Kommersant
1. Irina Nagornykh and Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "Warm Sympathy to District [Elections Committees]" says that the bill on the single voting day has stipulated new regulations to form district elections committees in Russia. They will be formed for five years and are expected to be controlled by the Central Elections Commission; pp 1, 3 (939 words).
2. Valery Kalnysh and Sergei Mashkin article headlined "Between Preference and Extradition" says that the investigation into the case of the Chechen national who tried to explode Chechnya head Ramzan Kadyrov and plotted an attack on Russian President Vladimir Putin, has finished in Ukraine; pp 1, 5 (877 words).
3. Vitaly Gaidayev article headlined "European-Level Fall" says that bad news from Spain has had a negative effect both on the EU financial market and on the Russian stock market; pp 1, 8 (714 words).
4. Vladislav Novy article headlined "FreshTel Put on Rails" says that Russian businessman Suleiman Kerimov together with his Ukrainian partner Viktor Pinchuk plan to sell the FreshTel communications company to Transtelekom, a branch of Russian Railways; pp 1, 9 (704 words).
5. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Iskanders Encouraged in Material Way" says the Russian government is to allocate 24 billion rubles (around $727 million) to upgrade Iskander missile systems; p 2 (434 words).
6. Grigory Tumanov article headlined "Opposition Encounters Protest" says that relatives of the demonstrators arrested as part of the May 6 rally case are displeased with their public defense lawyers as they do not coordinate their actions with opposition activists; p 3 (519 words).
7. Yelizaveta Surnacheva article headlined "Alexei Chesnakov May Stand for Senator" says United Russia has won the municipal election in Kasimov and senior party member Alexei Chesnakov will have the right to work in the Federation Council; p 3 (546 words).
8. Vsevolod Inyutin article headlined "Governor Not Himself" compares incumbent Oryol region Governor Alexander Kozlov with his predecessor Yegor Stroyev; p 4 (2,344 words).
9. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Al-Qaida Recaptures Iraq From Shi'i" says that more than 100 people have been killed in an attack by Islamists in Iraq; p 6 (442 words).
10. Maria Yefimova article headlined "Gaza Strip Gets Ready for Separation" says that the Hamas leadership, which is pinning its hopes on the new Egyptian president, is going to declare independence from the Palestinian Authority; p 6 (531 words).
11. Maxim Yusin article headlined "Arabs Open Safe Exit for Bashar Assad" says the Arab League is sending envoys to Moscow and China to persuade the countries to agree on a new plan to resolve the Syrian conflict. Bashar Assad is being urged to step down in exchange for security guarantees to him and his family; p 6 (451 words).
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
1. Igor Naumov article headlined "Budget Revenues Settle in Offshore Companies" says that about $800 billion has been withdrawn from Russia to offshore zones; the money could have been used to improve the country's economy; pp 1, 4 (881 words).
2. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "End of Myth About Migrant Workers" says a recent survey has shown that nearly 20 percent of Russians have to compete for jobs with migrant workers; pp 1, 4 (970 words).
3. Ivan Rodin and Alexandra Samarina article headlined "State Duma Opposition Learns Aesopian Language" says the Communists are getting ready to stage protests twice a month in autumn and are learning a new "rally" language of indirect criticism of the authorities to avoid punishment in accordance with the new laws; pp 1, 3 (907 words).
4. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Moscow and Rome Make Friends Through Oil" says Russia and Italy have signed agreements on joint oil exploration in the Black Sea and the Barents Sea; pp 1, 4 (548 words).
5. Alexander Malyshev article headlined "Putin's Roza Prefers A Just Russia Member" says A Just Russia candidate Dmitry Andreyev has won the municipal election in the town of Roza in the Chelyabinsk region, which became well-known after Vladimir Putin had visited it to help local people get new housing instead of their damaged homes; pp 1-2 (583 words).
6. Yury Paniyev article headlined "Cloudy Sky Above Spain" says the EU and Spain have launched an operation to save troubled banks, as the financial situation in the country is getting out of control; pp 1, 6 (615 words).
7. Editorial headlined "Narrow Corridor for Public TV" compares the Russian Public TV project with foreign analogues and notes that people are indifferent to it in Russia as they do not trust another project launched by the authorities; p 2 (499 words).
8. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Slavic Peacekeeping Blitzkrieg" comments on a joint Russian, Belarussian and Ukrainian military exercise aimed at preventing territorial conflicts; p 2 (456 words).
9. Olga Shulga and Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Longing for Morals" says the State Duma is drafting a new bill to sentence the Pussy Riot punk group; p 3 (750 words).
10. Maria Belova article headlined "Playing With Matches at Petrol Station" says that the Strait of Hormuz may be blocked by the Iranian Navy; p 3 (729 words).
11. Nikolai Surkov article headlined "Afghans Shoot Advisers" says that a report by an Afghan rights activist suggests that some senior officials in the country's government may be involved in war crimes; p 6 (466 words).
Vedomosti
1. Mikhail Overchenko and Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "Spanish Flu on Markets" says that Russian stock markets have been affected by turmoil on the Spanish financial market; p 1 (732 words).
2. Bela Lyauv article headlined "Big Ideas About 187 billion euros" says the Greater Moscow project may be worth 187 billion euros ($227 billion). This money could be required for infrastructure development of the new territories; p 1 (341 words).
3. Anastasia Golitsina article headlined "Ready for Censorship" says that Russian Internet operators are getting ready to observe new blacklists of websites, as the relevant law comes into effect on Nov. 1. They are beginning to use the traffic analysis system Deep Packet Inspection; p 1 (441 words).
4. Editorial headlined "Persons to Be Called to Account" says Krasnodar region Governor Alexander Tkachyov should bear responsibility for deadly flood consequences in Krymsk together with the town authorities; pp 1, 4 (534 words).
5. Alexei Nikolsky article headlined "Price of Rebellion" says that if the Syrian regime is toppled, Russia will be able to sell most of the weapons ordered by Damascus to other buyers; p 2 (463 words).
6. Another editorial headlined "Whom to Save During Crisis?" compares Russian and Chinese anti-crisis measures and notes that Beijing supports the sector that will become the locomotive of economic growth in the future, while Moscow supports the industries guaranteeing social stability; p 4 (293 words).
7. Rostislav Turovsky article headlined "Between People and Moscow" says the return of gubernatorial elections in Russia will help the ruling party strengthen its positions and help business leaders get governor posts; p 4 (1,120 words).
8. Polina Khimshiashvili article entitled "Comrade Mario" looks at Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti's negotiations with Putin and Medvedev; p 2 (500 words).
9. Maria Zheleznova report "Cannot Do Without Ballot-Stuffing" says that the city parliamentary election in Kasimov, Ryazan region, has been carried out with numerous violations; p 2 (500 words).
10. Roman Dorokhov report "Mopping Up in Adult Way" says that a district prosecutor's office in Murmansk has sued Vkontakte, trying to make it remove certain material from users' pages before it is available for the public; p 11 (450 words).
Rossiiskaya Gazeta
1. Tatyana Shadrina interview headlined "Will Carriage Move?" with Mikhail Akulov, vice president of Russian Railways, speaking on passenger trains and new infrastructure; pp 1, 3 (1,165 words).
2. Leonid Radzikhovsky comment headlined "Challenges and Responses" says that concerns about the threat of Russia's collapse and separatism mood are exaggerated; p 3 (783 words).
3. Article by head of the Institute of Contemporary Development Igor Yurgens "From Our Table" looks at Russia joining the WTO; p 4 (900 words).
4. Ruslan Aliyev article headlined "Off We Go" says the U.S. Congress has banned the country's military from buying Russian hardware despite the fact that the Pentagon ordered 10 more Mi-17B-5 helicopters for the Afghan armed forces from Russia; p 6 (811 words).
5. Pavel Ryabchikov report "Pilot Found in Sea" says that a U.S. Air Force jet crashed off the northern Kuril Islands; p 7 (300 words).
6. Viktor Feshchenko report "Assad Ready for Attack" says that Damascus has threatened the West with chemical weapons; p 8 (300 words).
7. Yekaterina Zabrodina report "Armed States" looks at the reason why the U.S. president does not want to ban Americans from buying weapons; p 8 (600 words).
8. Mikhail Falaleyev report "Where Is My Black Pistol?" says that today Federation Council member Alexander Torshin will make a report on the reform of the Russian weapons law; p 8 (700 words).
Izvestia
1. Yelizaveta Mayetnaya article headlined "Transaero Property in Britain Risks Getting Seized" says the High Court in London is to hear the claim of Transaero minority shareholder Eskerkhan Mutalibov against the airline, which has written off the shares the businessman owned; pp 1, 4 (600 words).
2. Alisa Muravyeva article headlined "American Retailer Ready to Provide Russian Olympic Athletes With Clothing Instead of Bosco" says the American Apparel company is going to provide the Russian team with clothing for the Sochi Olympic Games; pp 1, 4 (600 words).
3. Viktor Toporov report "Three Locked-Up Girls" looks at the trial of the Pussy Riot female punk group; p 10 (800 words).
Moskovsky Komsomolets
1. Ignat Kalinin article headlined "Motherland Calls Up Victim of Terrorist Attack" says the young man whose parents were killed in a bombing attack at a rock festival in Moscow in 2003 and who was injured during the explosion was called up this summer despite the fact that he cannot stand the sound of firing and explosions; pp 1-2 (843 words).
2. Alla Zhidkova article headlined "Red Hot Pussy Riot" says that the Red Hot Chili Peppers band giving concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg has expressed support to the Pussy Riot punk group; pp 1-2 (928 words).
3. Mikhail Zubov article headlined "Mocking Elections" says the municipal election in the town of Kasimov, held to allow a United Russia member to get a seat in the Federation Council, looks like an insult to the Russian electorate; pp 1-2 (496 words).
4. Yulia Chernukhina article headlined "Inquisition Online" says that the trial of the Pussy Riot punk group will be broadcast online; p 2 (611 words).
5. Ivan Starikov report "Open Government in Closed Country?" looks at the prospects for the open government in Russia; (800 words).
Noviye Izvestia
1. Anastasia Maltseva interview "Country's Readiness for Wildfires Worsened" with Alexei Yaroshenko, head of the forestry department of Greenpeace Russia, speaking on a lack of measures to prevent forest fires in the country; pp 1, 5 (1,270 words).
2. Sergei Manukov article headlined "Unholy Union" says that al-Qaida is reportedly helping the Syrian opposition fight against government forces; p 2 (408 words).
Moskovskiye Novosti
1. Yevgeny Nasyrov report "Ilya Lawyer" says that Dmitry Medvedev's son Ilya has passed the entrance exams for admission into the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO); p 1 (500 words).
2. Igor Kryuchkov report "Chemical Defense" says that Damascus may use weapons of mass destruction in case of external aggression; p 4 (550 words).
Komsomolskaya Pravda
1. Mikhail Ryabikov report "Ksenia Sobchak Removed From Air Again" says that socialite and opposition activist Ksenia Sobchak has been removed from presenting a show on Muz TV; p 26 (300 words).
July 24, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC
