Kommersant
1. Nikolai Sergeyev and Oleg Rubnikovich article headlined "Alexander Bastrykin Not to Be Left Alone" says the planned merger of investigative departments of all law-enforcement agencies under the umbrella of the Investigative Committee may be postponed due to problems caused by the reform; pp 1, 4 (974 words).
2. Musa Muradov article headlined "Ramzan Kadyrov Wants to Return Borders of 1934" says a scandal over the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia is growing as the former wants to return territory it considers to belong to the republic; pp 1-2 (681 words).
3. Olga Mordyushenko et al. report headlined "EU Recognizes Gazprom as Monopolist" says the European Commission has started an anti-monopoly investigation of Gazprom's business in Europe. The Russian gas giant is suspected of hampering competition on the energy market; pp 1, 7 (647 words).
4. Vitaly Gaidayev article headlined "Gold Funds Shine With Inflow" says Russian mutual funds are losing investors. Only funds investing in gold still have their assets growing; pp 1, 7 (667 words).
5. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Central Elections Commission Stocks Up on Personnel" says the Central Elections Commission has developed a training program for reserve personnel; p 2 (611 words).
6. Vladislav Trifonov article headlined "Investigator No Longer Charged With Death in Detention Center" says charges have been dropped against Sergei Pysin, an investigator from the Main Investigations Directorate for Moscow region. Businesswoman Vera Trifonova, whose case he was investigating, died in custody in April 2010; p 5 (471 words).
7. Vladimir Solovyev et al. report headlined "Aide Found for Foreign Intelligence Service" says former senior presidential administration official Sergei Vinokurov has been appointed deputy head of the Foreign Intelligence Service; p 6 (603 words).
8. Olga Berezintseva article headlined "Barack Obama Not to Give Up Reset" reviews the Democratic Party platform unveiled at the party convention; p 6 (436 words).
9. Maxim Yusin article headlined "U.S. Enters Battle for Egypt" says the U.S. plans to write off Egyptian debt to it and provide U.S. companies investing in the Egyptian economy with assistance, as Washington is competing with Beijing for dominance in the region; p 6 (463 words).
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
1. Sergei Konovalov article headlined "Troops Get Ready for Combat Operations in North Caucasus" says the Russian Armed Forces are to be involved in counter-terrorist operations in the North Caucasus, as law-enforcement agencies suffer serious casualties in the region; pp 1-2 (635 words).
2. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Putin's Elite Takes Breath" says President Vladimir Putin has introduced a bill to the State Duma allowing senior officials to stay in office until they turn 70. The move is attributed to Putin's plans to keep people surrounding him on their posts; pp 1, 3 (860 words).
3. Olga Shulga and Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Public TV Falls Into Anabiosis" says that question marks surround the public TV project yet again, and Anatoly Lysenko, appointed head of the new TV channel, threatens to quit the project if the authorities do not start financing it; pp 1, 3 (438 words).
4. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Fall Offensive on Business and Property" says United Russia, together with trade unions, has launched an offensive on businesses demanding that top managers' salaries be reduced while minimum salaries be raised; pp 1, 4 (696 words).
5. Yury Simonyan article headlined "World Worried by Georgia's Polarization" says a large number of Western politicians are visiting Georgia ahead of its elections; pp 1, 7 (825 words).
6. Artur Blinov article headlined "Hezbollah Plans to Come to Defense of Iran" says the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon has expressed support for Iran in its standoff with Israel; pp 1-2 (555 words).
7. Yevgeny Grigoryev article headlined "German Arms With Anti-Iranian Aim" says Germany plans to sell some of its submarines to Egypt; p 2 (620 words).
8. Editorial headlined "Ordered to Forget About Resorts" criticizes the Defense Ministry over cuts in financing of sanatoriums and resorts for servicemen and their families; p 2 (509 words).
9. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Deputies and Senators to Look for Consensus" says United Russia's plans to make the second Sunday of September a unified voting day have triggered a scandal in parliament as the opposition opposes the bill; pp 1, 3 (669 words).
10. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Beijing Accuses Washington of Hypocrisy" says U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is visiting China in an attempt to reach an agreement over disputed islands in the South China Sea; p 8 (621 words).
Vedomosti
1. Yelena Mazneva article headlined "Searches Bring to Gazprom" says the European Commission has launched an investigation into the business activity of Gazprom, which is suspected of violating EU anti-monopoly legislation; p 1 (593 words).
2. Dmitry Kazmin and Anastasia Kornya article headlined "Openness in Courts" says the Supreme Arbitration Court plans to become transparent for observers as its hearings will be broadcast online; pp 1-2 (548 words).
3. Darya Ilyashenko and Maxim Glikin article headlined "Putin's Wedge" says that Putin is to take part in an operation to save rare cranes and plans to fly a hang glider in Yamal; pp 1-2 (701 words).
4. Editorial headlined "Canned Personnel" reviews Putin's personnel policy as he plans to allow officials to keep their posts until they reach the age of 70. The article recalls the old leadership principle of Soviet times that resulted in the collapse of the Soviet Union; pp 1, 4 (496 words).
5. Another editorial headlined "Inhumane Growth" slams the Economic Development Ministry over its cynical approach to the demographic problem, which, according to the ministry, will urge businesses to upgrade their facilities; p 4 (306 words).
6. Commentary by Andrei Kolesnikov headlined "Romanticism of Mixing Up" reviews Putin's economic policy and predicts that the government may return to setting tasks for the real economy; p 4 (426 words).
7. Filipp Sterkin article headlined "Digit of Week: 6.6Bln Rubles" slams the authorities for wasting 6.6 billion rubles on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vladivostok; p 4 (369 words).
8. Alexei Nikolsky et al. report headlined "Democrats for Peace!" says the U.S. Democrats are much more tolerant toward Russia than the Republicans, judging by their party platform; p 2 (427 words).
Rossiiskaya Gazeta
1. Yulia Krivoshapko et al. report headlined "End of Light" says the authorities are changing the minimum energy consumption standards for individuals. Experts express mixed opinions on the planned changes; pp 1, 4 (952 words).
2. Alexei Chesnakov article headlined "New Political Season" looks ahead at political processes to take place in Russia this fall; p 3 (464 words).
3. Kira Latukhina article headlined "Control Law" looks at a meeting between Putin and Communications and Press Minister Nikolai Nikiforov. Officials who are delaying the provision of e-government services have been called to be brought to account; p 2 (800 words).
4. Vladislav Vorobyev article headlined "Everything Explained to Ambassador" says that British authorities have told the Russian ambassador to the U.K. Alexander Yakovenko that no visa sanctions will be imposed on Russian officials despite reports by some British media; p 8 (400 words).
Izvestia
1. Pyotr Kozlov article headlined "Land for North Caucasus Resorts Bought to Be Resold" says plans to build a tourism cluster in the North Caucasus cannot be implemented due to land problems; pp 1, 4 (703 words).
2. Alena Sivkova and Dmitry Runkevich article headlined "State Companies to Spend 5% of Their Revenues on Innovation" says the State Duma is drafting a bill obliging state-controlled companies to allocate 5 percent of their revenues for the financing of the Skolkovo Technological Institute; pp 1, 4 (593 words).
3. Denis Telmanov article headlined "Group of Counter-Sabotage Ships to Be Set Up in Black Sea Ahead of Olympics" says a special detachment of ships to protect Sochi coasts from possible sabotage will be set up within the Black Sea Fleet by 2014; pp 1, 4 (403 words).
4. Olga Zhermeleva article headlined "State Media to Be Engaged in Ethnic Peace" says a number of state-controlled media will be involved in a campaign aimed at preventing ethnic clashes. Special seminars will be held for journalists taking part in the project; p 2 (451 words).
5. Dina Ushakova article headlined "Nepotism to Be Prohibited Among Deputies and Officials" says that opposition deputies have supported a United Russia party initiative to prohibit close relatives from working together in parliament; p 3 (550 words).
6. Alexei Mikhailov article headlined "Antey to Be Returned to Sky With Old Propellers" says the Defense Ministry has decided to use An-22 aircraft until 2020; p 3 (703 words).
7. Andranik Migranyan article headlined "U.S. Election Campaign on Homestretch" comments on smear campaigning in the U.S. as the Republicans do their best to portray Obama as a Communist trying to ruin the U.S. economy; p 7 (914 words).
8. Anastasia Dulenkova interview with the head of the Russian Paralympic Committee executive board, Pavel Rozhkov, in which he compares the facilities for holding the Paralymipcs in London and in Sochi; p 12 (950 words).
Moskovsky Komsomolets
1. Mikhail Zubov and Marina Ozerova article headlined "Sveta From Ivanovo Fails to Become Parliamentary Correspondent" says that parliament has refuted NTV information that Sveta Kuritsyna, who became famous after her illiterate comments during the United Russia election campaign, will interview deputies and senators; pp 1-2 (364 words).
2. Svetlana Samodelova article headlined "Monastery Attacks Range" says that a Russian Orthodox Church monastery wants to strip Russian State Geological Prospecting University of a building in Moscow region; pp 1, 9 (1,816 words).
3. Darya Fedotova article headlined "Was the One Who Wrote 'Free Pussy Riot' With Blood Threatened With Torture?" says that Igor Danilevsky, the main suspect in the murder of two women in Kazan, claims he defamed himself out of fear of being tortured by police officials; p 3 (500 words).
4. Matvei Ganapolsky article headlined "Madhouse Live" slams Russian parliamentarians for passing a controversial law on protecting children from harmful information, which makes the work of some media ridiculous; p 3 (1,029 words).
Novaya Gazeta
1. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Contract Annulled" looks at the state-controlled media's coverage of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's activity and notes that the ruling tandem no longer exists; p 2 (1,898 words).
2. Nikita Girin report "Does Tandem Still Exist?" features comments by political analysts on the tandem of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev; pp 2-3 (800 words).
3. Report with initials A.K. headlined "Cooperative 'Ozero' Getting Old..." says that Putin has introduced a bill to the State Duma proposing to raise the maximum retirement age of high-ranking officials from 65 to 70; p 3 (600 words).
4. Nina Petlyakova report "I Will Eradicate United Russia!" says that Valery Fedotov, head of a United Russia branch office in St. Petersburg, intends to reform the party. His "project" has ended up in a major scandal, report says; pp 7-9 (1,300 words).
5. Yelena Lukyanova report "Bears Gnawed" says that in the case of Just Russia Deputy Gennady Gudkov, United Russia has shown its complete legal ignorance; p 9 (900 words).
6. Yulia Latynina article headlined "Imaginary Compromise" comments on the recent murder of a Muslim scholar in Dagestan and predicts more religious tension in the region; p 11 (1,334 words).
7. Dmitry Dokuchayev report "Karachun on Shelf" says that the Shtokman project has failed because the deposit turned out to be unprofitable without kickbacks; p 14 (900 words).
8. Marina Tokaryeva interview with environmentalist Yevgenia Chirikova, who is standing for mayor of Khimki, in which she speaks about her plans for the city; pp 15-16 (2,126 words).
RBC Daily
1. Svetlana Makunina report "The Earlier We Sit Down, the Earlier He Leaves" says the State Duma has decided to hold hearings on the case of opposition Deputy Gennady Gudkov a day earlier, on Sept. 5; pp 1-2 (700 words).
2. Anton Khlyshchenko report "Ends Up With Nothing" says that former Leningrad region Governor Valery Serdyukov has lost a fight for the post of senator from the region; p 2 (700 words).
3. Anastasia Sotnikova et al. report "European Commission Against Gazprom" says that gas giant Gazprom is suspected of monopolistic activities in Europe; p 5 (450 words).
Komsomolskaya Pravda
1. Dmitry Steshin report about the newspaper's correspondent taking part in a Cossack patrol in Krasnodar region; pp 1; 10-11 (1,400 words).
2. Yevgeny Arsyukhin report "Berezovsky's Lawsuit Gives Lawyers Record High Profit" looks at the legal battle between businessmen Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich in the U.K.; p 4 (250 words).
3. Yelena Chinkova report "Britain Dissociates Itself From Magnitsky List" says that the U.K. will not introduce any visa restrictions on the Russians involved in the so-called Magnitsky case; p 4 (200 words).
4. Alexander Grishin report "Russian Trace Leads From Georgian Forest to London" says that Akhmed Zakayev's former bodyguard has been identified among militants recently killed in Georgia; p 4 (500 words).
5. Yelena Chinkova report "Community Service for Beaten-Up Pussy Riot Supporter" says that an Orthodox activist who beat up a Pussy Riot supporter in Moscow on April 19 has been sentenced to three months of community service and a fine; p 5 (200 words).
Moskovskiye Novosti
1. Alexandra Beluza report "Governors. Reset" says that ahead of regional elections, some governors have begun to take steps to improve their image; pp 1, 4 (750 words).
2. Alexandra Ilyina report "Anti-Summit in Form of Picnic" says that the opposition will hold an alternative event in Primorye region during the APEC summit; p 4 (700 words).
3. Alexandra Ilyina et al. report features comments by political analysts and economists on an article by Mikhail Shmakov, head of the Russian Federation of Independent Trade Unions, and State Duma Deputy Andrei Isayev of United Russia. In their article, Shmakov and Isayev look at the main tasks facing the Russian president; p 5 (1,500 words).
Noviye Izvestia
1. Adel Kalinichenko interview headlined "Human Rights Council Is Like God's Fool at Court" with human rights activist Nikolai Arzhannikov, who comments on the selection of candidates for the council; p 2 (500 words).
2. Nadezhda Krasilova report "Record of Progress in Studies" says that ratings of governors showing their chances in elections have been published; p 2 (600 words).
3. Nadezhda Bulanova report "Shadow Cast on Sveta" says that Svetlana Kuritsyna, a journalist on NTV and the host of the "Luch Sveta" ("Ray of Light") program, has been denied accreditation as a parliamentary reporter by the Federation Council; p 2 (450 words).
Krasnaya Zvezda
1. Viktor Ruchkin "Following in Al-Qaida's Footsteps" says the influence of extremists is growing among Bashar Assad's opponents; p 3 (400 words).
2. Alexander Alexandrov report "North Atlantic Alliance at Caucasus's Gates" says that NATO Secretary-General Fogh Rasmussen will begin his visit to the North Caucasus on Sept. 5; p 3 (650 words).
3. Dmitry Andreyev report "How Topol-M Was Created" looks at the creation of ballistic missiles in Russia; p 3 (900 words).
Sept. 5, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC
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