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What the Papers Say, Nov. 13, 2012

Igor Tabakov

Kommersant

1. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Vladimir Putin Gives Advice for Rights" reports on President Vladimir Putin's meeting with the human rights council that has gathered for the first time after new members were elected; pp 1, 3 (1,300 words).

2. Maxim Varyvdin and Alexander Golubev interview headlined "It Was Basic Decision to Tighten Screws and Enhance Discipline" with Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev speaking on the ongoing police reform and his personnel policy; pp 1, 4 (2,345 words).

3. Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "Controllers Assigned for State Companies" says the Russian government has approved a list of bodies controlling work of Russian strategic companies with foreign partners and organizations. The new regulations will affect the work of 53 strategic companies; pp 1, 11 (508 words).

4. Ksenia Dementyeva article headlined "Depositors — Currency Speculators" says that foreign currency deposits in Russian banks are growing faster than ruble ones; pp 1, 9 (737 words).

5. Maria Plyusnina article headlined "Legal Help Provided for Officials' Property" says the Russian Association of Lawyers has said that a ban on property ownership abroad to be imposed on Russian officials is unconstitutional; p 2 (641 words).

6. Maxim Ivanov report "Parliament to Entrust Its Business to Prosecutor General Only" says that the procedure of criminal prosecution of members of parliament will be debated in the State Duma; p 2 (600 words).

7. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Russia Conjugated in German" says Russia's relations with its key ally in the EU, Germany, are deteriorating due to Berlin's criticism of recent political events in Moscow; p 7 (614 words).

8. Yelena Chernenko interview with Andreas Schockenhoff, German government coordinator for relations with Russia, explaining the reasons for German criticism of the Russian economy and policy; p 7 (440 words).

9. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Barack Obama Changes Team" looks ahead at the reshuffle to take place in the U.S. presidential administration; p 7 (584 words).

10. Alexander Reutov article headlined "Syrian Opposition Gains Weight" says the U.S.A. and Qatar have succeeded in uniting Bashar Assad's opponents; p 7 (313 words).

11. Georgy Dvali report "NATO Being Involved in Conflict Between Prime Minister and President" say that NATO and the EU have found themselves involved in the conflict between Georgia's prime minister and president; p 7 (600 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Law Enforcement Power Searches for Balance" says that Russian Audit Chamber head Sergei Stepashin has come out for more supervisory powers for the Prosecutor General's Office in the project to set up a single Investigative Committee in the country; pp 1, 3 (665 words).

2. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Tiraspol Wants to Go Under Russian Central Bank's Umbrella" says that the Transdnestr republic plans to start using the Russian ruble in response to a EU financial blockade; pp 1, 6 (752 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Fight Against Corruption for Money" says the Russian government is drafting a bill to make the fight against corruption socially important work and enable NGOs engaged in anti-corruption activity to get state financing; pp 1, 3 (497 words).

4. Alexander Chernyavsky article headlined "Krasnoyarsk Divides Andrei Vorobyov's Mandate" says that the Krasnoyarsk region authorities are thinking about who will replace Andrei Vorobyov elected to the State Duma from the region and recently appointed acting Moscow region governor; pp 1, 5 (488 words).

5. Yury Roks article headlined "Saakashvili Complains to NATO About Ivanishvili" says that activists are gathering signatures for dismissal of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili to stop the current diarchy; pp 1, 6 (830 words).

6. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Japan Under U.S. Cover" says Japan is stepping up military cooperation with the U.S.A. in the face of the threat from China becoming increasingly powerful in the region. A U.S.-Japanese navy exercise is under way in the Pacific Ocean; pp 1, 7 (534 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Propaganda Does Not Resolve Problem" slams the Russian authorities' national policy as it does not resolve any problems of tolerance or illegal migration; p 2 (479 words).

8. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Following Magnitsky List" says that Putin plans to take part in the Russia-EU summit in December. Meanwhile, European countries plan to introduce their own lists of corrupt Russian officials facing sanctions; p 3 (451 words).

9. Vladimir Kotlyar article headlined "Will Obama Want to Try and Change Course of History" looks at the shortcomings of U.S. President Barack Obama's policy; p 3 (827 words).

10. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "U.S.A. to Replace Trade Sanctions With Personal Ones" says that as the U.S. Congress is getting ready to pass the Magnitsky list, Russian officials having assets in the U.S.A. have only one month left to withdraw their money; p 4 (556 words).

11. Darya Tsilyurik article headlined "West to Arm Single Syrian Opposition" says that the new approach of the USA and its allies to the Syrian conflict risks triggering a new war in the Middle East as the armament of the Syrian opposition by the West may make Iran join the war; p 7 (646 words).

12. Brief unattributed report says that the Iraqi government will discuss anew the terms of a major deal to buy weapons from Russia; p 7 (90 words).

13. Brief unattributed report says that the British lawmakers consider it unjustified that compensation worth 450,000 pounds has been paid to BBC director-general George Entwistle, who has stepped down; p 7 (90 words).

14. Oleg Nikiforov report "Investment Uncertainty Risks in Arctic Region" says that a decline in demand for energy resources has put Russia before a difficult investment choice; pp 9-10 of the NG Energy supplement (1,000 words)

15. Alexei Knizhnikov report "Environmentalists Fear Consequences of Shelf Development" says that the Russian companies Gazprom and Rosneft are suspected of careless expansion in northern regions; pp 9-10 of the NG Energy supplement (900 words).

Vedomosti

1. Tatyana Voronova et al. report headlined "Russia's Hole" says that 40 billion rubles ($1.2 billion) invested by the Russian government in the capital of Rosselkhozbank is not enough. The bank is asking for more financing; p 1 (748 words).

2. Yelizaveta Sergeyeva and Valery Kadachigov article headlined "Accessible" says that the communications watchdog Roskomnadzor plans to assess the quality of communications companies work in accordance with 25 criteria. The companies, which fail to meet the standards, may lose their licenses; pp 1, 11 (556 words).

3. Alexandra Terentyeva article headlined "Against Deripaska" says Mikhail Prokhorov's Oneksim company has taken the side of Sual Partners controlled by Viktor Vekselberg and Leonard Blavatnik in its conflict with UC RusAl of Oleg Deripaska; p 1 (476 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Bills of Protest" says protests against a hike in public utilities tariffs have begun in Russia; pp 1, 4 (527 words).

5. Natalya Kostenko and Irina Novikova article headlined "Unneeded Load" says that Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin may hand over the post of United Russia leader in the city to State Duma member Sergei Zheleznyak; p 2 (496 words).

6. Another editorial headlined "Medvedev to Village" comments on Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's plans to improve living standards in Russian villages by allocating 90 billion rubles (around $2.8 billion) from the federal budget; p 4 (372 words).

7. Yevgenia Pismennaya and Yelena Myazina interview with Primorye region governor Vladimir Miklushevsky speaking on development plans for the region; p 5 (4,227 words)

8. Anastasia Kornya report "Putin Becomes Kinder" says that Putin has chaired the first meeting of the new makeup of the presidential council for human rights; p 2 (600 words).

9. Kirill Kharatyan report in the column "Quote of the Week" looks at the verdict to the first convict in the so-called Bolotnaya case, Maxim Luzyanin; p 4 (450 words).

Izvestia

1. Andrei Gridasov et al. report headlined "Investigators to Estimate Anatoly Serdyukov's Shared Housing" says the Investigative Committee is trying to find out how the sister of former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov has bought a flat worth 700 million rubles in Moscow; pp 1, 4 (1,010 words).

2. Pyotr Kozlov article headlined "UN Catches Russia Indulging Corruption" says UN experts have found out that the Russian legislation does not meet the requirements of the UN anti-corruption convention; pp 1, 4 (619 words).

3. Ivan Cheberko article headlined "Roskosmos Cuts Sterkh and Arkon Spacecraft" reports on the revised space program, in which the financing of many space launches has been cut; pp 1, 4 (501 words).

4. Anna Polyukhovich report "Candidate's Minimum" say that former U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney is losing friends after his failure in the presidential race; p 1 (150 words).

5. Anna Akhmadiyeva article headlined "Public TV to Make Money With Social Ads" says the Russian government has found another source of financing for the newly set up Public TV: the channel will make money with social ads; p 2 (447 words).

5. Marina Kirpichevskaya report "FSB Suggests That State Secret Be Taken From Letters" says that the amendments to the bill on the post service, submitted by the Federal Security Service (FSB), will drastically tighten control over correspondence in Russia; p 3 (900 words).

6. Sergei Podosenov report "Wikipedia Stands Up for Lurkmore" says that the Russian branch of Wikipedia is preparing an appeal to Putin and the State Duma expressing its concern about tightening censorship in the Russian Internet; p 3 (700 words).

7. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Syrian Opposition Unites" says the Syrian opposition have finally managed to unite and it now plans to form an interim government to replace Bashar Assad's regime; p 5 (660 words).

8. Igor Agapov and Anna Akhmadiyeva article headlined "Mayak [Radio] to Leave Villages and Roads" says the All-Russia State TV and Radio Company (VGTRK) has decided to stop financing the broadcast of Radio Mayak programs on long and medium frequency waves in Russia; moreover, the Voice of Russia radio station will stop working in several foreign countries as from 2013; p 7 (742 words).

9. Boris Mezhuyev report "Skyfall, or Fall of General Petraeus" looks at a scandal involving former CIA head Gen David Petraeus; p 9 (600 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Mikhail Falalayev article headlined "Police Regulations Written" gives some details of new regulations written for the police and approved by Putin; pp 1, 9 (642 words).

2. Yulia Krivoshapko interview headlined "Outline Map" with Alexei Popov, director of the Universal Electronic Card company, speaking on the so-called universal electronic cards being introduced in Russia, which are to replace some documents; pp 1, 5 (1,928 words).

3. Leonid Radzikhovsky article headlined "Stagnation" compares the current regime with Brezhnev times and notes that despite shortcomings, people living in Putin's Russia are affected by the economic crisis less than in the West; p 3 (837 words).

4. Viktor Feshchenko article headlined "Look for Women" gives details of the resignation of the CIA head due to his extramarital affair; p 8 (485 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Natalya Vedeneyeva article headlined "Crow Does Not Pick Out Crow's Eye in Glonass" says the fight against corruption in the Russian space industry is used as disguise to fight for power; pp 1-2 (715 words).

2. Ignat Kalinin article headlined "To Close Website Is Not the Same as to Cross-Field" says the law on harmful information in the Internet, which has come into effect in Russia, has become a tool of censorship. The author names the websites closed without any explanations; pp 1-2 (506 words).

3. Olga Bozhyeva article headlined "Picture Gesture Fails" says that the reports by "some sources" in the Defense Ministry saying that the works of art seized from a culture centre in Moscow have not been returned to the exhibition, are true; pp 1, 3 (335 words).

4. Alexander Minkin article headlined "Enticement of Hatred" reports on an incident on a Moscow tram where a group of North Caucasus nationals stabbed other passengers with knives, and looks into reasons for aggression in Russian society; pp 1, 3 (1,031 words).

5. Yevgeny Krasnikov report "Will Bottle Be Taken Away From Air Passengers?" says that the Transport Ministry has drafted amendments to the Aviation Code, according to which all alcohol that passengers have bought should be taken away from them for the period of flight; pp 1-2 (600 words).

6. Viktoria Prikhodko report "Journalists' Benefit Performance in Human Rights Council" says that another three rights campaigners have left the presidential council for human rights before a meeting with Putin; p 2 (600 words).

7. Melor Sturua article headlined "Look for Different Woman" gives some details of the resignation of the CIA head reportedly due to an affair with a married woman; p 3 (824 words).

RDK Daily

1. Tatyana Kosobokova and Ivan Petrov article headlined "Quietly and Modestly" says the Kremlin, reportedly being displeased with a growing number of officials demonstrating their luxurious life, has given a signal to them by dismissing Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and launching an anti-corruption campaign; p 2 (500 words).

2. Inga Vorobyova and Valeria Khamrayeva article headlined "Khakamada's Preaching" comments on the first meeting of a newly elected presidential human rights council and says that Irina Khakamada, its new member, has persuaded Putin to postpone the passing of a high-profile bill on insulting believers' feelings; pp 1-2 (600 words).

3. Yulia Yakovleva article headlined "Prosecutor General's Office Receives 'Magnitsky'" says that the case of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky has reached the Prosecutor General's Office, but his family intends to ignore the further investigation and says the process is immoral; p 3 (450 words).

4. Yulia Kalachikhina article headlined "London Loses Leadership" says that London may soon lose the status of the world's leading financial center as white collars are moving to Asia; p 4 (500 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Yevgenia Zubchenko article headlined "Future Scenarios" looks at the prospects of the Russian economy and says that next year is unlikely to bring either positive or negative changes; pp 1, 3 (1000 words).

2. Anastasia Maltseva article headlined "Forbidden Site Is Sweet" says that more than 2 million people have visited the Lurkmore website that has been banned under the new law on potentially dangerous websites; pp 1, 5 (550 words).

3. Yulia Savina article headlined "Rich Will Not Cry" says that the initiatives to ban Russian deputies from having property abroad are highly unlikely to be put into practice as none of them have been supported either by the court or by officials themselves; p 2 (600 words).

Moskovskiye Novosti

1. Lidia Glazko article headlined "Federal Drug Control Service Builds Up 'Lurkmore'" says that implementation of the blacklisting law has become a great advertising technology for the banned websites; p 2 (500 words).

2. Alina Garbuznyak article headlined "From 'Russian Revolution' to 'Education Column'" looks at the results of research conducted by sociologists, saying that the objectives of civil rallies have changed throughout the year; p 3 (800 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Alexander Kots and Dmitriy Steshin article headlined "Who Is Turning Dagestan Into Outpost of Wahhabism" looks at journalists' investigation as to what makes young Dagestani men turn to ideas of radical Islam; p 8 (1400 words).

Trud

1. Alexander Protsanko article headlined "Is This Our Last?.." comments on the latest fraud scandals within the Defense Ministry, the Ministry of Regional Development and the Russian Space Systems corporation, saying that Russia has never seen an anti-corruption fight on such a large scale; pp 1, 3 (800 words).

Nov. 13, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC? 

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