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What the Papers Say, Oct. 5, 2012

Igor Tabakov

Kommersant

1. Svetlana Dementyeva article headlined "Growth to Be Eliminated" says that the Central Bank is pondering measures to curb the aggressive growth of the consumer credit market; pp 1, 10 (986 words).

2. Sergei Mashkin article headlined "Prosecutors Get Lucky in Gambling Case" says that the arrest of Ivan Nazarov, the organizer of a chain of illegal casinos in Moscow region, and his associates has been ruled illegal. Now their revelations that they paid prosecutors and police for turning a blind eye to their business may be called into question; p 1 (677 words).

3. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Network of Russian Suppliers Exposed in U.S." says that 11 U.S. residents from the former Soviet Union have been charged with illegally exporting military technology, fraud and money laundering. The MiG corporation, the Defense Ministry and the Federal Security Service are allegedly among their customers; pp 1, 7 (625 words).

4. Olga Mordyushenko and Tamila Dzhodzhua article headlined "EU Finds Key to Gazprom Contracts" says that the European Union has approved a decision to oblige its member states to reveal the contents of gas and oil agreements. The decision is unlikely to affect the market in general but will definitely create problems for suppliers, and first and foremost for the Russian gas monopoly; pp 1, 11 (708 words).

5. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Vladimir Putin Provides Defense Ministry With Wings" says that by order of President Vladimir Putin, the Defense Ministry has bought 39 Il-476 (Il-76 MD-90A) aircraft worth 140 billion rubles from the Aviastar-SP plant; p 2 (659 words).

6. Natalya Gorodetskaya and Irina Nagornykh article headlined " Human Rights Council Uploads List of Candidates" says that the presidential human rights council has discussed candidates for its existing vacancies; not all of them were the ones the Internet vote has determined; p 3 (619 words).

7. Maxim Ivanov and Vsyevolod Inyutin article headlined "Big Deal Promised for Small Parties" says that State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin has promised to engage representatives of non-parliamentary parties in legislative activities and to create a special council. The article is followed by experts' comments; p 3 (962 words).

8. Arina Borodina et al. report headlined "Supervisors Found for Public TV" says that the council for a public television channel has held a meeting to elect the channel's supervisory board and the chairman of the council; p 3 (741 words).

9. Ivan Tyazhlov article headlined "Russia Burnt, Exploded and Poisoned" says the Emergency Situations Ministry has held drills of rescue teams in all Russian regions. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev monitored the drills and ordered the drafting of a program aimed at improving the system of civil defense; p 5 (506 words).

10. Alexander Chernykh article headlined "Believers Brought to Senses" says that the Public Chamber has severely criticized a bill imposing criminal punishment for offending religious feelings; p 5 (656 words).

11. Maria Yefimova and Olga Kuznetsova article headlined "Turkey Declares Operation on Syria" says that Turkey's parliament has authorized troops to launch a cross-border operation against Syria. In addition, the NATO council stated that Syria's shelling of the Turkish border districts poses a threat to all NATO member states; p 7 (464 words).

12. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Mitt Romney Fulfills TV Viewers' Requests" says that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has won his first TV debate with incumbent President Barack Obama. The victory may change the outcome of the election campaign, experts say; p 7 (590 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "In Risk Group" says that according to a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Russia and Egypt are the countries that depend most on price jumps on the global market. If the price of oil drops by $10, the Russian budget deficit will double and reach 1 trillion rubles; pp 1, 4 (632 words).

2. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Rate Bigger Than Fear" says that the Central Bank has threatened to lower the amount of insurance payments for banks offering excessively high deposit interest rates; pp 1-2 (694 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Party Plankton Gathers in Blocs" says that a council of non-parliamentary parties will be set up under State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin. In addition, the law may be amended to allow electoral blocs; pp 1, 3 (651 words).

4. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Defense Industry of Pre-Retirement Age" says that a lack of qualified staff may disrupt a large-scale state program aimed at re-arming the military; pp 1-2 (964 words).

5. Yury Paniyev article headlined "Foreign Chip Supplied to Russian Navy" says that 11 former Soviet citizens living in the U.S. have been accused of illegally exporting military know-how to Russia. The Foreign Ministry said the charges had nothing to do with intelligence activities; pp 1, 8 (856 words).

6. Yury Roks article headlined "Ivanishvili Invited to America" says that Bidzina Ivanishvili, leader of the Georgian Dream opposition coalition, which won the majority of seats in the Georgian parliament, has been invited to visit the U.S.; pp 1, 7 (683 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Canonization of History" criticizes attempts by the Russian Orthodox Church to exaggerate its role in Russian history and declare itself the foundation of Russian statehood; p 2 (491 words).

8. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Terrorist Attacks Gone. Fear Remains" says that a Levada Center poll has shown that 53 percent of Russians do not rule out the possibility of new terrorist attacks in the country's cities; p 3 (595 words).

9. Sergei Zhiltsov article headlined "New Political Season of Chisinau" says that the Communist Party of Moldova has called for a large-scale protest in response to the refusal of the Moldovan parliament to hold a referendum on the country's accession to the Customs Union; p 3 (571 words).

10. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "European Court Corrects Russian Justice Ministry" says that the Justice Ministry has drafted amendments to allow prisoners who have applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to have meetings with representatives of the ECHR; p 3 (561 words).

11. Igor Naumov article headlined "Prison Terms to Be Given for Illegal Immigration" says that the government has discussed a bill to introduce prison terms of up to seven years for illegal immigration; p 4 (734 words).

12. Sergei Kiselyov article headlined "Space on Credit" says that two of the biggest enterprises engaged in building missiles and space technologies, RKK Energia and Khrunichev State Space Science and Production Center, have to take out loans to ensure their survival and development; p 4 (959 words).

13. Lyubov Borusyak article headlined "After Performance" comments on society's reaction to Pussy Riot's performance in Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral and the trial of its participants; p 5 (2,471 words).

14. Gleb Postnov article headlined "Truce Under Caliphate Flag" says that Tatarstan authorities are losing the battle against religious extremism and tend only to hush up the problem; p 6 (661 words).

15. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Moscow to Share Nuclear Technologies With Kiev" says that construction of a Russian-Ukrainian nuclear fuel plant has started in Ukraine; p 7 (838 words).

16. Artur Blinov article headlined "Obama and Romney Argue About Who Lives Well in America" looks at the first TV debate between presidential candidates in the U.S. in which, according to 67 percent of TV viewers, Republican candidate Mitt Romney won; p 8 (557 words).

17. Nikolai Surkov article headlined "Ankara Begins to Speak Language of Force With Damascus" says that Turkey's parliament has authorized troops to launch a cross-border operation against Syria following Syria's deadly shelling of a Turkish town; p 8 (577 words).

18. Nikolai Kamensky article headlined "Persian Spring Predicted for Iran" says that the U.S. has threatened Iran with tough measures if the latter does not give up its nuclear program. Washington hopes that under the pressure of sanctions, Iranians themselves will make the authorities agree with the West on the country's nuclear program; p 8 (488 words).

Vedomosti

1. Ksenia Dokukina article headlined "Evraz Adds Coal" says that Evraz is going to buy 41 percent of shares of the Raspadskaya coal company; pp 1, 8 (962 words).

2. Anton Trifonov and Maxim Tovkailo article headlined "Forcing to Stock Exchange" looks at Sberbank floating its shares; p 1 (355 words).

3. Alexei Nikolsky article headlined "Spy Turns Out to Be Agent" says that U.S. law enforcement officers have arrested eight people suspected of illegally exporting microchips to Russia; pp 1-2 (692 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Tanks Like Silence" says that studies of global arms and hardware trade conducted by Transparency International have shown that a veil of secrecy in this sphere hides not only classified technology, but also corruption, which is especially dangerous as it threatens international security, speeds up the arms race and results in waste of budget money; pp 1, 4 (510 words).

5. Anastasia Kornya et al. report headlined "Try to Make Them Resign" says that the Central Elections Commission has specified the procedure for forcing governors to resign. The procedure is extremely difficult to implement; p 2 (426 words).

6. Maria Zheleznova report "They Will Take Public's Favorites" says that Putin is selecting new members of the presidential human rights council; p 2 (600 words).

7. Mikhail Fishman article headlined "Public Interest: Election-Non-Election" looks at the election to the coordination council of the non-systemic opposition and adds that protest sentiments are taking deep root in people's minds; p 4 (453 words).

8. Editorial headlined "Photo with Zuckerberg" looks at the visit of Mark Zuckerberg, founder of social network Facebook, to Moscow; p 4 (324 words).

9. Valery Kodachigov report "Disconnected Competitors" says that Russian operators have been deprived of the possibility to broadcast TV channels Kinopokaz and Kinopokaz HD 2 as Trikolor TV has bought exclusive rights to broadcast them; p 11 (400 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Leonid Pchelnikov and Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Pretext for War" says that the Turkish parliament has authorized troops to conduct a trans-border military operation in Syria, which is de jure the beginning of a foreign intervention in Syria; pp 1, 8 (700 words).

2. Viktor Feshchenko article headlined "To Suit Doctrine" looks at Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to Pakistan; p 8 (700 words).

3. Yekaterina Zabrodina article headlined "Candidates Cut to the Quick" features experts' comments on the outcome of the first TV debate of presidential candidates in the U.S.; p 8 (450 words).

4. Valery Vyzhutovich interview "Power of Culture and Culture of Power" with presidential aide Vladimir Tolstoi and head of the Federal Press and Mass Media Agency Mikhail Seslavinsksy; pp 1, 13 (2,000 words).

Izvestia

1. Alexei Mikhailov article headlined "'Spies' Get Caught Selling Ferrite" says that sources in the Russian defense industry have said that 90 percent of chips for the space and defense industry are imported from the U.S. Moreover, 50 percent of them are imported illegally, disguised as supplies for the national economy, and U.S. authorities are perfectly aware of these deals; pp 1, 3 (720 words).

2. Irina Kezik article headlined "U.S. to Bring Oil Prices Down to $80 Per Barrel" says that the growth of shale oil production in the U.S. will lead to a two-fold reduction of oil export to the U.S., which will send oil prices down; pp 1, 4 (1,016 words).

3. Vladimir Voloshin article headlined "Weapons to Be Equipped With 'Black Boxes' and Fingerprint Scanners" says that a system of control over arms turnover has been worked out. A chip containing information about the owner of the weapon may be installed in any weapon, and it will block a shot if somebody else tries to shoot it; pp 1, 4 (475 words).

4. Yulia Tsoi report "Opposition to Punish NTV for 'Anatomy of Protest 2'" looks at the reaction of the Russian opposition to the NTV film "Anatomy of Protest 2"; p 2 (700 words).

5. German Petelin and Rafael Fakhrutdinov article headlined "'I Did Nothing Illegal'" says that the head of company Apex, Sergei Klinov, denies he has anything to do with a scandal involving 11 U.S. citizens of Soviet origin accused of illegal exporting microchips to the Defense Ministry; p 3 (372 words).

5. Vladimir Dergachev report "Kremlin Political Experts Give Favorable Forecast" says that the foundation of civil society development has prepared a report on regional and municipal elections to be held Oct. 14; p 3 (700 words).

6. Mikhail Vignansky report "Ivanishvili to Work Out Plan of Relations With Russia" looks at the political priorities of the new Georgian authorities; p 5 (600 words).

7. Kirill Benediktov article headlined "Fake Spies" ponders whether it is a coincidence that the alleged network illegally exporting microchips to Russia was exposed just before the first round of TV debates between U.S. presidential candidates; p 7 (735 words).

8. Article by Ruslan Grinberg, director of the Economics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, headlined "Battle of World Outlooks" says that the future of the world depends a lot on who wins the U.S. presidential election, as the candidates have completely opposing views. Barack Obama promotes the idea of "society of overall prosperity," whereas Mitt Romney's ideology will result in a deepening of the gap between the rich and the poor and, consequently, a social explosion sooner or later; p 7 (939 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Alexander Minkin's open letter to President Vladimir Putin headlined "No Kidding"; pp 1, 4 (900 words).

2. Mikhail Rostovsksy report "Vladimir Putin's Dangerous Age" dedicated to Putin's 60th birthday; pp 1, 4 (1,000 words).

3. Andrei Yashlavsky report "Spies Like Us" looks at a scandal over smuggling of high-tech equipment in the U.S. involving former Soviet citizens; pp 1-2 (600 words).

4. Melor Sturua report "Obama-Romney: Round One" looks at the TV debates of the two U.S. presidential candidates; p 3 (600 words).

5. Stanislav Belkovsky report "How Not to Die Under Putin" looks at President Vladimir Putin's policies; p 3 (900 words).

6. Viktoria Prikhodko report "What Do We Know About VVP?" looks at President Vladimir Putin; p 5 (1,000 words).

Moskovskiye Novosti

1. Dmitry Bykov article headlined "Georgia's Last Temptation" looks at the political situation in Georgia in the wake of the parliamentary election in which President Mikhail Saakashvili conceded defeat; p B2 (900 words).

RBC Daily

1. Yevgenia Korytina et al. article headlined "Wires, Postcards and Other Presents for Putin" says that Russian officials are getting their presents ready as President Vladimir Putin celebrates his 60th birthday; pp 1-2 (700 words).

2. Anastasia Novikova article headlined "Council of Non-Parliamentarians" says that the State Duma has held the first meeting of non-parliamentary political parties, chaired by Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin; p 3 (500 words).

3. Ivan Petrov article headlined "Caucasus Prisoners" says that shooting by a Dagestan wedding cortege in central Moscow could potentially lead to more ethnic-related violence; p 2 (600 words).

4. Irina Uzbekova article headlined "Russia and Europe to Send Drones to Mars" says that the European Space Agency is drawing up plans to cooperate with Russia in sending the next drone mission to Mars; p 12 (600 words).

Trud

1. Alexander Dmitriyev article headlined "Billionaires, Get Out!" says that five members of the Federation Council may file for resignation following allegations that they have close ties with business; p 1 (300 words).

2. Yakov Shaula article headlined "Who Is Khimki's Main Candidate?" looks at the election campaign for mayor's office in the Moscow region town; p 2 (800 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Alexander Mineyev article headlined "Blue Passports for White People" says that the Russian authorities are seeking the suspension of visa travel restrictions with the EU for officials in return for simplifying visa requirements for ordinary Russians travelling to the EU; p 2 (500 words).

2. Alexander Pomerantsev report headlined "Nataliya Magnitskaya: 'My Son Was Intimidated Even in Court'" quotes Natalia Magnitskaya, the mother of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in a Russian prison; p 4 (700 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Dmitry Smirnov article headlined "Vladimir Putin: 'It Took Us Six Years to Lift the Machine Into the Air'" says that the president attended the first test flight of the modernized Il-76 Russian military aircraft; p 2 (500 words).

October 5, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC

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