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What the Papers Say, June 24, 2013

Kommersant


1. Alexander Chernykh article headlined "Unified State Exam evidently over evaluated" says that checks have shown that half of the examination papers, which received high marks, had been over evaluated. The education watchdog Rosobrnadzor recommends that the authorities double check the examination papers; pp 1, 3 (700 words).


2. Kirill Belyaninov et al. report headlined "Arrival under cover" says that Russia's role in the escape of CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden may affect relations between Moscow and Washington, as Snowden has stopped in Moscow on his way to Ecuador where he seeks political asylum; pp 1, 6 (1,300 words).


3. Dmitry Butrin interview headlined "We should not try and intervene in rate" with new Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina speaking on her view of banks' work and the Russian fiscal policy; pp 1, 4 (3,700 words).


4. Oleg Trutnev article headlined "Vodka leaks to black market" says that vodka manufacturing decreased by 30 percent in Russia in May. Experts attribute the trend to a large amount of counterfeit alcohol on the Russian market; pp 1, 10 (650 words).


5. Taisia Bekbulatova et al. report headlined "Moscow deputies' signatures go up in price" says that acting Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin has become the first candidate to go through the so-called municipal filter in the Moscow mayoral election. Meanwhile, some deputies are said to have asked candidates to pay for their signatures; p 2 (900 words).


6. Viktor Khamrayev report "Less than 15 days given to amnesty" says that the State Duma will announce amnesty for economic crimes on 5 July at the latest; p 2 (950 words).


7. Vsevolod Inyutin article headlined "Geological prospecting with fighting" says that the people who oppose mining in Voronezh Region have attacked a camp of geologists prospecting for copper and nickel in the region; p 3 (700 words).


8. Sergei Strokan article headlined "They will have to reinforce Bashar Assad's opponents" says that a meeting of the Friends of Syria Group in Doha has decided to supply the Syrian opposition with arms. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who attended the meeting, criticized Moscow's stance on Syria; p 6 (600 words).


9. Dmitry Butrin article published in the column "Rules of Game" looks at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and says that content rich statements have been absent in St. Petersburg while empty speeches dominated; p 7 (650 words).


Nezavisimaya Gazeta


1. Aleksamdra Samarina article headlined "President optimizes judicial system" comments on the planned merger of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration Court announced at the end of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum by President Vladimir Putin. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev may become the head of the new body, article says; pp 1, 3 (920 words).


2. Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "Crayfish and pikes in Russian government" says that disagreements in the Russian cabinet have reached the public level. The finance minister and the economic development minister made opposing statements on the Russian economy at the St. Petersburg forum; pp 1, 4 (677 words).


3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Extremism articles to become heavier" details changes to the articles dealing with extremism of the Criminal Code. Law-enforcement agencies will be able to wiretap conversations of suspicious people and arrest them without court authorization; pp 1, 3 (896 words).


4. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Vladimir Putin chops tariffs" says that Putin has advised Russian monopolies to reduce their costs as a rise in their tariffs should not exceed the inflation level in 2014; pp 1, 4 (549 words).


5. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "They wait for Yulia Tymoshenko in Germany by September" says that Kiev is bargaining with Germany over the treatment of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko currently serving her prison sentence; pp 1, 7 (1,116 words).


6. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Spy transit via Moscow" says that Edward Snowden, program who used to work for the CIA, has left Hong Kong and stopped over in Moscow on his way to Venezuela. His visit may spoil relations between Russia and the U.S., article says; pp 1-2 (701 words).


7. Report by Kristina Potupchik, head of Open New Democracy Foundation, headlined "Real problems of virtual space" says that the internet has stopped being the territory of total freedom a long time ago; p 2 (600 words).


8. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Mikhail Prokhorov to pay for human rights" says billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov has offered to pay annual rent for the Moscow office of the For Human Rights movement out of his own pocket, to which Lev Ponomaryov, head of the NGO, has agreed; p 3 (563 words).


9. Political analyst Alexander Knyazev article headlined "Carte blanche: Atambayev invents denunciation formula" says Turkey may become the new owner of Bishkek airport as the Kyrgyz authorities are uncertain about its future; p 3 (489 words).


10. Yevgeny Grigoryev article headlined "Putin's meeting with Merkel becomes success" gives details of the talks between Putin and the German chancellor on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg forum; p 8 (465 words).


11. Darya Tsilyurik article headlined "'Friends of Syria' to arm opposition to spite Moscow" says that Western and Arab countries have agreed to arm the Syrian opposition at a meeting in Doha; p 8 (644 words).


12. Eduard Lozansky report "One vs. seven?" says that according to the majority of mass media reports, Putin looked an outsider compared to the other seven participants in the recent G8 summit; p 8 (600 words).


Izvestia


1. Vladimir Zykov article headlined "Google refuses to meet demands of Roskomnadzor [communications watchdog]" says that Google has refused to inform the Russian authorities about the use of the personal information of Russian subscribers as they agree to the company's policy working in accordance with the U.S. laws when open gmail accounts; pp 1, 4 (632 words).


2. Alexandra Yermakova and Rustam Alypkachev article headlined "Improving Superjet 100 to cost 4.3 billion rubles" ($103 million) says the Russian government is to allocate budget financing to upgrade Superjet 100 airliner; pp 1, 4 (574 words).


3. Svetlana Subbotiva article headlined "Yarovaya wants to jail for five years for justification of Nazism" says United Russia lawmaker Irina Yarovaya has drafted a bill that envisages prison sentence for those who justify Nazism; pp 1-2 (544 words).


4. Andrei Gridasov article headlined "Venezuela and Ecuador share Snowden in Moscow" says that Russian secret services must have been informed about Edward Snowden's arrival in Moscow. They are expected to interview the whistleblower; pp 1, 3 (965 words).


5. Anastasia Kashevarova article headlined "Letter about 'Yakunin's resignation' prepared for two days" gives details of the probe into the hoax report on Russian Railways head Vladimir Yakunin's dismissal; pp 1-2 (621 words).


6. Denis Telmanov report "World's biggest submarine becomes target" says that three nuclear-powered submarines, the Alexander Nevskiy, the Severodvinsk and the Dmitry Donskoy, have been deployed to the White Sea for state testing; p 5 (400 words).


Vedomosti


1. Anastasia Kornya article headlined "One, but supreme court" says experts are sceptical about the planned merger of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration Court announced by Putin; pp 1, 3 (613 words).


2. Dmitry Kazmin article headlined "Doing everything at once" outlines the views of new Central Bank head Elvira Nabiullina on the banking sector, the economic development and personnel policy; pp 1, 14 (1,400 words).


3. Editorial headlined "Russian forum of regulation" looks at the results of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum; pp 1, 6 (387 words).


4. Another editorial headlined "Stability of changes" says the planned merger of the Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration Court is unlikely to improve Russia's judicial system; p 6 (324 words).


5. Article by Alexei Malashenko, expert from Moscow's Carnegie center, headlined "Iranian revolution: Second attempt of liberalization" analyses political changes in Iran and the victory of moderate candidate Hassan Rouhani in the presidential election; p 7 (939 words).


6. Article by Mikhail Dmitryev, president of the center of Strategic Development, headlined "Authorities and society: Foreboding new Sakharov" says the departure of economic expert Sergei Guriev from Russia has shown a turning point in relations between the Russian authorities and experts who now risk prosecution for their political views; pp 6-7 (1,120 words).


7. Maria Zheleznova report "ID card for volunteer" says that a group of Russian senators has submitted a bill on volunteers to the State Duma. The country's volunteer community considers the bill "harmful", article says; p 2 (650 words).


8. Maxim Glikin report "Prison term for slamming Smersh [Stalin's security agency]" says that the State Duma will debate a bill banning criticism of the Soviet army; p 3 (600 words).


Rossiiskaya Gazeta


1. Kira Latukhina and Vitaly Petrov article headlined "Forum of reforms" looks at the results of the St. Petersburg forum, where Putin has announced amnesty for people serving sentences for economic crimes and pledged to carry out a judicial system reform; pp 1-2 (1,400 words).


2. Marina Gritsyuk interview headlined "Don't steal!" with Federal Anti-monopoly Service official Nikolay Kartashov speaking on new bills protecting trademarks and other intellectual property; pp 1, 4 (1,200 words).


3. Viktor Feshchenko article headlined "To Russia for 24 hours" reports on the arrival of CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden to Moscow; p 5 (600 words).


4. Vladislav Vorobyev article headlined "Other enemies" says that Russian-U.S. agreements on the peace conference on Syria are unlikely to be realized as the West is getting ready to arm the Syrian opposition; p 5 (400 words).


5. Yelena Kukol report "Nabiullina shapes course" looks at the situation in the Russian economy and at the ruble rate. Article also features experts' comments; pp 1-2 (1,300 words).


Moskovsky Komsomolets


1. Tatyana Zamakhina article headlined "Hundred thousand economic prisoners waited for freedom in vain" says only a small number of people serving prison terms for economic crimes in Russia will benefit from the amnesty announced by Putin at the St. Petersburg forum; pp 1-2 (600 words).


2. Mikhail Zubov article headlined "Who will throw gauntlet to Sobyanin" says that according to Levada center head Lev Gudkov, 45 percent of Muscovites are ready to vote for Sergei Sobyanin in the mayoral election; p 2 (550 words).


3. Vladimir Chuprin interview headlined "Masters of ring" with acting Moscow Region governor Andrei Vorobyov; pp 1, 6 (1,400 words).


4. Andrei Yashlavsky report "Whistleblower Snowden heads for Moscow" says that Edward Snowden, former U.S. intelligence officer who leaked classified documents revealing U.S. internet and phone surveillance, has arrived in Moscow from Hong Kong; p 2 (400 words).


5. Mikhail Zubov interview headlined "How Lev Ponomaryov was beaten up" with the head of the For Human Rights movement, Lev Ponomaryov, who speaks about how the organization's offices in Moscow have been raided; p 2 (500 words).


6. Yekaterina Petukhova interview "Ramazan will replace Ramadan" with acting head of Dagestan Ramazan Abdulatipov; p 5 (1,500 words).


Novaya Gazeta


1. Leonid Nikitinskyarticle headlined "Most united in world" comments on Putin's plans to merge the Russian Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration Court; p 3 (693 words).


2. Yulia Latynina article headlined "Why is the ruble falling?" attributes the weakening of the ruble to corruption and red tape which hampers the economic development in Russia; p 13 (810 words).


3. Yelena Racheva article headlined "In early morning hours of 22 June: 'Blitzkrieg against rights activists'" looks at the leading human rights group For Human Rights being forcibly evicted from its offices in Moscow and features a lawyer's comment on it; p 6 (650 words).


4. Pundit Ilya Milshtein article headlined "Spots on White" speculates on why whistleblower Edward Snowden has decided not to seek political asylum in Russia; (700 words).


Noviye Izvestia


1. Diana Yevdokimova interview with the head of the For Human Rights movement, Lev Ponomaryov, speaking on ousting the NGO from its Moscow office and detention of activists who staged a rally to support the movement; pp 1, 5 (1,220 words).


2. Yulia Savina article headlined "Amalgamation but not merger?" comments on Vladimir Putin's latest initiative to merge the Russian Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration Court; p 2 (750 words).


Moskovskiye Novosti


1. Alexandra Beluza article headlined "Complicated balance of civilizations" says the Syrian conflict has been high on the agenda of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland and details possible developments of the situation; pp B2-B3 (1,300 words).


RBC Daily


1. Dmitry Ivanov et al. article headlined "Higher court for Putin" comments on Putin's initiative to merge the Russian Supreme Court and the Supreme Arbitration Court; pp 1-2 (710 words).


2. Alexander Litoy article headlined "Mansion of discord" says the eviction of the For Human Rights movements from its office in Moscow has ended up in a scandal; p 4 (550 words).


Tvoy Den


1. Oleg Shevtsov article headlined "Fabulous show" says the recent Paris air show has been a success for Russia; p 2 (200 words).


Komsomolskaya Pravda


1. Alexander Kots article headlined "CIA whistleblower flees Hong Kong for Moscow" says the CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden has left Hong Kong for Moscow and adds that it is still unknown where exactly he is going to seek political asylum; p 8 (900 words).

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