What the Papers Say, Sept. 25, 2012

Kommersant

1. Ivan Buranov article headlined "To Drink Up to Bottom" says tough punishment will be imposed on drunk drivers in Russia. Both the government and the presidential administration back the relevant amendments to the Criminal Code; pp 1, 3 (1100 words).

2. Musa Muradov article headlined "Nevsky Express Lost in Translation" says Russia's Supreme Court has returned the case of the people convicted of blowing up the Nevsky Express Moscow-St. Petersburg train to the Tverskoi District Court, as one of the convicts did not have the materials of the hearing translated into the Ingush language; pp 1, 4 (600 words).

3. Anna Pushkarskaya article headlined "Delays Similar to Demolition" says St. Petersburg residents indignant with the city authorities allowing businesses to demolish architectural monuments claim that Governor Georgy Poltavchenko misinforms the president about UNESCO regulations; pp 1, 5 (800 words).

4. Ksenia Dementyeva and Alexandra Bayazitova article headlined "Universal Card Given 2 Years" says the project to replace Russian documents with universal electronic cards will last only for two years from 2013 to 2015; pp 1, 10 (600 words).

5. Anton Prusakov et al. article headlined "United Russia Lost Mayor" says the mayor of the town of Dzerzhinsk in the Nizhny Novgorod region has officially voiced his intention to leave United Russia and to join Mikhail Prokhorov's Civic Platform party; p 2 (750 words).

6. Maria-Luiza Tirmaste and Yekaterina Vyushkova article headlined "Alexander Khinshtein Treated According to His Own Law" says that the head of the Investigative Committee branch in Samara has filed a complaint against United Russia member Alexander Khinshtein, the author of the recently adopted bill on defamation, for not giving any explanations in his article "First 5 Years of Bastrykin" that is believed to be defamatory; p 2 (350 words).

7. Yelena Kolycheva article headlined "Boris Berezovsky a Frequent Visitor at High Court" says that the government of the Samara region has filed a lawsuit with the High Court in London to collect a debt of 989 million rubles ($32 million) from exiled businessman Boris Berezovsky; p 5 (450 words).

8. Vladislav Kagan article headlined "Observers Bring Down Voting Turnout in Belarus" says that neither international observers nor the Belarussian opposition have recognized the official results of the Sept. 23 parliamentary elections; p 7 (450 words).

9. Sergei Strokan article headlined "Country of Rising East" analyzes whether the emphasis on foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific Region will help Russian modernization; p 8 (1,200 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "World on Verge of Hunger Riots" says world prices for food are growing due to a drought in the U.S.A. and abnormal weather conditions in other countries growing wheat; pp 1, 4 (1,000 words).

2. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "War of Ratings Replaces War of Compromising Materials" says the rating of United Russia candidate for Khimki mayor Oleg Shakhov has gone up. Experts believe that the ruling party is thus preparing the public for the victory of its candidate; pp 1, 3 (700 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Stripped of His Right to Speak Out Due to 'Cracknels'" says the State Duma's Ethics Commission has imposed a one-month speaking ban on A Just Russia MP Ilya Ponomaryov for calling United Russia a "party of crooks and thieves." The opposition activist believes he was made to keep silent for publishing compromising materials against some United Russia members; pp 1, 3 (500 words).

4. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Russians' Wages Up Thanks to Bureaucrats and Law Enforcement Officers" says the wages of officials and law enforcement officers grew by 30 percent in 2012, making the average wage in the country look higher than most people actually earn; pp 1, 4 (750 words).

5. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Siberian Tiger Given Long Term" comments on a struggle for power in China and the future of senior official Bo Xilai; pp 1, 7 (550 words).

6. Yulia Grishina and Svetlana Gamzaeyva article headlined "Dzerzhinsk Mayor to Answer for Veto" looks at a political crisis in the town of Dzerzhinsk where United Russia wants to replace direct mayoral elections with the appointment of the city head; pp 1, 5 (750 words).

7. Editorial headlined "People Against..." says people do not mind the pressure the authorities are putting on opposition activists. Most people still believe their stability depends on the state rather than themselves; p 2 (500 words).

8. Vladislav Maltsev article headlined "Police Special Operation Near Cathedral Mosque" says Moscow police have detained several Muslim activists reportedly to prevent rallies against the controversial anti-Islamic film; p 2 (500 words).

9. Anton Khodosevich article headlined "Minsk's Cunning Arithmetic" says the opposition refuses to recognize the parliamentary election results in Belarus; p 6 (800 words).

10. Yury Panyev article headlined "Russia Needs Strong UN" reports on the work of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly; p 7 (600 words).

11. Nikolai Surkov article headlined "Libyan Islamists Make CIA Blind" reports on the situation in Libya where the authorities' attempts to take security situation in the east of the country under control risks turning into an armed conflict; p 7 (350 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Oleg Galitskikh and Ilya Trisvyatsky article headlined "500 Days Before Start" looks at a series of events organized across the country to launch the 500-day countdown to the Sochi Olympics; pp 1, 14 (1,266 words).

2. Mikhail Falaleyev interview with Nikolai Perov, deputy head of the Russian Interior Ministry's department in charge of implementing state policy on firearms circulation, headlined "Right to Shoot," speaking on regulations for the ownership of hunting and nonlethal weapons in the country; pp 1, 6 (942 words).

3. Konstantin Novikov article "Where There Are NGOs, There Are Problems" looks at the Russian authorities' efforts to support socially oriented NGOs; p 2 (571 words).

4. Leonid Radzikhovsky commentary piece headlined "Kind Belief" calls for more religious tolerance and urges the Russian Orthodox Church not to divide people into its enemies and friends; p 2 (849 words).

5. Alexander Yemelyanenkov report from the Primorye region's Shkotovsky district, headlined "Sakura Afloat," profiles the launch of a new facility for lifting, disassembly and long-term storage of reactor compartments from decommissioned nuclear submarines; p 4 (700 words).

6. Igor Okunev and Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Street of Untruth" says the U.S. State Department has demanded that CNN start using self-censorship after the TV company published excerpts from the journals of the killed U.S. ambassador to Libya; p 8 (745 words).

7. Vladislav Vorobyev article headlined "Kabul on Their Mind" says Moscow has made it clear that it will raise the issue of NATO's presence in Afghanistan if Russia fails to come to agreement with the alliance over the European missile defense system; p 8 (438 words).

Izvestia

1. Irina Kezik article headlined "Russia to Auction Last Large Onshore Oilfields" says the Russian Natural Resources Ministry suggests that three large oilfields be auctioned off this year; pp 1-2 (699 words).

2. Anton Lednev and Yulia Tsoi article headlined "Chechen Trade and Industry Chamber Used to Receive Funding From USAID" says the program for training young entrepreneurs in Chechnya is likely to be wound up as the Chechen Trade and Industry Chamber will no longer receive funding from USAID, as its Russian offices will be closed; pp 1, 4 (655 words).

3. Alexei Mikhailov article headlined "Defense Ministry Sends MiG-31 to Novaya Zemlya" says a group of MiG-31 fighters will be deployed to the Novaya Zemlya island in late 2012; pp 1, 3 (440 words).

4. Denis Telmanov article headlined "Rogozin Decides to Bring Kalashnikov Back to Life" says the Defense Ministry is to choose an option for upgrading the Kalashnikov assault rifle later this year; p 3 (468 words).

5. Anna Akhmadyeva article headlined "Radio Liberty Stops Broadcasting From Moscow" says the personnel of the Moscow office of Radio Liberty are being laid off as the radio station stops its medium-wave broadcasting from Moscow; p 3 (504 words).

6. Darya Mazayeva article headlined "Berezovsky Accused of Waging Information War" reports on the hearing of the Litvinenko murder case in Britain; p 5 (707 words).

Vedomosti

1. Bela Lyauv article headlined "Housing Being Made Affordable Again" says a government meeting is to discuss housing prices this week. Officials say they found a way of reducing housing prices by 25 to 30 percent; p 1 (700 words).

2. Natalya Kostenko and Maria Zheleznova article headlined "Duma Thinking About Soul" comments on the Russian parliament's plan to pass a bill making law violations connected with religion a criminal offence; pp 1-2 (800 words).

3. Dmitry Kazmin and Milana Chelpanova article headlined "Double Bill for Trains" says tax collectors claim that the Russian Railways company makes money on commuter trains in the Moscow region and demand that it pay income tax; pp 1, 3 (750 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Not Dead End So Far" slams a new Russian pension reform as it strips individuals of their pension savings; pp 1, 4 (600 words).

5. Margarita Lyutova article headlined "Digging on Preferential Terms" says the Russian government has promised to support oil workers on new deposits and not to impose mineral extraction taxes on new oil projects in western Siberia; p 3 (700 words).

6. Konstantin Simonov article headlined "Protest as Lift" comments on the statistics that show that young people form the majority of those taking part in Moscow protests; p 4 (600 words).

RBK Daily

1. Kristina Yust and Galina Starinskaya article headlined "Present for Oil Sector" says the Russian authorities will provide oil companies with tax and export-duty benefits to promote production at oilfields with hard-to-access reserves; pp 1, 7 (650 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Olga Bozhyeva interview with Ruslan Pukhov, a member of the public council under the Defense Ministry, headlined "Whom Do We Make Missiles for?" The expert speaks on Russian arms exports; pp 1, 4 (2,335 words).

2. Yekaterina Pichugina article headlined "Green Light for Dangerous Medicines" says the Russian authorities allow many dubious pharmaceutical companies to sell their "copies" of expensive medicines in Russia without proper licensing; pp 1, 4 (736 words).

3. Melor Sturua article headlined "What Is Putin's Pulse Rate?" comments on the health of the U.S. Republican presidential and vice presidential candidates; p 3 (1,197 words).

4. Alexander Nevzorov article headlined "Special Form of Love for Kids" criticizes the course teaching religion at Russian schools; p 3 (1,134 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Veronika Krasheninnikova piece "Who Is Serving in USAID?" says senior USAID officials, including the head of the agency's Moscow office, have a military background and argues that the Russian authorities should not only insist on closing USAID operations in Russia but should also make sure that no USAID grants reach recipients in Russia via possible intermediaries; p 4 (400 words).

Sept. 25, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC 

Related articles:

• What the Papers Say, Sept. 24, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Sept. 21, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Sept. 20, 2012