What the Papers Say, Sept. 20, 2012

Kommersant

1. Kirill Melnikov article headlined "Triumph of Stake" says that BP may sell its shares in TNK-BP to Rosneft in exchange for cash and over 12 percent of Rosneft's shares; pp 1, 12 (987 words).

2. Ivan Buranov article headlined "Beware, Car" says that the government plans to solve traffic problems in Moscow by increasing the role of commuter trains; pp 1, 5 (974 words).

3. Pavel Belavin et al. report headlined "RBK Gets Competitive Advantage" says that the founders of Independent Media, Derk Sauer and Yelena Myasnikova, who recently left the company, may continue their career in Mikhail Prokhorov's media holding RBK; pp 1, 13 (674 words).

4. Maxim Ivanov et al. report headlined "Communist Faces Expropriation of Mandate" says that the coordinator of the Communist Party faction at the State Duma, Anatoly Lokot, may also be stripped of his seat in the parliament as his colleagues suspected him of lobbying the commercial interests of his own company; pp 1-2 (1,009 words).

5. Yelena Zavyalova et al. report headlined "Head of Kalmykia Breaks Kinship" says that the head of Kalmykia, Alexei Orlov, has sacked the first deputy prime minister, Vyacheslav Ilyumzhinov, the brother of former head of the republic Kirsan Ilyumzhinov; p 2 (605 words).

6. Natalya Korchenkova and Sergei Goryashko article headlined "Fight Against Corruption Becomes Social Task" says that the head of the presidential administration, Sergei Ivanov, who also heads the presidium of the presidential council on countering corruption, called on the authorities and the society to work together to put an end to corruption; p 2 (650 words).

7. Taisia Bekbulatova et al. report headlined "USAID Remains Defiant" says that the U.S. State Department is seeking alternative ways to finance Russian NGOs which may be negatively affected after the closure of USAID's representative office in Russia; p 3 (1,086 words).

8. Sergei Nikolayev article headlined "Belts Miss Suicide Bombers" says that five militants were killed in Ingushetia, among them Timur Khayauri, the head of a local illegal armed formation who carried out terrorist attacks planned by leader of the North Caucasus underground Doku Umarov; p 4 (449 words).

9. Sergei Mashkin article headlined "Russia Acknowledges Pilots' Fault" says representatives of the Russian Industry and Trade Ministry have signed a protocol drawn by Indonesian experts which put the blame for the May 9 crash of the Sukhoi Superjet-100 on the pilots; p 4 (589 words).

10. Alexei Sokovnin article headlined "Attack on Environmental Activist Gets Too Old for Trial" says that the case launched over the beating of environmentalist and leader of the Khimki branch of the Right Cause party has been closed due to statute of limitations; p 4 (630 words).

11. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Europe Looks for President" says that the political system of the European Union may soon be reformed; p 7 (382 words).

12. Olga Kuznetsova article headlined "Turkish Opposition Sends Prime Minister to Syrian Conflict" says that the Syrian conflict may provoke a serious political crisis in Turkey. The Turkish opposition has started reproaching the prime minister for interference in the Syrian war, which has destabilized the situation in border areas. The official Ankara may give in to the pressure and alter its stance on Syria; p 7 (474 words).

13. Georgy Dvali and Sergei Strokan article headlined "Georgia Uses Torture for Election Campaign" says both the opposition and the authorities are trying to take advantage of the scandal that shook Georgian society after video of tortured prisoners in a Tbilisi prison was placed in YouTube and shown on several opposition TV channels; p 7 (457 words).

14. Alexei Shapovalov article headlined "Consumption in Decline" says that domestic consumption keeps declining; p 8 (602 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "United Russia to Be Divided in 2" says that the Kremlin is planning to turn the All-Russia People's Front into a full-fledged political party to be financed via four special funds; pp 1, 3 (929 words).

2. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Mass Media Told to Suck in Official Initiatives" says that Russian government's representative at the Constitutional, Supreme and Higher Arbitration courts, Mikhail Barshchevskiy, said that the authorities are losing the information war in the fight against corruption and complained that it is virtually impossible to get a comment from most ministers and top law enforcers on hot topics; pp 1, 3 (664 words).

3. Yury Roks article headlined "'Abu Ghraibs' of Rose Revolution" says that videos of Georgian prisoners being tortured by guards shown on TV have stirred up the country and made the Georgian prisons minister resign; pp 1-2 (1,154 words).

4. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Kiev Court Defends Interests of Russian Military" says that the Russian Defense Ministry has won a suit in Ukraine which may worsen the position of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko; pp 1, 6 (545 words).

5. Darya Tsiryulil article headlined "France Joins 'War of Civilizations'" says that security is being stepped up at some French embassies after a satirical magazine published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad; pp 1, 7 (631 words).

6. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Collective Supranational Defense" says that the CSTO plans to set up its own troops; pp 1-2 (681 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Radical Opposition Delays at Start" says that Internet users have been invited to vote to elect 45 representatives of the opposition Coordination Council out of 160 candidates nominated by the nonparliamentary opposition; p 2 (442 words).

8. Leonid Radzikhovsky article headlined "Ban and Do Not Allow" says that a State Duma veteran, Deputy Alexei Mitrofanov, will most likely become the head of the State Duma's committee on mass media; p 3 (602 words).

9. Gleb Postnov article headlined "Tatars Offered to Return to Clans" says that a historian from Tatarstan has called on Tatars living outside the country to set up ethnic communities; p 5 (547 words).

10. Tatyana Dvoynova article headlined "Maritime Elections of Doubles and Spoilers" says that the election campaign to the city Duma has officially started in Vladivostok; p 5 (590 words).

11. Mikhail Solopov interview with the former chairman of the government and acting president of South Ossetia, Vadim Brovtsev, headlined "Businessman's Caucasus Experience" where he talks about his experience of working in the region; p 6 (715 words).

12. Viktoria Panfilova article headlined "Putin Attacks Kyrgyzstan With Visit" says that the visit of the Russian president to Bishkek demonstrates Moscow's new aggressive policy in the region. Putin is expected to sign agreements on several major energy projects and, most importantly, the agreement on setting up a joint military base in Kyrgyzstan; p 6 (1,106 words).

13. Alexei Petrov article headlined "'More Europe' for Super EU" looks at the meeting of foreign ministers of 11 European states and their vision of the European Union; p 7 (401 words).

Vedomosti

1. Oksana Gavshina et al. report headlined "Putin Works Out Deal" says that President Vladimir Putin has met the leadership of BP and Rosneft to discuss the possibility of expanding BP's presence on the Russian market and prospects of its cooperation with Russian companies; p 1 (668 words).

2. Dmitry Kazmin and Maxim Tovkailo article headlined "Victim Wanted" says that the Economic Development Ministry has drafted amendments to the Criminal Code, which move economic disputes from criminal law; pp 1, 3 (515 words).

3. Ksenia Boletskaya article headlined "To Cinema With Passport" says that cinemas may lose a significant number of young viewers as under the new law on protection of children many films are marked "for adults only"; pp 1, 14 (610 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Run to Mirror-Land" says that according to polls, 81 percent of Russians would like to work in TV broadcasting and 68 percent are convinced they have all necessary skills for that; pp 1, 4 (572 words).

5. Maria Esmont article headlined "Civil Society: Russian Foreign Ministry Right" comments on Kremlin's decision to ban the operation of the USAID organization in Russia; p 4 (400 words).

6. Lilia Biryukova article headlined "Ban Harmful" says that the government has disapproved of the initiative to ban state officials from having property abroad; p 2 (364 words).

7. Article by Patrick Willems headlined "Renewable Energy: First Steps May Be Taken Today" looks at the prospects of renewable energy in Russia; p 4 (633 words).

8. Margarita Lyutova and Yekaterina Kravchenko article headlined "Division of Gazprom" says that the Russian gas monopoly may change the structure of its European assets in an attempt to avoid sanctions in the EU. Experts are pessimistic about the idea; p 3 (458 words).

9. Editorial headlined "Illusory World" comments on the statement of the head of the presidential administration, Sergei Ivanov, who said that Russians should not worry about high corruption ratings of Russia calculated by international organizations; p 4 (286 words).

10. Vasily Kudinov article headlined "Company of Week: Sberbank" comments on the Central Bank's sale of 7.6 percent of Sberbank's shares; p 4 (339 words).

11. Maria Zheleznova article headlined "Deportation of Capitals" says that the closure of Russian USAID's representative office is directed against human rights organizations; p 2 (316 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Shadrina article headlined "Visible Voices" says that poll stations in the regional elections slated for Oct. 14 will be equipped with web cameras; pp 1, 3 (600 words).

2. Konstantin Novikov article headlined "Must Be on Time" says that a new Civil Code is to come into effect next year; pp 1, 7 (900 words).

3. Maxim Makarychev interview with the leader of the Free Georgia party Kakha Kukava headlined "Attempted Suppression" where he comments on the scandal escalating in Georgia after TV channels broadcast video footage showing prisoners being tortured in a Tbilisi prison; pp 1, 8 (800 words).

4. Kira Latukhina article headlined "Skyscraper of Friendship" looks at the outcome of President Putin's meeting with his Kazakh counterpart in Kazakhstan; p 2 (1100 words).

5. Anna Zakatnova interview with the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Gennady Zyuganov, headlined "Americans Get Offended By Zyuganov," where he speaks about the harsh reaction of the U.S. State Department to his comment about the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and the death of the U.S. ambassador there; p 2 (600 words).

6. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Paper Does Blush" looks at the reaction to cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published by a magazine in France; p 8 (500 words).

Izvestia

1. Alexander Gudkov article headlined "Rosneft Discusses Share Exchange With BP " says that President Putin meets the head of Russian oil company Rosneft and top managers of BP to discuss a possible deal between two companies; pp 1, 8 (400 words).

2. Taras Podrez and Pavel Panov article headlined "eBay Reaches Russia" says that the U.S. company sets up an affiliate in Russia; p 1 (300 words).

3. Yulia Tsoi and Anton Lednev article headlined "New Faction to Appear in State Duma" says that a number of Just Russia deputies in the State Duma plan to create their own independent parliamentary group; p 2 (500 words).

4. Darya Mazayeva article headlined "Gudkov and Ponomaryov Spot Surveillance" says that two opposition deputies have complained that the security services have launched an investigation aimed at expelling them from the State Duma; p 2 (400 words).

5. Mikhail Vignansky and Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Torture in Georgian Prisons Outrage Country" comments on protests in Georgian cities that broke out following broadcast of the footage filmed in a Tbilisi prison; p 3 (700 words).

6. Burkhon Mukhtarov article headlined "Innovation Makes Only Quarter of Defense Industry" says that only 25 percent of technologies currently used by the Russian defense industry matches global standards; p 8 (600 words).

7. Anna Akhmadiyeva article headlined "'Nashe Radio' Invites Shkolnik and Launches TV" says that the Multimedia Holding company has invited journalist Alexander Shkolnik to become its president; p 8 (500 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Olga Bozhyeva article headlined "French Passion of Defense Ministry" says that Russia intends to purchase 50 NATO helicopters to be used as taxis for the top army command; pp 1, 4 (700 words).

2. Renat Abdulin article headlined "Zyuganov's 'Dog Fate'" comments on the controversy surrounding a tweet by the CPRF leader Gennady Zyuganov on the murder of the U.S. ambassador to Libya; pp 1-2 (400 words).

3. Tatyana Zamakhina article headlined "How Big Is Putin's Fine?" says that some ministers whom President Vladimir Putin blamed for failing to deliver on his election promises could lose their bonuses; p 2 (600 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Alexander Grishin article headlined "Guantanamo in Tbilisi" looks at the latest mass protests in the capital of Georgia over the brutal treatment of prison inmates; p 4 (600 words).

RBK Daily

1. Tatyana Kosobokova article headlined "They Saved Money on Everyone, Except on Themselves" says that after Kremlin officials had their salaries increased, government employees are expecting a pay rise too; pp 1, 4 (500 words).

2. Svetlana Makunina article headlined "Officials Hold Firm to Property" says the proposal of State Duma Deputy Yevgeny Fedorov to ban officials from owning foreign property has received negative feedback from the Russian White House; p 2 (380 words).

Moskovskiye Novosti

1. Alexandra Beluza article headlined "Tandem Vice-Versa" says Russia's current President Vladimir Putin is revising the policies of his predecessor and current Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev; pp 2-3 (800 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Nadezhda Bulanova article headlined "See You and Good Bye" says the Russian Foreign Ministry has accused USAID of interfering in Russia's internal affairs; p 2 (300 words).

2. Diana Yevdokimova article headlined "YouTube to Be Deprived of 'Innocence'" says the video-hosting website YouTube has received an ultimatum over the controversial film "Innocence of Muslims"; pp 1, 5 (450 words).

Sept. 20, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC

Related articles:

• What the Papers Say, Sept. 17, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Sept. 18, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Sept. 19, 2012