What the Papers Say, Aug. 3, 2012

Kommersant

1. Yury Barsukov et al. report headlined "Shelf to Be Divided Between Private [Companies]" says that Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich will draft a new economic model of development of offshore oil and gas deposits; major changes are expected; pp 1-2 (917 words).

2. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Judo Experiences Italian Renaissance" gives an ironic account of President Vladimir Putin's visit to a judo competition in London; p 1 (381 words).

3. Svetlana Dementyeva and Alexandra Bayazitova article headlined "Bread Instead" says that another Moscow-based bank, Khlebobank, has lost its license over using nonexistent securities; pp 1, 8 (765 words).

4. Sofya Samokhina article headlined "Dissenters Appear Within Opposition" says that the bureau of the Republican Party of Russia — Party of People's Freedom has refused to take part in the direct election of the opposition's coordinating council warning that internal competition between opposition leaders will result in a split. The party's co-chairman Boris Nemtsov, however, supported the initiative and faced a rebuke by other leaders; pp 1, 3 (614 words).

5. Ivan Buranov article headlined "Prosecutor General's Office goes to Bus Stop" says that the Prosecutor General's Office has drafted measures to toughen punishment for violations made by companies and drivers engaged in transportation of people; p 2 (491 words).

6. Natalya Bashlykova article headlined "Former Secret Service Man Sent to Run for Ryazan Region Governor" says that Patriots of Russia has nominated deputy head of the Russian Cooperation Agency Igor Morozov to run for Ryazan region governor. If the Kremlin does not intervene, United Russia candidate, acting governor Oleg Kovalyov, may lose the election; p 2 (752 words).

7. Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "Government Settles Accounts With Krymsk" says that the government will allocate over 4 billion rubles ($122 million) for construction of housing in the Krasnodar region after the flood, but will not take any measures to enhance protection against similar disasters across the country; p 2 (588 words).

8. Yevgenia Pereplavchenko et. al report headlined "Foreign Agent Not Allowed to Table" says that the Russian branch of Transparency International, which was going to open a public reception office in Veliky Novgorod, was not allowed to have a round-table discussion of the recent laws on NGOs, defamation and a volunteer movement to be set up; p 3 (617 words).

9. Vladislav Trifonov article headlined "Deceived Moldovan Does Not Deserve Lenience" says that the Moscow City Court's jury found crime boss from Vladivostok Vladimir Golban and Sergei Filippenko guilty of murdering Magadan region Governor Valentin Tsvetkov back in 2002; p 4 (425 words).

10. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "America Catches Up With China in Africa" says that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to Africa is Washington's response to China's growing influence in the region; p 4 (475 words).

11. Maxim Yusin article headlined "Missiles Secretly Fly to Opposition" says that U.S. President Barack Obama sanctioned secret services' assistance to Bashar Assad's opponents in Syria some time ago. The assistance must have been efficient as the struggle for the town of Aleppo has shown that the anti-government forces are equipped now much better than a couple of months ago; p 4 (361 words).

12. Alexander Panchenko and Maria Cherkasova article headlined "Closed Sky Regime" says that regulations for air traffic in Sochi during the 2014 Winter Olympic Games have been drafted; p 10 (504 words).

13. Sergei Sobolev report "STS Shrinks" says that the age of the TV channel STS's target audience is changing from 6-54 to 10-45; p 11 (600 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Viktoria Panfilova article headlined "Kyrgyzstan to Hit Russia With Chinese Railway" says that the Kyrgyz government has suggested that construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway be sped up and the branches of China's major banks be set up in the republic. If the railway is built, this will put an end to the military, economic and cultural presence of Russia in Kyrgyzstan and may even threaten Russia's security, experts warn; pp 1, 6 (824 words).

2. Artur Blinov article headlined "CIA's Secret Operation in Syria" says that the U.S.A. has been conducting a secret operation in Syria for the last few months. The U.S.A. provides financing, equipment, communications devices as well as intelligence data about the Syrian army to insurgents, CNN says; pp 1-2 (620 words).

3. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "'Bolotnaya [Ploshchad] Probe Stalled'" says that complaints against the arrest of two more suspects in the Bolotnaya Ploshchad case, Nikolai Kavkazsky and Alexei Polikhovich, have been filed. In addition, tough pressure was exerted on another suspect, Stepan Zimin, in order to make him plead guilty of the crime which he could not have committed; pp 1, 3 (774 words).

4. Olga Shulga article headlined "There is No Consent, But There Is Competition in Right-Wing Flank" says that contradictions inside the Republican Party of Russia – Party of People's Freedom have emerged right after its registration: Boris Nemtsov and Ilya Yashin have criticized their allies' decision not to participate in the election of the opposition's coordinating council. Meanwhile, parties with similar ideology keep emerging across Russia; pp 1, 3 (679 words).

5. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Abnormal Purchases" says that following reports about drought in Russian regions and across the world, Russians flocked to buy flour, which may only provoke an increase in prices; pp 1, 4 (754 words).

6. Denis Moiseyev article headlined "Kudrin's Envoys Turn Up in Chelyabinsk Region" says that a regional group of the former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin's Civic Initiatives Committee has been set up in the Chelyabinsk region; p 2 (546 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Return of Assets of Russian Science" says that state research funds may lose the state financing they are enjoying and ponders over options for Russian science; p 2 (496 words).

8. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Witnesses Leave Prosecution" says that the defense of the Pussy Riot group has managed to win a couple of victories during the fourth day of the trial, but once again has failed to remove the judge they believe is biased. Meanwhile, bloggers have analyzed the cases the judge has dealt with and inferred that objectivity and justice can hardly be expected; p 3 (587 words).

9. Yury Solomonov article headlined "Struggle for Morality in Khamovnichesky [Court]" says that the proposal by A Just Russia deputy, police Major General Tatyana Moskalkova, that inflicting a moral insult should become a criminal offence in Russia, is definitely linked to the Pussy Riot case; p 3 (897 words).

10. Igor Naumov article headlined "Russia May End Up With Gas Nobody Needs" says that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered to speed up the prospecting of hydrocarbons on the continental shelf; p 4 (532 words).

11. Viktor Mysnikov interview with Yury Urlichich, general director and general designer of Russian Space Systems, headlined "How Russian Space Systems Becomes Leader of Industry" where he speaks about the Glonass navigation system; p 5 (2,889 words).

12. Sokhbet Mamedov article headlined "Azerbaijan Creates 'Ring of Security' in Caspian Area" says that Baku is planning to deploy seven radar stations along the Caspian coast in line with measures aimed to counter international terrorism; pp 1, 6 (765 words).

13. Darya Tsiryulik article headlined "U.S.A. and Europe Put 3 Years Back" says that industrial production keeps dropping in the euro zone and in the U.S.A. and looks at the measures being taken to improve the situation; p 7 (554 words).

14. Savely Vezhin article headlined "Russian Winter Comes to Olympic London" says that the Ingosstrakh insurance company has arranged a party for heads of British leading reinsurance and broker companies at the Russia Sochi Park grounds in London; p 7 (498 words).

15. Nikolai Surkov article headlined "Technocrats Move Egyptian Islamists Aside" says that despite expectations, Islamists have got few seats in the Egyptian government; p 7 (471 words).

16. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "U.S.A. Explains to China Who Is Master at Sea" says that information about a scenario of war with China drafted by the Pentagon has been leaked in order to make Chinese generals think that the U.S.A. is unbeatable; p 7 (507 words).

Vedomosti

1. Oksana Gavshina article headlined "Traffic Jams Near Nakhodka" says that empty cisterns have piled up along the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Transneft and Russian Railways officials fear that collapse is possible and blame each other for the problem; p 1 (640 words).

2. Dmitry Kazmin and Irina Reznik article headlined "Russian Investigation Goes to London Court" says that investigator Pavel Karpov has filed a suit with the High Court of London against Jamison Firestone, Sergei Magnitsky's boss at the Firestone Duncan law firm; pp 1, 3 (625 words).

3. Yekaterina Kravchenko article headlined "Blank Round" says that European Central Bank president Mario Draghi has signaled that the ECB is ready to join forces with governments to intervene on the bond market to try to ease the region's crisis, but a lack of specifics has sent the markets down; pp 1, 3 (568 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Russian Siesta" comments on the idea of Russia's chief medical officer Gennady Onishchenko that lunch break should be longer; pp 1, 4 (565 words).

5. Vladimir Mau article headlined "Human Capital: Pension and Us" looks at the prospects of the pension system; p 4(1,676 words).

6. Anastasia Kornya et al. report headlined "Second Expert Review" says that former head of the Yukos oil company Mikhail Khodorkovsky has asked business ombudsman Boris Titov to carry out a civil probe into his second sentence; p 2 (433 words).

7. Maxim Trudolyubov article headlined "Republic: to Deprive Youth of Power" says that the authorities are doing their best to complicate the lives of young people in Russia; p 4 (422 words).

8. Yelena Mazneva article headlined "Counting on Cartel" says that judging by the letters Gazprom exchanged with the Russian Energy Ministry in 2011, the Russian gas monopoly hoped for collusion with gas exporters from Algeria and Qatar; p 7 (576 words).

9. Editorial headlined "Why We Dislike Them" says that inefficient work of state officials and corruption hamper prosperity of Russia; p 4 (389 words).

10. Maria Zheleznova and Natalya Kostenko article headlined "Shouting in Court" looks at the latest developments in the Pussy Riot trial; p 2 (356 words).

11. Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "Syria Without Plan" says that Kofi Annan has voiced his intention to resign as UN and Arab League special envoy for Syria as of Aug. 31 and looks at the latest developments in Syria; p 2 (354 words).

12. Lilia Biryukova report "Alternative to Seliger" says that a camp of young United Russia members in the Lipetsk region will teach young people how to counteract the opposition; p 2 (600 words).

13. Ksenia Boletskaya report "Digital for Whole Russia" says that by 2015, all Russians will be able to watch two dozen TV channels in digital format; p 7 (600 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Vitaly Petrov article headlined "Up Downing Street" says that President Vladimir Putin has met British Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss the Syrian crisis and cooperation between the countries; p 2 (700 words).

2. Alexander Gasyuk article headlined "Obama Fails Test" says that the U.S. Congress has failed so far to annul the notorious Jackson-Vanik amendment; p 8 (600 words).

3. Vladislav Vorobyov article headlined "Did You Order Bin Ladens?" likens the assistance that the U.S. special forces are providing to insurgents in Syria to that the CIA rendered to the Afghan opposition some 40 years ago; p 9 (600 words).

4. Ilya Zubko article headlined "Walking in London with Mashina Vremeni Lead Singer" shares his impressions of walking around the London Olympics; p 14 (600 words).

5. Vladimir Snegirev report "Special Regime Camp" about the journalist's trip to the Syrian-Turkish border; pp 1, 9 (1,300 words).

Izvestia

1. Maria Kiseleva article headlined "Domodedovo Accuses Rosaviatsia of Sabotage" says that the Federal Air Transport Agency and the Transport Ministry have not made a decision yet on construction of the third takeoff runway at Domodedovo. Experts say the state bodies are intentionally playing for time for the benefit of state-run Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo airports; pp 1-2 (712 words).

2. Anastasia Novikova article headlined "Some 70 Percent of Krymsk Victims' Complaints Turn Out to Be Fictitious" says that the Public Chamber will publish a report following its members' trip to Krymsk. Preliminary conclusions say that only 30 percent of calls were accurate, the rest of the callers distorted facts in order to get more compensation and attract attention of Moscow officials; p 1 (445 words).

3. Dina Ushakova article headlined "Business Against Customs' Punitive Powers" says that major business associations are indignant that Russian, Belarussian and Kazakh customs officers have drafted amendments to the Customs Code of the Customs Union, which significantly complicate customs procedure and will result in more corruption; pp 1, 3 (565 words).

4. Mikhail Rubin article headlined "Pre-Election Promise Puts Ministries at Odds" says that ministries and the presidential administration differ in their approach to Vladimir Putin's pre-election promise that initiatives supported by more than 100,000 citizens on the Internet should be considered by the government; pp 1-2 (425 words).

5. Natalya Galimova article headlined "To London for Syria and Judo" looks at President Vladimir Putin's visit to Great Britain; p 2 (824 words).

6. Olga Zhermeleva report "Kremlin Prepares to Elect in New Way" says that before the summer holiday, the State Duma has "forgot" to approve a bill that is fundamental to the parliament: the law on the State Duma elections; p 3 (500 words).

7. Article by political analyst Boris Mezhuyev headlined "End of Symphony?" says that a gap between the authorities and the Russian Orthodox Church is deepening; p 5 (861 words).

8. Alexander Birman article headlined "Seducing of the Shrew" looks at TNK-BP's evolution over the years and why BP is willing to sell its stake now; p 5 (820 words).

9. Alexei Pevchev interview with Russian producer Alexander Cheparukhin on what makes Western musicians support the Pussy Riot group; p 4 (800 words).

10. Alexandra Sopova report "Priest Andrei Kurayev Accused of Anti-Semitism for Thoughts About Pussy Riot" says that the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia has accused priest Andrei Kurayev of anti-Semitism; p 4 (600 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Mikhail Rostovsky report "'Khryushi' Get to Power" says that Putin is standing up for the Khryushi Protiv [Piggies Are Opposed] movement, which wages a war on sellers of expired foods; pp 1, 2 (600 words).

2. Yulia Chernukhina report "Navalny Expected at Pussy Riot Trial" looks at the hearing of the Pussy Riot punk group case in a Moscow court on Aug. 2; p 2 (800 words).

3. Stanislav Belkovsky report "Ksenia Sobchak as Successor to Vladimir Putin" looks at problems facing the Russian opposition; p 3 (750 words).

RBK Daily

1. Ilya Shepelin report "Test for Ombudsman" says that former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky has asked business ombudsman Boris Titov to carry out a civil probe into his second sentence; p 2 (550 words).

2. Tatyana Kosobokova report "Cameron Takes Putin to Judo Competition" looks at Putin's brief visit to Britain; p 3 (700 words).

3. Unattributed brief report "Udaltsov Discloses Opposition's Plans for Autumn" says that according to leader of the Left Front Sergei Udaltsov, the next March of Millions will take place on Sep. 15; p 3 (100 words).

4. Grigory Ser report "Pride, Lack of Prejudice and Art" says that the Olympic Games have united residents of London; p 11 (500 words).

Moskovskiye Novosti

1. Yevgeny Slyusarenko report "He Came. He Saw. We Won" says that Putin has attended a judo competition in London during his visit to Britain; p 1 (600 words).

2. Yelena Mishina report "Bulls on Parnassus" says that the new party of Mikhail Kasyanov, Boris Nemtsov and Vladimir Ryzhkov is preparing its first rally; p 2 (800 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Irina Petrovskaya report says that TV is becoming yet another repressive tool used by the Russian authorities; p 24 (1,300 words).

August 3, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC