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Izvestia
www.izvestia.ru
The so-called school racket when senior school students force younger students to give them money has become prevalent in many cities, including Moscow and St. Petersburg. A story gives concrete facts to illustrate this crime. (1,3)
New thunderstorms are expected in Stavropolye, Kuban and the North Caucasian republics, which have already suffered considerably from this. A story describes numerous victims in the Stavropolye region where torrents of muddy flood waters have left dozens of people dead and thousands homeless. (1; Kommersant, 6; Rossiiskaya Gazeta, 1,2; Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 8; Vremya Novostei, 1,3; Gazeta, 4; MK, 1,2)
A story examines the results of the 12th Tchaikovsky International Competition that have turned out to be rather disappointing for Russian musicians. (1,8; Vremya Novostei, 6; Gazeta, 10; Rossiiskaya Gazeta, 1,8)
UES head Anatoly Chubais has for the first time nominated to the board of directors a candidate for independent director without UES shares. He is Rolf Birhoff, president of the Euroelectric Association, who has helped Chubais conduct negotiations with potential Western investors to the domestic electrical energy sector. In an interview, Birhoff shares his view on the acute problem of investments to the Russian economy. (1,5)
A "big personnel cleansing " is expected in France ?€” President Jaques Chirac intends to fire the main special service leaders, who will become the first victims in his operation to change the top officials in the upper echelons of power. A story examines the reasons behind the planned operation. (2)
Neo-fascists in an suburb of St. Petersburg on June 22 blasted a famous memorial tank-T-34. A story gives details. (2)
Osama bin Laden's press secretary Suleiman Abu Ghaith stated that the bin Laden is alive and may plan new actions to mark America's main holiday on July 4 ?€” Independence Day. (2; Vremya Novostei, 1)
The Communist Party Central Committee on Saturday held a closed session to discuss the party's parliamentary election strategy. A story looks at the session's decisions. (2; Kommersant, 4; Vremya Novostei, 2; Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 2; MK, 1,2)
The State Statistics Committee over the weekend made public figures on vodka production in January-May this year, during which a 4.5 percent year on year increase was recorded against 2001. Pavel Shapkin, president of the National Alcohol Association, commented on the growth. (2)
Former President Boris Yeltsin and his Belarussian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko in Brest over the weekend discussed issues pertaining to a possible amendment of the Russia-Belarus Union Treaty, union factors and prospects. A story looks at Yeltsin's answer to the questions: What do you think of attempts to weaken the Union? What is the reason behind the current cooling of Russian-Belarussian relations? (3; Kommersant, 10; Gazeta, 2; MK, 2)
Kenneth Magnesson, spokesman for the Swedish Marine Administration, on Sunday stated that the Swedish ice-breaker "Oden" left the Baltic port of Lulea for Antarctica to help the German vessel "Magdalena Oldendorf", which has 79 Russian polar explorers on board. Brief. (3)
A scientists' rally to protest against government policy toward science will start today and go from the Moscow region to the White House in Moscow. Brief. (3; Kommersant, 6)
Yaroslavl regional governor Anatoly Lisitsyn on Sunday banned a bull fight show that City Assembly deputy Alexander Simon intended to organize in Yaroslavl in late August. Brief. (3)
Six hundred school graduates in Nizhny Novgorod will receive an unusual document with their school-leaving certificates: a $1,000 certificate for each of them from local businessman Dmitry Birman, whose holding in 10 years will pay them $1,000 if they observe three conditions: live and work in Russia, lead a healthy way of life and bring up at least two children. (3)
Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov on Saturday met with leaders of the State Duma centrist factions to discuss preliminary results of law-making work, that happened to be more bad than good, above all, for the government. A story looks at some of them. (4; Kommersant, (2)
Rostov regional governor Vladimir Chub, on the president's instruction, has drafted an analytical note concerning problems of relationships between local and regional executive power structures. Chub stated that the note has included proposals on creating a mechanism of jointly forming such structures. In an interview, he comments on the document. (4)
German businessman Gerhard Mazuh, former deputy of the last East German parliament, believes that hundreds of multi-story apartment blocks in Leipzig that were build in East German times and that now are to be dismantled could be moved to Russia. A story reveals the essence of the businessman's initiative. (4)
The directors of Prosperity Capital Management and Hermitage, companies that represent UES minorities, have stated that the new wording of the UES Charter makes a violation of shareholders' rights possible. A story comments on the statement, saying that in this way minorities have launched a struggle for seats on the UES board of directors. (5)
The Sheremetyevo Airport administration is trying to improve its passenger service, and thus change the trend of airlines leaving the airport. A story examines the administration's measures in this respect. (5)
The Moscow Registration Chamber on June 18 stopped accepting documents for the registration of new legal entities. Firms, however, that were registered last week will not exist even for 6 months. The Tax Ministry has prepared a "present " for them: before Dec. 31, 2002 they all should submit to the tax bodies their major data to be included in the single state register of legal entities. A story comments on the potentially sad fate of such firms. (5)
A story comments on how, as a result of war between tenants of old Moscow houses in the city center and commercial structures, Muscovites are being evicted from their apartment blocks. (10)
Moscow law-enforcement officers have been given special video cameras to conduct surveillance at the Kursky and Kazansky stations. A story describes the new systems. (10)
The Izvestia supplement is devoted to the mass media. (1-4)
In an interview, Press Minister Mikhail Lesin speaks about mass media reform. (1)
A story features an enterprise called "The Russian Falcon Center," the most exotic bird farm in the country, located on the outskirts of Moscow. (11)
Kommersant
www.kommersant.ru
Entrepreneur Umar Dzhabrailov, head of Plaza Group, urgently left for Italy in the early hours of Sunday, stating that it is dangerous for him to be in Moscow as his brother Salavat is suspected of an involvement in the attempt on the life of Vice Mayor Iosif Ordzhonikidze. A story comments on his statement. (1; Gazeta, 1,2; Nezavisimaya Gazeta, 8)
The president's news conference will take place in the Kremlin on June 24. A story explains why there is a need for it. (2)
A story examines preliminary results of the presidential elections in Buryatia on Sunday when the present leader of the republic Leonid Potapov won less than 50 percent of votes. (3)
The general council of the Unified Russia Party on Saturday held a visiting session in Kaliningrad, where a special document was signed with the aim of protecting the city residents from discomforts impeded by the European Union. A story looks at the document. (3)
The council of the Union of Right Forces party held a session in the Moscow region on Friday and Saturday. A story describes what happened at the session on its second day when it was closed for the press. (4; Vremya Novostei, 2)
European law-enforcers have managed to detain more than 100 people during the "Pautina" operation to crack down on the Russian mafia. Italy's Interior Minister Claudio Saiola promises that these arrests will be followed by other cases. A story examines the results of the operation. (5)
Moscow law-enforcement officers, at the request of Ukrainian authorities, have arrested Sevastopol banker and entrepreneur Sergei Kondratevsky, who is suspected of embezzling $14 million. A story gives details. (5)
The Natural Resources Ministry, the State Fishery Committee and the State Customs Committee have devised rules for importing and exporting rare animals and plants that are under the threat of extinction. The story examines the document. (6)
Barnaul police Friday were put on combat alert because of mass protest actions by angry shareholders of the Barnaulstroi construction firm. A story gives details. (6)
The two-day European Union summit in Seville ended on Saturday. Its central issue for discussion was illegal immigration. A story sums up its major results. (9)
Israel has launched a new operation to destroy the "infrastructure of terror" in the Palestinian territories. The operation has been called "Selected Way." A story describes it in detail. (10)
The shareholders of the Severstal metals combine and of its major raw material supplier OLKON on Friday held their meetings. A story describes the scandalous situations at those meetings and the decisions taken. (13)
A scandal erupted at the Aviadvigatel shareholders meeting on Saturday when shares belonging to the American Pratt & Whitney company were frozen according to a suit lodged by a member of the company's board of directors. (13,16)
A decision was made over the weekend on the merger of Zenit Bank and Ak Bars Bank. One more bank ?€” Devon-Kredit ?€” will take part in the merger. A story reveals the essence of the decision. (13, 14)
A Rice Association has been created in Russia with the aim of lobbying the interests of leading rice market participants. The first step taken by the Association was that it has proposed to the Agriculture Ministry to impose rice import quotas. (13,16)
Saratov regional governor Dmitry Ayatskov stated that there are 1,250,000 landowners in his region. In order to achieve effective production, 10 percent of those who work on land should be landowners and another 90 percent should be hired workers. In an interview, the governor talks about the positive land situation in his region. (13,20)
A working group responsible for reforming the Primorye energy sector held a session presided over by UES deputy head Mikhail Abyzov in Vladivostok on Saturday. The session approved a concept for the local energy facilities market. A story examines the essence of the concept. (14)
LUKoil up to 2010 plans to considerably reduce its workforce, from the current 140,000 down to 85,000. Brief. (14)
The Rosneft state-owned company intends to launch its business in Afghanistan, announced Zakir Kadyrov, director of the company's mission in Kabul. Brief. (14)
LUKoil has bought 16 gas filling stations in Cyprus at a tender from the BP and Exxon-Mobil companies. Brief. (14)
The RTS stock index over the past week has fallen by almost 8 percent. A story looks at the major reasons. (14)
The American Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) has made the decision to create an agency to control the activities of audit companies. The senators, however, have so far failed to back the initiative. (14)
Vedomosti
www.vedomosti.ru
Press Minister Mikhail Lesin last week promised to remove privileges from the state-controlled mass media, and ORT may become the first victim of the campaign for the equality of ownership forms. The government demands that ORT begin to pay off a $100 million credit that in 1999 it received from Vneshekonombank. (A1)
Tuva Senator Sergei Pugachev, the founder of Mezhprombank, has come up with its first public initiative. He has offered to oligarchs his assistance in legislatively finalizing the return of capital that has been channeled out of the country. (A1)
The Financial Action Task Force group responsible for a crackdown on laundering illegal money has left Russia on its blacklist of countries that are ignoring the struggle. There are another 14 states remaining on the list, including Ukraine. Brief. (A1)
Estee Lauder was the first American perfume company to start to sell its products in the Soviet Union and the first for hard currency. Estee Lauder's first salon opened in Moscow in 1989 when it sold its products for rubles. Since then its president and general director Fred Langhammer has not visited Moscow. He came again last week. In an interview, he talks about the aim of his visit, focusing on his company's strategy. (A2)
Russia and Ukraine have postponed the signing of an inter-government protocol for 2003 on gas transit across Ukraine's territory. Without it, Gazprom's contract with the Naftogaz Ukrainy company does not have practical meaning. (A3)
Agrarian oligarchs gained a convincing victory over the government on Friday when the State Duma passed in the second reading a draft bill on farmland. A story reports on what businessmen have gained from this document. (A3)
At the upcoming G-8 summit scheduled for June 26-27 in Canada, President Vladimir Putin will offer his colleagues more oil from Russia. A story examines what Russia can expect from the summit. (A3)
Russia on Friday agreed to extend Ukraine $44 million to complete the construction of two energy units for the Khmelnitskaya and Rovenskaya nuclear power plants. On completion of the project, Russian nuclear energy companies will be able to deliver them fuel worth $100 million, which will allow Ukraine to make up for the closure of the Chernobyl plant in 2001. (A3)
Who should support the banking infrastructure? Four banking experts share their views on the issue. (A4)
Vedomosti. Companies and Markets
The international Sakhalin Energy consortium, working in Russia on production-sharing agreement terms has again become a victim of natural calamity. A story describes it in detail. (B1)
The Federal Property Fund on Friday conducted an auction to sell 5.747 percent of stock of Nafta-Moskva, which has practically completed its trading activities but still owns several foreign assets, including a network of Finnish gas filling stations. Brief. (B1)
A state-owned package of stock (23.79 percent) of the West-Siberian Metals Combine was sold at a special auction on May 20. The brief mentions its price and buyers. (B1)
The Gazprom board of directors June 24 is expected to endorse a deal to sell its 37.44 percent of stock in the National Reserve Bank. A story gives details of this complex deal. (B1)
The Ilim pulp and timber industrial holding has lost the controlling stake of the Kotlask Pulp and Paper Combine. According to a decision of the Kemerovo Court, 25 percent of the stock of the combine has been written off in favor of the Vash Finansovy Popechitel company. (B2)
Kolenergo minority shareholders may gain control over powerful hydroelectric power stations on the Kola Peninsula. If the owners of 26 percent of stock of Kolenergo combine their efforts with other shareholders of the company, then they will dispose of assets worth $700 million, which is 10 times higher than the current capital of Kolenergo. (B2)
Two prominent industrialists ?€” Surgutneftegaz general director Vladimir Bogdanov and Magnitogorsk Metals Combine head Viktor Rashnikov ?€” have appeared on the Rosbank board of directors controlled by Interros. The latter has declared them independent directors. Analysts, however, view their election as a demonstration of Interros's new strategy. (B3)
A new procedure for licensing activities related to enciphering and protecting information will soon appear in Russia. A story describes its features, focusing on its expediency. (B5)
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
www.ng.ru
A story reports on how Krasnoyarsk residents have received their fellow countryman, former Krasnoyarsk Aluminum Plant director Anatoly Bykov, who was released from prison over the weekend. (1,6)
The all-Russian "The Mass Media Industry: Trend of Reform" conference took place in Moscow on June 19-20. In an interview, First Deputy Press Minister Mikhail Seslavinsky talks about the plans of his ministry and federal authorities in the mass media sphere. (1,2)
A major event last week was President Vladimir Putin's statement on the need to repatriate capital that has been illegally taken out of the country. A story comments on the president's statement, focusing on views shared by five experts on the issue. (1,2)
State Duma deputy Sergei Shishkaryov, deputy head of the Duma committee on international affairs, offers his way of deciding the future fate of the Kaliningrad region. (2)
In an interview, Dagestan's Deputy Prime Minister Vyacheslav Akulinichev talks about how his republic's participation in the North-South transport corridor will help boost the economy. (3)
The Gazprom board of directors at its June 24 session will discuss the issue of the company's withdrawal from the capital of several credit organizations. A story comments on this problem, focusing on other issues to also be considered. (3)
A story examines the positive situation on the domestic fast-food market today, saying that in 5 years its volume will amount to $1.5 billion. (4)
The number of pubs and cafes in Moscow has considerably increased lately, but there is still a shortage of such places. A story looks at the origin of European-style and standard pubs in Moscow in the early 1990s. (4)
President Vladimir Putin has launched a series of full-scale reforms aimed at shaping vertical power in the regions. Yaroslavl governor Anatoly Lisitsyn was the first to persuade Putin to draft a concept of administrative reform. A story examines its trends. (6)
A story reports on how Moscow and Minsk have become opponents in their approaches to the issue of building the Russia-Belarus Union. (9,10)
Many former traditional places of recreation and rest in the former Soviet republics have been turned into shelters for thousands of refugees, which has complicated the problem of CIS tourism. A story describes the present state of several former famous tourist sites in CIS republics. (11)
Rossiiskaya Gazeta
www.rg.ru
Germany has given back to Russia seven paintings that were taken away from St. Petersburg museums during World War II. The festive ceremony took place in the Gatchina state museum and reserve on Saturday. A story describes the act of good will and the paintings. (1)
The Moscow State Duma over the weekend discussed in the third reading a draft law concerning Muscovites' social responsibility at night. In an interview, deputy Oleg Bocharov, who has drafted the bill, reveals the essence of his document. (1,2)
The State Duma on June 26 is expected to consider in the first reading a draft bill submitted by the government on reforming the electrical energy sector. A story examines its major provisions. (2)
Moscow Chief Sanitary Physician Nikolai Filatov examines the state of Muscovites' health, which apparently lacks vitamin C and vitamin A (beta-carotine). (3)
Novaya Gazeta
www.novayagazeta.ru
A story examines several factors explaining why individual servicemen and sometimes whole groups of armed soldiers desert their units that are rightfully compared with prisons. (1,12,13)
In an interview, Colonel Felix Beskorovainy, chief of the Psychological Service of the Defense Ministry's main education department, examines the psychological reasons why armed soldiers constantly desert the army.
The State Duma on June 19 passed in the second reading a draft law concerning the most draconian variant for the alternative civil service. Its authors are bureaucrats in the Defense and Labor an Social Development ministries and also deputies from the pro-government factions. The essence of the document is to make the alternative service a punishment for unwillingness to serve in the army. A story looks at the draft with a critical eye. (2)
What is behind the recent attempt on the life of Moscow Vice-Mayor Iosif Ordzhonikidze, the riots on Manezh Square on June 9 and several other high-profile killings in the city? A story offers several versions. (3)
In an interview, Lyudmila Narusova, widow of the late St. Petersburg Mayor Anatoly Sobchak, comments on President Vladimir Putin's phrase about her husband ?€” "As a political figure, Anatoly Sobchak was simultaneously a romanticist and a pragmatist." Narusova also speaks about an offer she has received from Obshchaya Gazeta to head its editorial council. (9)
Komomolskaya Pravda
www.kp.ru
The school graduation party in the Kremlin is scheduled for June 25. In Soviet times, such parties were organized for school medal winners only. Today every graduate can buy a ticket for such a party for 1,500 rubles ($47.6). For such money, the party organizers promise that President Vladimir Putin will congratulate those present in person. A story describes the forthcoming event. (3)
A story describes the Sokol-250 high-speed Moscow-St. Petersburg passenger train that will soon begin its service. (3)
A feature story describes the terrible crime committed this month by pediatrician Nukhoyev, who raped and then killed 12-year-old Sveta Maltseva in a children's summer camp in Lukhovitsy (Moscow region). (4)
Moscow's other river ?€” the Yauza ?€” from its source up to its confluence with the Moscow River is very polluted. Boris Samoilov, head of the Nature Research Institute's laboratory, describes the city government's measures to improve the environment of the Yauza River. (24,25)
Private higher education marks its 10th jubilee recently and the question is: to be or not to be? A story describes its strong and weak points. (28)
Moskovsky Komsomolets
www.mk.ru
A fantastic dream about lunar settlements is likely to come true. Space technology designers stated recently that they intend to build a town on the moon for extracting minerals. A story describes the project. (1)
Starting Jan. 1, 2003, Russians will not pay a 1 percent tax to the budget when buying foreign currency. The State Duma Budget Committee has approved a draft bill on canceling such a tax. (1)
A female giraffe will arrive at Moscow Zoo from Florida Zoological Garden at the beginning of next month. A story describes the aim of its visit. (1)