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What the Papers Say, May 6, 2013

Kommersant

1. Kirill Melnikov and Dmitry Ladygin article headlined "Surgutneftegaz reports on its performance in standard way" says one of the least transparent oil companies in Russia, Surgutneftegaz, did not disclose much information on its performance in its annual report; pp 1, 7 (1,013 words)

2. Dmitry Butrin and Oleg Sapozhkov article headlined "One not to be able to disappear on Bermudas any longer" says the largest off-shore banking systems including the Bermudas are to share information on operations in their financial systems with the EU; pp 1-2 (966 words).

3. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Vladislav Surkov gives innovation answers" reports on Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov's performance at London School of Economics where he answered questions on the investigation into the Skolkovo foundation work and the current political system in Russia; pp 1, 3 (761 words).

4. Viktor Khamrayev and Tatyana Kuznetsova article headlined "Performance as proof" comments on a bill to be considered in the State Duma in May, which will oblige actors and other artistic professionals to take qualification exams every five years; pp 1, 3 (1,255 words).

5. Taisya Bekbulatova article headlined "Regional scandals reduce score" says a survey by the St. Petersburg Politics fund has shown that corruption scandals even involving plagiarism in scientific works affect the image of regional heads; p 2 (419 words).

6. Pyotr Netreba article headlined "Good deeds go down to lower bodies" says the Russian government has instructed the regional authorities to work on the implementation of Vladimir Putin's pre-election promises; p 2 (579 words).

7. Konstantin Voronov and Natalya Bashlikova article headlined "Communist mayor falls under article" says that the mayor of the town of Berdsk in the Novosibirsk region, Ilya Potapov, is suspected of a large-scale bribery. Fellow members of the Communist Party regard the situation political persecution as Potapov defeated a United Russia candidate at mayoral elections in 2011; p 2 (700 words).

8. Maria Yefimova article headlined "Ramzan Kadyrov waits for Englishmen" says the authorities of Russia's North Caucasus republics have expressed concern over London's advice to British citizens to avoid visiting the regions allegedly due to rallies in support of Tsarnayev brothers suspected with organizing the Boston bombings held there; p 3 (410 words).

9. Vladimir Vodo article headlined "To Lithuania for democracy" reports on the Russian opposition performance at an international conference in Vilnius where they criticized some European politicians and reported on the crackdown on opposition in Russia; p 3 (510 words).

10. Anna Perova and Nikolai Sergeiev article headlined "Procedural status of State Duma deputy changed" says that the Investigative Committee has presented official charges to the Communist member and State Duma Deputy Vladimir Bessonov over the use of force against the authority representative; p 4 (400 words).

11. Vladislav Trifonov and Nikolai Sergeyev article headlined "Britain accuses businessman but does not give him away" says that Britain has not agreed to extradite the head of Russian bankrupt holding Marta, Georgy Trefilov, who was earlier put on an international wanted list over alleged fraud in Russia; p 4 (300 words).

12. Yevgenia Milova article headlined "We will spare no stage" report on the ceremony held in Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg to mark the opening of its new stage and the 60th anniversary of its artistic director Valery Gergyev. The author notes that despite the presence of President Putin, there were no tight security measures at the ceremony; p 5 (928 words).

13. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Service like festival" reports on the Easter service conducted at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow where President Putin was present; p 5 (860 words).

14. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Barack Obama on Mexican road of fighting with drugs" reports on U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Mexico and Costa Rica to show Washington interest to Latin America; p 6 (484 words).

15. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Female trail found in place of Boston bombing" says the widow of Tamerlan Tsarnayev may be charged with assisting the terrorists as new evidence proving her involvement in assembling the explosive devices were found; p 6 (574 words).

16. Sergei Strokan and Marya Yefimova article headlined "Syrian war spreading by air" says Israeli air strikes at the Syrian territory have become the largest foreign interference in the Syrian crisis; p 6 (679 words).

17. Gaina Dudina article headlined "England votes against EU" says the British Independence Party is gaining popularity in the country, as almost a quarter of the voters in Wales voted for the party; p 6 (554 words).


Izvestia

1. Anastasia Kashevarova and Alyona Sivkova article headlined "Three ministers to get rap over knuckles" says President Putin is to chair the Cabinet meeting on May 7 where he is expected to reprimand at least three ministers: the ministers of labor, healthcare and education; pp 1, 3 (400 words).

2. Maria Kunle article headlined "Bankers to report on all purchases" says the State Duma is to consider a bill which will oblige all banks to report on their purchases like state corporations and government bodies; pp 1, 3 (564 words).

3. Yulia Tsoi article headlined "Opposition to Coordination Council gathers 1,500 people" reports on an opposition rally held in Moscow on Easter that was ignored by many prominent opposition figures; p 2 (512 words).

4. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Israel rehearses strike on Iran in Syria" says the destruction of Iranian missiles on the Syrian territory by the Israeli aviation looks like a warning to Tehran; p 7 (335 words).

5. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "North Korea to build its own Disneyland" comments on Pyongyang plans to build its own theme park amid the country's economic problems; p 7 (523 words).

6. Anna Akhmadyeva interview with Natalya Nikonova, Rossia-1 TV producer speaking on changes to be held in "Pryamoi Efir" talk show of the TV channel; p 9 (872 words).


Vedomosti

1. Bela Lyauv article headlined "Prices get stuck" says housing market in Moscow has stopped growing and the cost of flats in old houses is even going down for the first time since the crisis in 2008; pp 1, 18 (543 words).

2. Vitaly Petlevoi and Lilya Biryukova article headlined "Kerimov chooses charity" says billionaire Suleiman Kerimov has found a way of keeping his assets and staying in the Federation Council. He handed over his assets to his charity fund in Switzerland; pp 1, 13 (665 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Good things in accordance with license" comments on the current political repressions in Russia and notes that the legal space for expressing protest has become too small in the country; pp 1, 6 (418 words).

4. Svetlana Bocharva and Lilia Biryukova article headlined "Agents' parade" says the Russian law enforcement agencies fight with independent NGOs in Russia will result in the closure of the organizations; p 2 (642 words).

5. Maxim Glikin article headlined "Triad of 'New Putin'" presents a report of a pundit close to Kremlin on President Putin's third term of office. According to the report, Putin has offered the society a new moral system and that the tandem between Putin and Medvedev exists no more; p 2 (500 words).

6. Another editorial headlined "Life-long charges" says new amendments to the Criminal Code allow prosecutors reopen criminal cases against unwanted people; p 6 (252 words).


Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Zykova et al. report headlined "Convoys of vehicles approach border" reports on huge traffic jams on the Russian border with Finland, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states as the border checkpoints could not cope with the influx of tourists willing to spend their May holidays abroad; pp 1, 3 (700 words).

2. Roman Markelov and Taras Fomchenkov article headlined "It turns green…" reports on euro gaining value following the European Bank's decision to reduce the base rate; pp 1, 4 (550 words).

3. Olga Dmitryeva article headlined "Police looking for proper orientation" reports on the case of British parliament deputy speaker who has been accused of abuse; p 5 (300 words).

4. Viktor Feschenko article headlined "Salvo from abroad" says around 300 people have been reportedly killed by an Israeli air strike on Syria; p 5 (300 words).


Novaya Gazeta

1. Alexei Polukhin article headlined "Operation in 'Silicon valley'" reports on the Investigative Committee's probe into the work of the Skolkovo foundation following allegations of opposition lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov receiving overpriced royalties for his lectures; p 6 (1.152 words).

2. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Stalin's aesthetics" looks into reasons for a growing popularity of Stalin among Russians which is proved by public opinion polls; p 14 (501 words).

3. Vasily Golovnin article headlined "Japan eager to get out of surrounding" says Moscow has understood Japan's plans to improve relations with Russia, as heads of the two countries agreed at a recent meeting in Moscow to develop relations; pp 5, 18 (677 words).

4. Alexander Panov article headlined "Boston brothers' trail" reports on new findings in the probe into the Boston blasts; pp 12-13 (957 words).

5. Irina Gordyenko article headlined "Where is terrorists' breeding ground" says the Russian law enforcement agencies want to portray the Tsarnayev brothers as "U.S.-educated terrorists" despite the fact that Tamerlan radicalized after his visit to the North Caucasus; p 13 (667 words).


Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Interview with convicted opposition activist Konstantin Lebedev headlined "I do not feel like traitor," reprinted from the Kommersant-Vlast magazine; p 4 (400 words).

2. Sergei Krylov article headlined "Mandate of public trust" provides expert opinions on Putin's failures and accomplishments a year after he was elected president; p 5 (900 words).


May 6, 2013/BBC Monitoring/©BBC

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