka company which has gained notoriety in an embezzlement scandal involving the defense company Oboronservis; pp 1, 4 (2,700 words).

3. Mikhail Zubov report "Levada Center passes round the hat" says that sociologists from the pollster Levada Center have decided not to apply for foreign grants and set up "an internet wallet" instead; pp 1-2 (450 words).

4. Stanislav Belkovskyreport "State and oligarchy" looks at the state of society in Russia; p 3 (1,100 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Loading human merchandise into Philosophy Steamer starts" says the Russian authorities have started persecuting critical-minded experts: economist Sergei Guriyev is unlikely to return to Russia from France; p 2 (740 words).

2. Vera Chelishcheva article headlined "Revenge of untied cannon" looks at the so-called third case of Yukos involving the questioning of prominent Russian economist Sergei Guriyev and other experts; pp 2-3 (1,698 words).

3. V. Ch. article headlined "'This reprisal has lasted for 10 years'" is an interview with Vadim Klyuvgant, the lawyer of jailed Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovskiy; p 3 (400 words).

4. Leonid Nikitinskyarticle headlined "Details of Yukos third case: Investigations Committee conducts searches in Kazakhstan with Basmanny court sanctions" says that Kazakh and Russian investigators have searched a flat of Yelena Novikova, head of the Russian center for Legal and Economic Studies, in Almaty. The search has been sanctioned by a Moscow court and Kazakh prosecutors; pp 4-5 (1,670 words).

5.Yevgeny Feldman article headlined "'To respect defendants' rights, court grants prosecutors request"' looks at new developments in the KirovLes case against opposition activist and anti-corruption whistle-blower Alexei Navalny; p 6 (692 words).

6. Yulia Latynina article headlined "Dmitry Livanov betrayed amid Single State Exam" says an on-line leak of answers to exam tests is sabotage against the education minister, Dmitry Livanov; p 6 (747 words).

7. Maria Yepifanova article headlined "Devastation of Surkov nest" looks at consequences of Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov's resignation; pp 7-8 (1,131 words).

RBC Daily

1. Alexander Litoy article headlined "Trial instead of march" says opposition blogger Alexei Navalny will have to skip the opposition rally on 12 June; p 2 (500 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Viktor Baranets article "Why lot of buzz about supplies of our air defense systems to Syria?" focuses on Russia's S-300 supplies to Syrian President Bashar Assad; p 3 (500 words).

2. Sergei Markov article headlined "Why is Sergei Guriyev forced to play his or someone else's role?" says the resignation of Sergei Guriyev from the post of vice-chancellor of Russian Economic School may have serious political consequences; p 3 (1,000 words).