Kommersant
1. Oleg Rubnikovich article headlined "Andrei Borodin Utterly Ruined" says Switzerland, Luxembourg and Belgium have seized the accounts of former head of Bank of Moscow Andrei Borodin, as Russia is finishing an investigation into the illegal activity of the banker; pp 1, 5 (972 words).
2. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "From Permafrost to Shale" reports on President Vladimir Putin chairing a meeting on the energy sector, which discussed the possibility of new gas wars; pp 1, 3 (1,147 words).
3. Grigory Tumanov et al. report "Investigation Closes Left Front" says that opposition activist Sergei Udaltsov has been summoned to the Investigative Committee, where official charges of planning a coup d'etat will be brought against him. Udaltsov's family has reportedly left Russia and moved to Ukraine, and he himself may follow the suit as the Investigative Committee gets ready to arrest him; pp 1, 4 (723 words).
4. Anna Solodovnikova article headlined "TNK-BP Minority Shareholders Invited to Rosneft" says the uncertainty over the future of the TNK-BP joint venture after it is bought by Rosneft has resulted in a drop in the price of its shares. Rosneft head Igor Sechin tried to calm down TNK-BP minority shareholders; pp 1, 9 (691 words).
5. Natalya Korchenkova and Anna Pushkarskaya article headlined "St. Petersburg Turns Into Lout" says Federation Council member Vadim Tyulpanov has criticized St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko over his statement calling the city residents louts as they beeped to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's motorcade; p 2 (723 words).
6. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Officials to Be Allowed to Grow Old at Work" says the State Duma has passed in the first reading a bill drafted by Putin to allow officials to hold top posts until they turn 70; p 3 (627 words).
7. Vladislav Trifonov article headlined "Damage to Alexei Pichugin Repaired" says the European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the trial of former head of Yukos security service Alexei Pichugin was unfair and that the Russian authorities should pay him 9,500 euros in compensation. Pichugin is serving a life sentence for organizing murders and kidnapping; p 4 (519 words).
8. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Deputies Come to Battlefield Against Swearing" says the authorities are stepping up control over media on the pretext of protecting children from improper information; p 5 (820 words).
9. Alexander Chernykh and Pavel Korobov article headlined "Islam Goes to Kindergarten" says that Islam is to be taught in Chechen kindergartens; p 5 (494 words).
10. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Geopolitical Laughter No. 1" says U.S. President Barack Obama has succeeded in making his Republican rival Mitt Romney look like a layman in international relations at their last TV debates; p 7 (695 words).
11. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Magnitskiy List' Taken to Pan-European Level" says the European Parliament has suggested that visa and financial sanctions should be imposed on 60 Russian officials involved in the case of the former lawyer of Hermitage Capital, Sergei Magnitsky, who died in custody; p 7 (570 words).
12. Sergei Strokan article headlined "Russia and India Get Behind Schedule" says the Russian-Indian summit has been postponed until late December as the two countries cannot come to agreement on key issues in their relations; p 8 (726 words).
13. Maxim Yusin article headlined "Regions Come Under UDAR [name of Ukrainian opposition political party]" reports on the parliamentary election campaign in Ukraine; p 8 (1,079 words).
14. Article by Alexei Makarkin, vice-president of the Centre for Political Technologies, in opinion column headlined "Price of Issue" says the parliamentary election in Ukraine is unlikely to affect the country's relations with Russia as Kiev is expected to continue European integration; p 8 (374 words).
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
1. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Secret Pact of Moscow and Tiraspol" says Russia has started taking old military hardware and ammunition away from the Transdnestr republic. Tiraspol does not oppose the process, as Moscow will bring new equipment instead; pp 1-2 (1,062 words).
2. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Razvozzhayev Makes Kiev Face Uneasy Choice" says the UN and EU organizations engaged in refugees affairs want Kiev to explain the detention of the Russian opposition activist, who came to Ukraine in search of political asylum. Kiev has either to admit that Russia violated its sovereignty, which would entail problems with Moscow, or acknowledge that Kiev did not oppose the detention that violated international conventions; pp 1, 7 (878 words).
3. Ivan Rodin and Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Fraudsters to Be Placed in Order" reviews the bill detailing different kinds of fraud, which was drafted by the Russian Supreme Court; pp 1, 3 (975 words).
4. Igor Naumov article headlined "Pension Reform Runs Across Age" says Russian pension reform remains useless as too many young people avoid paying pension taxes; pp 1, 4 (609 words).
5. Yury Simonyan article headlined "Saakashvili Does Not Believe in 'Dream'" says Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has expressed skepticism over the plans of the opposition coalition, Georgian Dream, which has recently won the parliamentary elections, to restore relations with Russia; pp 1, 7 (850 words).
6. Article by Italian journalist Giovanni Bensi headlined "Hundreds of Italian Politicians Should Be Jailed" reviews a new anti-corruption bill passed by the Italian parliament; pp 1-2 (394 words).
7. Editorial headlined "Budget Challenge to Servicemen" says the Russian Armed Forces risk being underfinanced again, as the government has drafted a new federal budget; p 2 (533 words).
8. Savely Vezhin article headlined "Coordination Council Election Ignored" says half of dissenters registered online have refused to take part in the Coordination Council election. The ones who cast their votes supported Alexei Navalny; p 2 (449 words).
9. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "We Will Not Have 5-Minute Briefings of Hatred" says Public TV head Anatoly Lysenko has outlined plans for the TV company's work; p 3 (413 words).
10. Valentina Lapayeva article headlined "How to Get Rid of People's Representative" looks into legal aspects of the case of Gennady Gudkov, a former State Duma deputy, who was stripped of his seat for combining deputy work and business; p 5 (2700 words).
11. Darya Tsilyurik article headlined "Informal Truce Being Prepared for Syria" says up to 3,000 UN peacekeepers may be sent to Syria to put an end to the violence in the country; p 8 (689 words).
12. Artur Blinov article headlined "Obama and Romney Measure Swords in Foreign Policy" says that despite the fact that U.S. President Barack Obama won the final TV debate dedicated to foreign policy, his stance turned out to be too close to the values of Republican candidate Mitt Romney; p 8 (649 words).
13. Alexandra Samarina and Ivan Rodin article headlined ""State Secret Bill Flashes Through duma" says that the State Duma has quickly voted for controversial amendments to the law on state secret and high treason; p 3 (400 words).
Vedomosti
1. Timofei Dzyadko and Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "That Is All Our Money" says a statement by Rosneft head Igor Sechin saying that he will not pay dividends to TNK-BP minority shareholders has resulted in a drop in the price of the company's shares; pp 1, 8 (947 words).
2. Margarita Lyutova article headlined "Gazprom Warned" says Putin had to intervene to make Gazprom aware of the shale gas revolution on the global energy market; pp 1, 3 (577 words).
3. Maxim Glikin et al. report headlined "3 Scenarios for Change of Power" says a recent study has shown that Russians do not believe in the possibility of peaceful political reforms in the country, although they are displeased with the present authorities; pp 1-2 (568 words).
4. Editorial headlined "General of Grants" reviews the list of Russian NGOs, which have received state support; pp 1, 4 (522 words).
5. Another editorial headlined "Cacophony of Authorities" says the rapprochement of the authorities and the Russian Orthodox Church is harmful both for the government and for the church; p 4 (350 words).
6. Article by opposition politician Vladimir Milov headlined "Public Politics: Power Instability" says the current repression against the opposition will have a negative effect on Putin's rating; p 4 (379 words).
7. Maria Zheleznova and Natalya Kostenko article headlined "Money to Patriots" says that grants from Russia's budget will be received by NGOs supporting the state, namely the members of All-Russia People's Front, Orthodox pathfinders and Cossacks; p 2 (550 words).
8. Anastasia Kornya article headlined "Court Unjust" says that the European Human Rights Court has ruled that the trial of Alexei Pichugin was unfair as hearings were conducted behind close doors and the right to defense was limited; p 2 (450 words).
Izvestia
1. Yelizaveta Mayetnaya article headlined "Investigative Committee Wants to Strip Navalny of Lawyer Status" says the Investigative Committee wants to prohibit opposition activist Alexei Navalny to work as lawyer; pp 1, 4 (800 words).
2. Article by opposition lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov headlined "One Country" explains his reasons for ignoring the election of the opposition Coordination Council and speaks on the protest movement in Russia; p 1 (500 words).
3. Svetlana Subbotina article headlined "Organizers of Election to Coordination Council to Be Checked by Investigators" says that State Duma Deputy Andrei Lugovoi has sent a request to the Investigative Committee, asking to check whether the opposition central electoral commission has violated the law on personal data; p 2 (400 words).
4. Yelizaveta Mayetnaya and German Petelin article headlined "Alyokhina Will Sew Mittens for Soldiers, Tolokonnikova Will Bake Buns" says that it has been announced what prisons the jailed Pussy Riot punk band members will serve their terms at; p 2 (900 words).
5. Ivan Afanasyev and Yuriy Matsarsky article headlined "Romney Promised Putin Only Cruelty" analyses the final round of U.S. presidential debates between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama and says that the latter has strengthened his leading position; p 5 (900 words).
6. Pundit Boris Mezhuyev article headlined "Marginalization of Leftist Patriotism" says that the election to the opposition Coordination Council lacked patriotism; p 9 (950 words).
Rossiiskaya Gazeta
1. Vladislav Vorobyev interview with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaking about Russian enemies and the possibility of a war between the U.S.A. and Iran; pp 1, 9 (3,757 words).
2. Alexei Chesnakov article headlined "Parallel Realities" tries to explain his opinion that most people are indifferent to the protest movement and the opposition Coordinating Council; p 3 (502 words).
3. Fedor Lukyanov article headlined "Not to Cross Line" recalls the Caribbean crisis of 1962 between the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union and compares it with the present situation in the global politics; p 3 (676 words).
4. Kira Latukhina article headlined "In Depth of Yamal Mines" looks into a meeting of Commission for Strategic Development of the Fuel and Energy Sector and Environmental Security headed by Putin; p 2 (700 words).
4. Yekaterina Zabrodina article headlined "To Be Showered With Blue Helmets" says many experts find the UN plans to send peacekeepers to Syria to be useless; p 8 (295 words).
5. Alexander Gasyuk article headlined "Obama Eats Romney Up" says that Obama has won the third round of the presidential election debates; p 8 (487 words).
Moskovsky Komsomolets
1. Anastasia Rodionova article headlined "Victory as District Election" says only 81,000 people have cast their votes in the election of the opposition Coordination Council, which can be compared with the electorate of one of Moscow's districts; pp 1-2 (868 words).
2. Yelena Yegorova interview with former Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov recalling the siege of the Dubrovka theater; pp 1, 12 (914 words).
3. Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "Opposition in Unity Trap" says the newly elected opposition Coordination Council will not be able to come up with ideas for Russia's development; pp 1-2 (462 words).
4. Melor Sturua article headlined "Winner Obama and Romney 'Looking Like a President'" gives details of the U.S. presidential election TV debates which focused on foreign policy; p 3 (656 words).
RBK Daily
1. Ivan Petrov report "Trial Showing" looks at the international exhibition of security equipment Interpolitekh that has opened in Moscow and says that Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev was shown the weapons that had been rejected by his predecessor; pp 1-2 (600 words).
2. Yulia Yakovleva article headlined "Strategy of Political Survival" says that A Just Russia is getting ready to change its political strategy. At a conference on Oct. 27, the party will decide whether to continue cooperation with the non-systemic opposition or not; p 2 (600 words).
3. Alexander Litoi interview with Mikhail Gelfand, one of the leaders of the opposition Coordination Council, speaking on the work the organization plans to carry out; p 2 (800 words).
4. Dmitry Koptyubenko report "Empty Cells Were Shown to Me" says that a State Duma member, the human rights ombudsman and Antonio Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, are looking into the case of Leonid Razvozzhayev, an arrested opposition activist who has allegedly confessed to plotting to organize mass disturbances in Russia; p 2 (600 words).
Novaya Gazeta
1. Yulia Polukhina report "'Your Special Services Kidnapped Him'" looks at the details of Leonid Razvozzhayev's disappearance in Kiev and at how he appeared in Moscow; pp 2-3 (800 words).
2. Olga Musafirova report "'Our [Officers] Would Not Have Acted This Way to Be Spotted"' says that Ukrainian security agencies have said they had nothing to do with Razvozzhayev's abduction in Kiev; p 3 (450 words).
3. Maria Yepifanova report "Debates Give Mandates" looks at the election to the opposition Coordination Council; pp 9-10 (800 words).
4. Alexander Panov article headlined "Obama's Modest Charm" says that despite the fact that President Barack Obama has won the third round of the election debates, the result of the presidential election is still uncertain; p 8 (955 words).
5. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Playing Zarnitsa [Patriotic Game]" comments on the Kremlin's plans to make Russians unite around Putin and the Russian Orthodox Church; p 7 (895 words).
6. Yelena Masyuk interview with political analyst Gleb Pavlovsky headlined "I Think That Putin Is Scared Most of All of Becoming Unwanted," in which he looks at Putin's policy, his relations with Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and United Russia and at the new laws that many people refer to as repression; pp 12-15 (4,300 words).
Komsomolskaya Pravda
1. Yelena Krivyakina report "Ksyusha Sobchak Is Leader Now" looks at the election to the opposition Coordination Council; p 5 (400 words).
2. Alexander Grishin report "They Did Not Kidnap, Did Not Torture, But Wait for Udaltsov" says that human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin has disproved reports that arrested opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev, allegedly kidnapped in Kiev, was tortured. Also, the Ukrainian border guard service said that he had left Ukraine using his passport; p 5 (250 words).
3. Vladimir Novikov report "Coordination Council Has Not Become Mirror of Opposition" says that according to political analysts, the election to the opposition Coordination Council has failed; p 5 (600 words).
4. Yelena Chinkova report "'I'm Not Going to Wear Rose-Colored Glasses When It Comes to Russia'" looks at the last TV debates of U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney; p 7 (500 words).
5. Alexander Kots interview with the head of the Middle East Institute, Yevgeny Satanovsky, who speaks about who could be behind the terrorist attack on the Dubrovka theater in Moscow in 2002; p 11 (1,000 words).
6. Viktor Butayev interview with Russian Pension Fund head Anton Drozdov speaking on the pension reform; pp 12-13 (2,119 words).
Tvoi Den
1. Olga Zadvornykh report "Arab Connection" says that in Chelyabinsk, special services have found extremist literature in Arabic and Russian in the office of the local opposition. One of the local opposition activists is Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov's supporter; p 2 (400 words).
2. Olga Zadvornykh report "He Will Be Jailed for Long Time" says that the Investigative Committee has brought charges against Leonid Razvozzhayev; p 2 (200 words).
3. Brief unattributed report "Enemy and That's It" says that Mitt Romney has said that he regards Russia as the U.S.A.'s "main geopolitical enemy"; p 2 (150 words).
Noviye Izvestia
1. Zinaida Mishina report "Fortresses of Spirit" says that Russians are protesting against churches being built in places occupied by parks, garages and playgrounds; pp 1, 5 (900 words).
2. Vera Moslakova report "Scary Secret" says that the State Duma has supported the government bill toughening punishment for divulging state secrets; p 2 (700 words).
3. Mikhail Vinogradov report "Question of Leader Is Polemic One" looks at the last TV debates of the U.S. presidential candidates; p 2 (600 words).
Krasnaya Zvezda
1. Yelizaveta Orlova report "Obama is No. 1" looks at the presidential race in the U.S.A.; p 3 (600 words).
2. Viktor Ruchkin report "Jihadization of Conflict" looks at the conflict in Syria and says that Islamic militants are trying to penetrate neighboring territories; p 3 (1,000 words).
Oct. 24, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC?
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