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What the Papers Say, Sept. 10, 2012

Igor Tabakov

Kommersant

1. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Summit on Its Own" reviews the results of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit and comments on the speeches by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and final news conference by President Vladimir Putin; pp 1, 3 (2,469 words).

2. Taisia Bekbulatova article headlined "Competition to Governors' Institution Not Great" says the registration of candidates for gubernatorial elections in five regions has finished. On average, four candidates stand for each post; pp 1-2 (883 words).

3. Maxim Yusin "Choice Prepared for Iranians" says the Iranian president is looking for a successor in the next presidential election to be held in the country in June 2013; pp 1, 6 (570 words).

4. Alexandra Bayazitova article headlined "Sberbank May Be Sold in Absence of Law" says Rosimushchestvo, a federal property agency, wants to simplify the procedure for selling the government stake in Sberbank. The bank, however, is against the plan; pp 1, 8 (882 words).

5. Viktor Khamrayev et al. report headlined "Anti-Valdai Height" says that a conservative patriotic club has been set up in the town of Izborsk by a group of conservative experts as an alternative to the presidential Valdai club; p 2 (757 words).

6. Maxim Ivanov and Alina Sabitova article headlined "Foreign Agents to Incur Losses" says rights activists warn that additional book keeping costs required by the new law on NGOs financed from abroad will become unaffordable for many organizations in Russia; p 2 (530 words).

7. Grigory Tumanov article headlined "March of Millions Goes to Strasbourg" says lawyers of Artyom Savelov, charged with attacking police during May 6 protests in Moscow, will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg; p 2 (583 words).

8. Dmitry Butrin article headlined "Russia Turns Away From Europe Just in Time" says the APEC summit in Vladivostok has shown that Japan and China are ready to develop business cooperation with Russia; p 3 (969 words).

9. Yulia Rybina article headlined "Dagestani Terrorists Searched Under Microscope" says that recent suicide bombings in Dagestan were organized by a new leader of illegal armed formations; p 5 (500 words).

10. Ivan Tyazhlov article entitled "Anti-Capitalists Go for Stroll in Moscow" says that close to 1,000 people took part in a leftist rally in central Moscow; p 5 (200 words).

11. Vladimir Solovyev interview with Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat ahead of his first visit to Russia. The Moldovan prime minister speaks about topics to be discussed at the meeting with the Russian leadership; p 6 (788 words).

10. Maria Yefimova article headlined "Entrance to U.S. Gets Easier and Cheaper" says that new visa regulations between Russia and the U.S. have come into effect. The future of the visa regime between the two countries depends on the outcome of the U.S. presidential election; p 6 (437 words).

11. Sergei Sobolev article headlined "George Polinski on Air Again" says that European Media Group founder George Polinski has set up a company to sell commercials to regional radio stations; p 7 (597 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Sergei Kulikov and Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "President's Special Mode of Communication With Business Circles" says that President Vladimir Putin's address to the APEC forum may have shown that Moscow is not ready to discuss problems that foreign investors face in Russia; pp 1, 4 (894 words).

2. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Apostles of Conservative Patriotism" says representatives of both the Kremlin and the government have attended a meeting of the Izborsk club of conservative experts in Pskov region; pp 1, 3 (817 words).

3. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Opposition Steps in 'Non-Freedom Field'" says the authorities are doing their best to suppress protest activity in the country, as opposition rallies in several regions were disrupted and the organizers of the rally in Moscow cannot come to agreement with the authorities over the event; pp 1, 3 (576 words).

4. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Deputy Prime Minister Cools Down Ministerial Arguments" says First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov has tried to re-assure experts that the cumulative part of the state pension scheme will not be abandoned as increasingly more people get worried about the pension reform plan proposed by the Labor Ministry; pp 1, 4 (821 words).

5. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Tymoshenko Receives Unexpected Support" says that new charges brought against former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko could cost the country $405 million that would have to be paid back to the Russian Defense Ministry; pp 1, 8 (695 words).

6. Editorial headlined "Putin's Mistake" criticizes President Vladimir Putin's statements on corruption in his recent interview with English-language TV channel RT. The article notes that by protecting officials, Putin leaves that fight against corruption to the opposition; p 2 (502 words).

7. Igor Naumov article headlined "Moscow Sets New Ambitious Goal" comments on Russia's plans to join the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and notes that the business climate in Russia may not meet the organization's standards; p 4 (791 words).

8. Dmitry Orlov article headlined "Rating of Influence of Regional Heads in August 2012" says that Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin remains the most powerful regional head in Russia; p 6 (1,539 words).

9. Sergei Nikanorov article headlined "Igor Sechin Sends Signal to Investors" says the APEC summit is expected to help Primorye region attract investment. Oil giant Rosneft has already made clear that the company has ambitious plans in the region; p 6 (1,065 words).

10. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Berlin Pushes Chisinau Toward Moscow" says that Monday's visit of the Moldovan prime minister to Moscow was mediated by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who advised Chisinau to develop relations with Moscow; p 8 (500 words).

11. Nikolai Surkov article headlined "U.S. and Russia Stuck in Syrian Deadlock" says Moscow and Washington cannot come to agreement over a resolution to the Syrian conflict. Meanwhile, Syrian government forces have launched an offensive against rebels in Aleppo; p 9 (593 words).

12. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Moscow Wants to Resolve Issues With Tokyo" reviews political results of the APEC summit and notes that the U.S. has expressed readiness to cancel the Jackson-Vanik amendment, while Japan was prepared to discuss territorial issues with Moscow; p 9 (624 words).

13. Ivan Rodnin article headlined "Vladimir Putin's Universal Screwdriver" comments on Putin's interview to news channel Russia Today and the recent crackdown on the opposition; p 11 (400 words).

Vedomosti

1. Ksenia Dokukina et al. report headlined "Gazprom Closed" says Russia's gas monopoly has prevented a drop in gas production. Gazprom has suspended the purchase of gas from independent manufacturers; pp 1, 8 (662 words).

2. Irina Mokrusova article headlined "Hunters for Situations" reviews business activity of the A1 investment company; pp 1, 12 (6,209 words).

3. Yelizaveta Sergina et al. report headlined "Yevroset Divided in Half" says the board of directors of Megafon has approved the purchase of Alexander Mamut's 50 percent stake in mobile phone retailer Yevroset; pp 1, 11 (646 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Owners' Doing" says that a large group of businessmen benefit from Russia's unfavorable investment climate as they justify poor management of their business assets by problems in the country's economic environment; pp 1, 4 (551 words).

5. Anastasia Kornya article headlined "March to Strasbourg" says that 30 opposition activists have filed complaints with the European Court of Human Rights, p 2 (400 words)

6. Another editorial headlined "Ahead to Past" criticizes Patriarch Kirill for comparing atheists and the opposition to invaders; p 4 (348 words).

6. Natalya Kostenko and Polina Khimiashvili article headlined "Putin Puts Up Bridges" says that Russia, as the host of the APEC summit, tried to show that its economy will be re-oriented from Europe to Asia; p 2 (632 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Vladislav Kulikov interview with Justice Minister Alexander Konovalov, who speaks about plans to set up a website to help individuals register documents and reduce red tape; pp 1, 6 (2600 words).

2. Kira Latukhina article headlined "Russian-Made Bridges" reviews the results of the APEC summit in Vladivostok; pp 1-2 (1,474 words).

3. Yulia Krivoshapko article headlined "Handover of State Assets" reviews the privatization plans for Russian state assets; pp 1, 2 (500 words).

4. Vladislav Vorobyev article headlined "There Is Only Mitt Between Past and Future" says U.S. President Barack Obama has criticized his Republican rival Mitt Romney over his anti-Russian policy; p 8 (700 words).

5. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Green Light" says that Russia and the U.S. have declared common understanding in exploring the Antarctic region; p 2 (200 words).

Izvestia

1. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "APEC 2012 Brings More Dividends Than Expected" says that despite some minor disruption in Vladivostok's transport system, the APEC summit turned out successful; pp 1-2 (796 words).

2. Yekaterina Karacheva article headlined "Investigative Committee Gets More Power to Open Cases Against VIPs" says that as soon as the Investigative Committee consolidates control over investigative departments of all law enforcement agencies, it will get broader powers for initiating criminal proceedings; pp 1-2 (1,258 words).

3. Olga Tropkina and Viktoria Fedorova article headlined "Ketchum Will No Longer Promote Russia" says the Kremlin has not prolonged its contract with the PR agency that has worked on Russia's image abroad; pp 1-2 (859 words).

4. Ivan Cheberko article headlined "Space Industry Sees More Job Cuts" says that several senior officials and managers of space industry companies have lost their jobs; pp 1, 3 (400 words).

5. Yulia Tsoi article headlined "Brod Complains About Lyudmila Alexeyeva to Barack Obama" says that Moscow Human Rights Bureau director Alexander Brod has complained to U.S. President Barack Obama about veteran rights activist and Moscow Helsinki Group head Lyudmila Alexeyeva; p 3 (383 words).

6. Oleg Shevtsov and Igor Yavlyansky article headlined "Syrian Rebels Get New French Portable Air-Defense Systems" comments on French supplies of missile defense systems to the Syrian rebels; p 5 (526 words).

7. Alexei Mikhailov article headlined "Serdyukov's Personal Special Forces Receive New Helicopters" says that the Senezh special forces unit, known as the "personal" troops of the defense minister, will receive new-generation Mi-8 helicopters; p 3 (600 words).

8. Alexei Mikhailov article headlined "Caucasus-2012 Military Drill Turned Into Show-Off" describes preparations for the largest military drill of 2012; p 4 (600 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Irina Kuksenkova article headlined "I Was Stoned in Iran" reports on life and traditions in modern Iran; pp 1, 5 (2,376 words).

2. Anastasia Rodionova article headlined "Cut Through Election" comments on the election of the Russian opposition coordination council; pp 1-2 (689 words).

3. Zurab Nalbandyan article headlined "Harry Goes Back to War" says that British Prince Harry has been sent to Afghanistan; p 2 (40 words).

4. Tatyana Zamakhina article headlined "APEC Summit Seems to Be Inexpensive for Putin" comments on President Vladimir Putin's final news conference after the APEC summit; p 2 (616 words).

5. Vladislav Inozemtsev article headlined "Russia Looks to Spend Money" says the APEC summit turned out to be too costly for Russia and officials do not know how to spend money efficiently; p 3 (1,203 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Alexei Rasputny article headlined "How It Is in Russian Way..." says that despite billions of dollars in investment in the APEC summit, Vladivostok has been left without good hotels; p 3 (856 words).

2. Yelena Masyuk interview with Vladimir Ryzhkov, opposition activist and head of the Republican Party, speaking about the conditions for Vladimir Putin's resignation; p 2 (3,202 words).

3. Yulia Latynina article headlined "APEC! Let Them Remember Us Now" says the APEC forum is unable to resolve economic and political problems and that Russia's spending on organizing the summit was a waste of money; pp 8-9 (1,700 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1, Vera Moslakova article headlined "List for Expulsion" says the State Duma committee on the accuracy of deputies' income declarations will soon consider the commercial activities of six United Russia deputies; p 2 (200 words).

Moskovskiye Novosti

1. Alina Garbuznyak interview with an activist of pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi, Konstantin Goloskokov, headlined "This Is Fifth Column as It Is!" in which the young man speaks about his fight against the opposition; pp 1,3 (700 words).

RBC Daily

1. Svetlana Makunina article headlined "Striking Is Forbidden" says that the State Duma is considering adopting new regulations to prevent work-to-rule strikes during its sessions; p 1 (400 words).

2. Alexander Litoi article headlined "They Share Rallies" comments on the political activity of Alexander Potkin, leader of the Movement Against Illegal Migration — which is banned in Russia — in Kazakhstan, where he is consulting local nationalists; p 2 (400 words).

Sept. 10, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC

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