What the Papers Say, Aug. 7, 2012

Kommersant

1. Dmitry Butrin and Oleg Sapozhkov article headlined "Forecast for Capital Outflow" says the Russian Economic Development Ministry expects greater capital flight from the country in the second half of 2012. Up to $50 billion is expected to be withdrawn; pp 1-2 (1,030 words).

2. Alexander Petrov article headlined "Russia Gets Gold Without Wrestling" reports on the victory of Russian athlete Aliya Mustafina who has won gold in gymnastics artistic; p 1 (254 words).

3. Anna Balashova and Khalil Aminov article headlined "MegaFon Occupies Olympic Height" says that Russian mobile phone operators except MegaFon are complaining about problems with building base stations in Sochi ahead of the Olympic Games to be held there in 2014. MegaFon, an official partner of the Olympics, says it has nothing to do with the problems; pp 1, 10 (694 words).

4. Vladislav Novy article headlined "Telecommunications Companies Get Diplomatic Channel Involved" says that former Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has become a member of the board of directors of the Infra Engineering company building infrastructure for Russian telecommunications companies; pp 1, 7 (575 words).

5. Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "A Just Russia Member to Follow Communist's Example" says that Gennady Gudkov, a State Duma deputy known for his opposition activities, may be stripped of his immunity. The issue will be considered by the State Duma at the beginning of the autumn session due to the relevant request by law-enforcement agencies; p 2 (549 words).

6. Sofya Samokhina article headlined "Boris Titov Replaced by 5 Ones" says the Delovaya Rossia organization will have five co-chairmen instead of one head Boris Titov, who has been appointed business ombudsman; p 2 (479 words).

7. Yury Barsukov report "War and Peace Are Main Things" says that national security will become the basis of strategic planning in Russia; p 2 (700 words).

8. Natalya Bashlykova article headlined "Gubernatorial Elections Lead to Second Round of Voting" says experts have studied prospects of the candidates standing for governors in five Russian regions to get elected and predicted runoff elections in several regions; p 3 (623 words).

9. Natalya Korchenkova and Sergei Goryashko article headlined "Expert Council Checks Itself Against List" looks at the list of experts and public figures selected to take part in the work of the Open Government expert council under the Russian government; p 3 (473 words).

10. Sergei Strokan article headlined "Afghanistan's President Suffers Casualties of Security Officers" says the Afghan president has had to accept the resignation of the interior minister and the defense minister after the country's parliament voted against them; p 6 (499 words).

11. Olga Kuznetsova article headlined "Syrians Lack Space Abroad" says that Syria's neighbors are unwilling to accept refugees from the country. The EU is concerned about the threat of the repetition of the Libyan scenario and does not welcome Syrian refugees either; p 6 (671 words).

12. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Syrian Prime Minister Flees His Post" comments on defection of the Syrian prime minister; p 6 (445 words).

13. Maxim Yusin article headlined "Camp David Agreements Examined at Border Checkpoint" says the attack on the Egyptian border checkpoint on the Sinai Peninsula aims to stir up a conflict between Egypt and Israel, as Cairo may send troops to the peninsula, which would violate the Camp David agreement reached by the two countries; p 6 (437 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Dmitry Medvedev's 9th Company" says that a number of celebrities and public figures including film director Fedor Bondarchuk have become members of the new expert council under the Russian government; pp 1, 3 (792 words).

2. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "'Russians' Beat Up 'Romanians' in Moldovan Cities" comments on clashes between residents of a Moldovan town and nationalists planning to stage a march in support of Moldovan merger with Romania. The march failed and some experts accused Moscow of that; pp 1, 6 (753 words).

3. Yury Paniyev article headlined "Egypt Brings In Troops to Sinai Peninsula" gives details of the Sinai conflict, in which extremists have killed 17 Egyptian border guards and policemen; pp 1, 6 (683 words).

4. Igor Naumov article headlined "Prime Minister Works in Fire Mode" says that a meeting on forest fires chaired by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Tomsk has not helped improve the situation in Russian regions; pp 1, 4 (726 words).

5. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Pussy Riot Case as Example of Justice" reports on the trial of the Pussy Riot punk group; pp 1, 3 (820 words).

6. Yevgeny Grigoryev article headlined "Seefuchs in Strait of Hormuz" says that the Pentagon is buying German robotic submersibles Seefuchs to prevent Iran from blocking the Strait of Hormuz. Additional U.S. minesweepers are also being sent to the region; pp 1-2 (486 words).

7. Editorial headlined "'Dream Parliament' as Parallel Political Reality" looks at the plans of the opposition to elect its own parliament. The election of the coordination council of the protest movement is set for Oct. 7; p 2 (453 words).

8. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Officials Provoke Foreign Currency Panic" says that the euro crisis may hit Russia hard. The rate of the U.S. dollar may reach 46 rubles in 2013; p 4 (461 words).

9. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "China Gets Ready to Replace Country's Leaders" comments on the transfer of power in China, where a scandal over senior politician Bo Xilai and his wife suspected of involvement in the murder of a British businessman makes the process more complicated; p 6 (448 words).

Vedomosti

1. Yekaterina Sobol article headlined "To Take and Not Share It" says that Aeroflot's independent directors Alexei Navalny and Sergei Alexashenko have suggested that the company should stop paying royalty fees to the Transportation Ministry for their monopoly position in flights to Italy and France; p 1 (571 words).

2. Yekaterina Kravchenko article headlined "False Economy of Happiness" says that head of the U.S. Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke has said that GDP is a false signal to measure economic growth and called on the government to raise living standards of individuals; p 1 (345 words).

3. Bela Lyauv and Natalya Kostenko article headlined "Putin to Implement Shoigu's Dream" says that President Vladimir Putin has backed a project to build a theme park Russia in the Moscow region for 50 billion rubles (around $1.5 billion); pp 1, 3 (649 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Replanning in Forest" looks at the Moscow government's plans to rework the city's parks, which have been often opposed by the locals; pp 1, 4 (523 words).

5. Yelena Ivanova and Alexei Nikolsky article headlined "Tatar Brothers" says that the extremist group Mujahedin of Tatarstan has claimed responsibility for an assassination attempt on Muslim leaders in the republic; p 2 (431 words).

6. Another editorial headlined "Putin's Exhibition of National Economy Achievements" questions the plans to spend over $1.5 billion on the construction of a theme park Russia in the Moscow region aimed at praising Putin's regime; p 4 (336 words).

6. Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "Premier Flees" comments on the defection of the Syrian prime minister; p 2(378 words).

7. Maria Zheleznova et al. report "People Against Nickel" looks at mass protests against developing nickel deposits in the Voronezh region; p 2 (550 words).

8. Lilia Biryukova et al. report "Not Deputy's Business" says that the Investigative Committee has said that State Duma Deputy Gennady Gudkov's business activities are illegal; p 2 (500 words).

9. Boris Makarenko report "New Bonapartes" looks at the current political system in Russia and says that it has resembled a bureaucratic authoritarian system over the last decade; p 4 (1,000 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Vladislav Kulikov article headlined "Judge With Peace" says the Russian Supreme Arbitration Court has submitted to the State Duma a bill on official mediators in conciliatory talks between sides in legal cases; pp 1-2 (680 words).

2. Tatyana Zykova interview headlined "Bottom Line" with Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Yury Slyusar speaking on incidents with Sukhoi Superjet-100 aircraft and prospects of selling them abroad; p 1 (1,173 words).

3. Leonid Radzikhovskiy article headlined "Light of Democracy" comments on a controversial TV show broadcast by NTV where an ill-educated girl from Ivanovo, who became well-known for her support of Putin and United Russia, has been chosen as a host. The author notes that the girl represents Russia's traditional electorate, which doesn't like democrats; p 3 (729 words).

4. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "America Being Shot Point-Blank" reports on another shooting incident in the U.S.A. and says that the U.S. "example" may be followed by extremists from other countries; p 8 (800 words).

5. Vladislav Vorobyev article headlined "Sand Box of Special Purpose" says the new Egyptian president is expected to make use of extremists' attack on the country's border checkpoint and prove to be a real Muslim leader; p 8 (600 words).

6. Maxim Makarychev article headlined "Syrian Ex-Prime Minister Runs Away" gives details about the defection of the Syrian prime minister and his family; p 8 (300 words).

7. Olga Kondreva report "Inoculation Against Radicalism" looks at the situation in Tatarstan; p 6 (450 words).

8. Olga Dmitriyeva report "Cannot Afford Games" looks at what the British think about the Olympic Games in London; p 14 (600 words).

Izvestia

1. Natalya Galimova and Anastasia Novikova article headlined "Kremlin Probes Punitive Measure for Officials" looks at the bills submitted to the State Duma on control over Russian officials' foreign assets; pp 1-2 (708 words).

2. Ksenia Baranova and Vadim Taktarov article headlined "Defense Ministry Owes 5Bln Rubles for Cleaning Up" comments on a scandal within the Russian Armed Forces as around 20 companies engaged in cleaning military facilities have not been paid 5 billion rubles ($159 million) for their work; pp 1-2 (670 words).

3. Dina Ushakova article headlined "Personnel of Far East Development Ministry Receive [Monthly] Salaries of 2,000 Euros ($2,500)" looks at state financing of the newly set up Far East Development Ministry; pp 1, 3 (615 words).

4. Alexander Yunashev report "Putin Shows Oligarchs Example to Follow" says that Putin has chaired a meeting of the Russian Geographic Society; p 2 (700 words).

5. Alexei Mikhailov report "Young Pilots Flee Air Force for Commercial Companies" says that the Russian Air Force is losing young personnel because of a bad remuneration system; p 2 (600 words).

6. Article by businessman Roman Avdeyev headlined "I Want Mercy, But Not Victim" comments on the trial of the Pussy Riot punk group; p 5 (913 words).

7. Georgy Makovetsky interview with head of the Russian Olympic Committee Alexander Zhukov speaking on Russian athletes' performance at the London Olympics; p 8 (915 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Marina Ozerova article headlined "Gudkov to Be Handed Over to Agencies" says the State Duma is getting ready to strip opposition Deputy Gennady Gudkov of his parliamentary immunity; pp 1-2 (573 words).

2. Yeva Merkacheva article headlined "Half Kilogram of Bread for Pussy Riot" comments on the conditions in custody of members of the Pussy Riot punk group; pp 1-2 (270 words).

3. Ignat Kalinin article headlined "Small Round Loaves Carry Out Investigation" slams the personnel of the Russian Investigative Committee for a lack of professionalism and reluctance to do their job; pp 1, 3 (521 words).

4. Marina Andreyeva brief interview "We Would Not Try Pussy Riot" with Russian rabbi and vice president of the Congress of Jewish Religious Communities Zinovy Kogan speaking on the trial of members of the Pussy Riot punk group; p 2 (623 words).

5. Yulia Chernukhina report "Expert Withdraws From Pussy Riot Trial" looks at the trial of the female punk group; p 2 (500 words).

6. Viktoria Prikhodko interview "Why is Lyudmila Alexeyeva Returning?" with the head of the presidential human rights council, Mikhail Fedotov; p 3 (500 words).

7. Vladislav Inozemtsev report "Phantom Energy Sector" says that the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in Russia is "expensive, bad, ineffective"; p 3 (800 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Vera Moslakova interview with Yabloko party leader Sergei Mitrokhin speaking on charges brought by the Investigative Committee against State Duma Deputy Gennady Gudkov; p 2 (418 words).

2. Margarita Alyokhina report "Did Not Go to Altar, Respect Orthodox Religion" says that members of the Pussy Riot group have spoken about the reason for their "prayer" in the church; p 5 (450 words).

3. Unattributed brief report providing Mikhail Khodorkovsky's comment on the Pussy Riot trial; p 5 (100 words).

RBK Daily

1. Sergei Ispolatov article headlined "Who Will Pay for Caucasus" says that connecting electricity to the tourism cluster in the North Caucasus will cost nearly $1 billion. As the government does not hurry to allocate the money, the author predicts that Russian consumers will have to pay for it due to higher energy tariffs; p 1 (700 words).

2. Alexander Litoi report "Nationalist Fraudsters" says that the Moscow City Court has banned the organization Northern Brotherhood; p 2 (600 words).

Moskovskiye Novosti

1. Marina Lepina article headlined "Retroactive Effect Used for Platon Lebedev" says the lawyers of former head of Menatep bank Platon Lebedev have appealed to court asking to reduce the sentence for their client. Experts doubt that the motion would be upheld; p 1 (600 words).

2. Mikhail Moshkin report "If Pussy Riot Sang in ..." looks at the trial of the Pussy Riot group; p 3 (800 words).

August 7, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC