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What the Papers Say, Oct. 22, 2012

Igor Tabakov

Kommersant

1. Irina Nagornykh article headlined "One More Time About Love" says the newly set up directorate for public projects within the Russian presidential administration will be engaged in patriotic education. The Kremlin hopes to teach people and mostly children love their motherland, however, experts warn that it will be an uneasy task; pp 1-2 (891 words).

2. Grigory Tumanov et al. report "Opposition Included in Express-Delivery" says Ukraine has handed over opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev to Moscow when he was trying to get political asylum in the country. He is suspected of organizing Moscow riots; pp 1, 5 (774 words).

3. Kirill Melnikov and Anna Solodovnikova article headlined "Rosneft Persuades BP Directors" says BP has decided to sell its stake in the Russian-British joint venture TNK-BP to Rosneft. BP will get a 13 percent stake in Rosneft and $17 billion dollars for the deal; pp 1, 11 (960 words).

4. Maria Yakovleva and Ivan Kuznetsov article headlined "Formula Written Into Schedule" says the Labor Ministry has decided to suspend pension reform due to social risks of the proposed changes; pp 1, 10 (887 words).

5. Natalya Gorodetskaya and Sergei Titov article headlined "Kalmykia Head Gets Rid of Kirsan Ilyumzhinov's Legacy" comments on the dismissal of the government in the Kalmykia republic; p 2 (472 words).

6. Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "Experts Try to Reconcile Elite" says the international discussion club Valdai will try to find ways of uniting the Russian elite to carry out economic reforms; p 2 (686 words).

7. Natalya Korchenkova article headlined "Volunteers Not to Be Left Beyond Law" comments on a bill regulating the work of volunteers, which is currently being drafted by the Federation Council; p 3 (642 words).

8. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Country of Victorious Top-Down Command Structure" says a recent poll by the Levada Center has shown that people believe all media, parliament and the court to be controlled by the Kremlin; p 3 (401 words).

9. Alexander Reutov article headlined "Libya Stirs Up Past" says the new Libyan authorities are carrying out an operation against the supporters of the former leader, Col Gadhafi, who are hiding in Bani Walid; p 7 (522 words).

10. Sergei Strokan article headlined "Beirut Gets on Syrian Trail" says Bashar Assad's regime is accused by the Lebanon opposition of killing a Lebanon intelligence chief; p 7 (513 words).

11. Yelena Chernenko and Sergei Sidorenko article headlined "Parliamentary Elections Light Up With Gas" says Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is visiting Moscow in search of support ahead of the parliamentary elections. Kiev is expected to offer a new gas deal to Moscow; p 8 (918 words).

12. Article by Arkady Moshes, senior researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, in opinion column headlined "Price of Issue" looks into prospects for Russian-Ukrainian relations; p 8 (353 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Kremlin Agitation and Propaganda Section" outlines work to be carried out by the new directorate for public projects within the Russian presidential administration; pp 1, 3 (985 words).

2. Tatyana Ivzhenko and Ivan Rodin article headlined "Anatomy of Protest Does Not Know Borders" says there is still no information on the detention of opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev in Ukraine, however, he is said to be detained in connection with the case against the Russian opposition; pp 1, 3 (1,121 words).

3. Serge Kulikov article headlined "Rosneft Takes It All" says the ambitious plans by Rosneft to buy TNK-BP to become the world's largest oil extraction company may be too costly pp 1, 4 (580 words).

4. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Decrease in Investment Worries Officials" says the Russian government is disappointed with the unexpected decline in investment by 1.3 percent in September; pp 1, 4 (901 words).

5. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Ukraine Has to Hold Out Until March" says the IMF's decision to give a loan to Ukraine will affect not only the economic situation in the country, but also its politics; pp 1, 7 (919 words).

6. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "U.S.A. to Conduct Separate Talks With Iran" says Washington and Tehran have reportedly agreed on direct talks over the Iranian nuclear program; pp 1, 8 (618 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Brussels Not Ready to Open Window to East for Real" says visa problems hamper the development of Russian-EU relations; p 2 (502 words).

8. Viktor Litovkin article headlined "Putin's Salvo at American Elections" reports on the "unprecedented" exercise of Russian strategic nuclear forces held over the weekend; p 2 (908 words).

9. Article by Alexei Malashenko, an expert from the Moscow Carnegie Center, headlined "Where Motherland [Party] Is Heading" looks into the political ambitions of the revived Motherland party; p 3 (716 words).

10. Savely Vezhin article headlined "CC Interpreted as Navalny's Pocket Structure" says the election of members of the opposition Coordination Council (CC) has been criticized by some experts for violating democratic standards; p 3 (551 words).

11. Yury Roks article headlined "Media Redistribution in Tbilisi" says the opposition victory at the parliamentary elections has strengthened the positions of some TV channels and threatens other media with closure; p 7 (889 words).

12. Darya Tsilyurik article headlined "Lebanon Opposition Rises Against Assad" says the Lebanese opposition is speaking out against the Syrian regime, accusing Damascus of assassinating the country's investigation chief; p 8 (682 words).

Izvestia

1. Olga Tropkina article headlined "Kremlin to Teach Society Patriotism" outlines the work of the newly set up directorate for public projects within the Russian presidential administration to be engaged in patriotic education; pp 1, 4 (913 words).

2. Maria Kiseleva article headlined "Kaluga to Be Connected With Moscow Aviation Center" says Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is reported to have instructed the Transportation Ministry to merge Yermolino military airfield with the Moscow aviation center; pp 1, 4 (773 words).

3. Sergei Lebedev article headlined "Tourist Police to Be Set Up in North Caucasus" outlined measures drafted by the government to maintain security of tourists visiting the North Caucasus; p 1 (458 words).

4. Dmitry Yevstifeyev interview with Ingushetia President Yunus-bek Yevkurov speaking on his work to make rebels lay down arms and give in to the law enforcement agencies, as he set up a special line for such people and members of their families; pp 1, 4 (737 words).

5. Vladimir Gusev article headlined "Public Chamber Members Criticize Opposition Elections" says the Public Chamber has claimed that the opposition is violating all democratic standards when carrying out elections to their Coordination Council; p 2 (842 words).

6. Marina Tsiptsura interview with Vitaly Klichko, world-known boxer and Ukrainian opposition politician speaking on the parliamentary election campaign in Ukraine; p 5 (1,149 words).

Vedomosti

1. Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "They Do Not Need London at All" says the Russian Federal Service for Financial Markets has spoken out for the privatization of Russian companies in Moscow, but not on the London stock exchange. The service expects foreign investors to come to the Russian financial market; pp 1, 3 (845 words).

2. Irina Mokrousova and Timofei Dzyatko article headlined "Where Is TNK-BP Heading" tries to predict the business future of the TNK-BP joint venture as BP is going to sell its stake in the company to Rosneft; pp 1, 16 (2,220 words).

3. Irina Kezin article headlined "Rubber Druzhba" says foreign items have affected the work of the Druzhba (Rus. for Friendship) oil pipeline, condoms and dummies in oil broke some East European oil distribution equipment; p 1 (439 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Passion for Designing" analyzes the Kremlin's attempt to take volunteers under control; pp 1, 4 (499 words).

5. Maria Zheleznova article headlined "Person of Week: Sergei Udaltsov" ironically comments on the image of opposition activist Sergei Udaltsov created by the federal TV channels; p 4 (511 words).

6. Another editorial headlined "For Honest Elections" welcomed the election of the opposition Coordinating Council; p 4 (297 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Tamara Shkel article headlined "Duma Thinks About Budget" says the State Duma has passed in its first reading the federal budget draft; p 1 (745 words).

2. Anna Roze article headlined "Compared With Terrorists" says the German press has condemned the actions of the Pussy Riot punk group; p 8 (285 words).

3. Nikolai Dizhur article headlined "They Will Not Be Able to Carve Pinocchio" expresses skepticism about the election of the opposition Coordination Council as the Russian opposition cannot unite in the name of political struggle; p 10 (519 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Marina Ozerova article headlined "Spy Sneaks Imperceptibly" says the State Duma is passing a bill making every Russian national at risk of becoming a traitor as the notion of treason is too broad and vague in the bill; pp 1-2 (646 words).

2. Alexander Minkin article headlined "State Magic" gives details of the bribery case in which the jury acquitted the investigator charged with extorting money from a businessman; pp 1, 5 (1,675 words).

3. Yulia Kalinina article headlined "Hemorrhoids Instead of Traffic Jams" slams Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov over his suggestion to impose 1 million ruble (around $33,000) fine on drunk drivers as almost nobody will be able to pay the fine; pp 1 — 2 (661 words).

RBK Daily

1. Anton Verzhbitsky et al. article headlined "To Enter in British Style" says that on Sunday, Oct. 21, British-Russian company TNK-BP agreed to sell 50 percent of its shares to Rosneft and looks into the details of the deal; pp 1,7 (2800 words).

2. Tatyana Kosobokova article headlined "Kremlin to Teach How to Love Motherland" says a new directorate on interaction with civil society has been set up in the presidential administration with an aim to raise patriotism and pride for contemporary Russia and its laws. The author compares the newly established body with a similar one in the USSR; pp 1-2 (450 words).

3. Alexander Litoi article "Shortfall at Elections" says elections to the opposition Coordination Council have been prolonged for an indefinite period in order to compensate for the low voter turnout; p 2 (600 words).

4. Anna Reznikova interview with Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseyev; p 5 (1400 words).

5. Pundit Dmitry Oreshkin article headlined "Alternative Elections" says that elections to the opposition Coordination Council are necessary for Russia's peaceful development in future; p 6 (600 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Nadezhda Krasilova article headlined "Attacks in Cyberspace" says that hackers failed to sabotage elections to the opposition Coordination Council and voting results will be announced on Oct. 22; p 2 (400 words).

2. Nadezhda Bulanova article headlined "Missing" says that one of opposition activists, Leonid Razvozzhayev, who was wanted by Russian police in connection with the criminal investigation into allegations that some members of the opposition planned to organize mass disturbances in a bid to seize power, was kidnapped in Kiev allegedly by Russian special forces; p 2 (250 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Olga Prosvirova article headlined "18th Jailed" looks into details of the first court hearing against recently detained 51-year-old scientist Sergei Krivov, after which he was left under arrest until Dec. 18 in connection with the criminal investigation into mass disturbances at an opposition rally on May 6; p 300 words).

2. Alexei Pomerantsev article headlined "Silent Implication" gives details of court hearings of the Magnitsky case; p 7 (600 words).

3. Yulia Latynina article headlined "Sechin Managed to Do What Khodorkovsky Was Jailed for" analyzes the agreed deal between TNK-BP and Rosneft; p 9 (800 words).

4. Irina Khalip article headlined "Targamadze — Instigator or Political Strategist?" investigates the biography of Givi Targamadze, an alleged ally of Russian opposition activists in planning mass disturbances and seizure of power in Russia; p 17 (550 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Alexei Krupennikov article headlined "Election Results Reflect Citizens' Mood" says that the outcome of regional elections, where United Russia won on the majority of Russian regions, proves that Russians trust President Putin's political policy; p 5 (600 words).

Oct. 22, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC? 

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