Kommersant
1. Irina Nagornykh article headlined "Ordered to Wait" says President Vladimir Putin is to meet State Duma deputies, representatives of the All-Russia People's Front, on Oct. 18. The deputies are waiting for political tasks to be set by Putin. However, the planned registration of the organization has been postponed; p 1 (700 words).
2. Yevgeny Timoshinov article headlined "Sistema Drops Off Carriages" comments on a scandal over the selling of the blocking stake in Russia's First Freight Company engaged in railway transportation. Russian Railways did not allow the financial corporation Sistema to take part in the tender allegedly because of its poor financial performance; pp 1, 9 (888 words).
3. Yelizaveta Kuznetsova article headlined "Government to Refuel Airports" says the Russian authorities will oblige large airports to set up several petrol stations to develop competition; pp 1, 9 (608 words).
4. Anna Balashova article headlined "Allies to Become Relatives" says that communications companies MTS, MegaFon, VimpelCom and Rostelecom have asked the Communications Ministry to allow them to use the same frequencies jointly. The move is to reduce the companies' costs and speed up data transmission; pp 1, 12 (531 words).
5. Article attributed to the paper's political section headlined "United Russia Starts Elections" says that United Russia factions, having the majority in newly elected regional parliaments, plan to elect their speakers; p 2 (827 words).
6. Natalya Gorodetskaya et al. report headlined "Remote Areas Prefer Independent Candidates" says independent candidates have enjoyed support of the electorate in the municipal elections. The trend is believed to show that voters no longer trust political parties; p 2 (782 words).
7. Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "Businessman Found in United Russia" says that the Russian Investigative Committee has accused United Russia MP Alexei Knyshov of unlawful business activities. The deputy denies the allegations; p 3 (841 words).
8. Natalya Korechenkova article headlined "Barack Obama Is President of 42% of Russians" says a recent public opinion poll has shown that 42 percent of Russian respondents would like to see Barack Obama as U.S. president for another term; p 4 (519 words).
9. Alexei Sokovnin article headlined "Anna Politkovskaya Murder Investigated, But Not Solved" says the Investigative Committee has finished the investigation of journalist Anna Politkovskaya murder. Meanwhile, the relatives of the journalist believe the crime was not solved because no persons, who ordered the killing, were found; p 4 (548 words).
10. Yelena Kolycheva article headlined "Samara Announced Fee for Suing Boris Berezovsky" says the Samara region authorities are ready to spend £400,000 to pay a lawyer who would represent their interests in a court in London hearing their lawsuit against businessman Boris Berezovsky; p 5 (600 words).
11. Yelena Chernenko et al. headlined "Nunn-Lugar Bills to Be Sent to Russian Finance Ministry" says that while the U.S.A. is asking Moscow not to reject the Nunn-Lugar program for scrapping nuclear warheads, biological and chemical weapons, the Russian Defense Ministry has already asked the Finance Ministry to allocate funding for the purpose; p 7 (775 words).
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
1. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Gazprom Prefers Europe" says while Gazprom has launched a new pipeline as part of the Nord Stream gas pipeline project, over half of Russian residents have no access to gas; pp 1, 4 (847 words).
2. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Quiet Sabotage in Okhotny Ryad" says United Russia has come up with a populist initiative that the Russian Cabinet has refused to implement; pp 1, 3 (885 words).
3. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Do Not Touch Policemen's Bullet-Proof Vest" reports on a hunger strike of detainees in a pretrial detention center in Moscow to support Vladimir Akimenkov, who is losing his eyesight. He is held in custody on charges of rioting during May 6 protest; pp 1-2 (518 words).
4. Alexander Malyshev article headlined "Special-Purpose Units Take Urals City Under Control" reports on an ethnic conflict in the town of Verkhny Ufalei, in the Chelyabinsk region, where special-purpose units are patrolling the streets at night following a fight between the locals and Azeri nationals; pp 1, 6 (539 words).
5. Tatyana Dvoynova article headlined "Primorye Region Municipal Authorities Start Riot" says heads of Primorye region towns have opposed a draft budget in which social spending was reduced significantly due to the growing regional budget; pp 1, 6 (696 words).
6. Nikolai Surkov article headlined "Obama Stumbles Over Libyan Islamists" says the killing of the U.S. ambassador in Benghazi has become a trump card used by the Republicans in their presidential election campaign. Washington is sending a special unit to Libya to help the country's authorities deal with extremists; pp 1-2 (527 words).
7. Editorial headlined "In Shadow of Tired Special-Purpose Units" looks at the police reform and notes that many policemen are displeased with the growing load of work as a large number of police officers have been sacked during the reform; p 2 (513 words).
8. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Sergei Magnitsky Accused of Suicide" says that the prison doctor, whom rights activists accuse of being responsible for the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, has said that Magnitsky beat himself up before his death; p 3 (663 words).
9. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Putin Gives Carte Blanche to Kolokoltsev" says the ongoing reshuffle in the Interior Ministry strengthens the position of new Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev; p 3 (632 words).
10. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Russia Raises Stakes in Fight for Indian Orders" says Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin has ignored diplomatic standards when visiting India. When asked about Russian cooperation with Pakistan, he replied that Moscow had not sold arms to India's enemies; p 8 (547 words).
11. Alexei Petrov article headlined "Western Secret Services Supply Syrian Militants With Arms" says that Western secret services no longer deny that they supply Syrian rebels with arms and direct their fight against Bashar Assad's regime; p 8 (579 words).
Vedomosti
1. Anton Filatov article headlined "Polonsky Quits Potok" says businessman Sergei Polonsky is selling his stake in the Potok development company; p 1 (566 words).
2. Dmitry Kazmin and Filipp Sterkin article headlined "Amnesty for 5 Years" says that Putin has spoken out against a possible rise in retirement age. He said that people should work 35 years, but not 40 years as some officials have proposed, to be eligible for receiving a pension; p 1 (379 words).
3. Tatyana Bochkareva article headlined "'Accidental President' Leaves Citi" says Vikram Pandit has stepped down as Citi CEO; pp 1, 9 (704 words).
4. Editorial headlined "False Charm of Dictatorship" says that Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko has praised the achievements of not only Lenin's and Stalin's dictatorships, but also recalled the revival of Germany under Hitler. The article criticizes the opinion that only dictatorships can bring counties to order; pp 1, 4 (516 words).
5. Another editorial headlined "Far Away Near" reviews a bill on distance employment passed by the State Duma in the first reading. The bill resolves problems of the companies hiring personnel in other regions; p 4 (308 words).
6. Maxim Glikin article headlined "Figure of Week: 64% of Votes" says United Russia gubernatorial candidates managed to get 64 percent of votes in the regional elections held on Oct. 14; p 4 (348 words).
7. Yekaterina Kravchenko interview with the Jerusalem mayor visiting Moscow, who speaks on his work and prospects for cooperation with Russia; p 5 (2,521 words).
Izvestia
1. Alexandra Yermakova and Maria Kiseleva article headlined "Russian Government to Approve IPO of British Firms" says that Russian strategic companies, even the ones partially owned by foreigners, will have to inform the Russian authorities about their IPO plans; pp 1, 3 (708 words).
2. Vladislav Gusev article headlined "Internet Code Drafted for Officials" says a new ethics code drafted for Russian officials regulates their behavior on the Internet; pp 1-2 (446 words).
3. Olga Zhermeleva interview with United Russia lawmaker Alexei Knyshov speaking on the charges brought by the Investigative Committee against him and on the threat of losing his deputy seat; pp 1-2 (1,067 words).
4. Mikhail Vignansky interview with Paata Zakareishvili, candidate for the post of reintegration minister in the new Georgian Cabinet, speaking on the territorial problems of Abkhazia and South Ossetia; p 5 (412 words).
Rossiiskaya Gazeta
1. Tatyana Shadrina article headlined "Digit Does Not Require Money" says 20 digital TV channels will appear in Russia in three years; pp 1, 4 (486 words).
2. Vladislav Kulikov article headlined "Get Paid, Your Honor" looks at new salaries that Russian judges will be paid; pp 1-2 (727 words).
3. Yury Gavrilov article headlined "It Shoots Down Everything Moving" says the fifth regiment of S-400 missile defense systems will become operational in the Southern Federal District by the end of 2012; p 2 (448 words).
4. Alexei Chesnakov article headlined "October Lessons" says the regional elections held on Oct. 14 have shown the real value of the opposition; p 3 (417 words).
5. Fedor Lukyanov article headlined "Russian-Turkish Gambit" comments on the recent incident with the Syrian plane going from Moscow to Syria, which was forced to land in Ankara, and notes that Turkey underestimates Bashar Assad; p 3 (714 words).
Moskovsky Komsomolets
1. Marina Ozerova article headlined "Will United Russia Deputy Be Stripped of His Seat?" tries to find out whether United Russia lawmaker Alexei Knyshov will lose his seat; pp 1-2 (626 words).
2. Alexander Minkin article headlined "St. Petersburg Skinflint" comments on St. Petersburg Governor Georgy Poltavchenko's reaction to drivers beeping and showing their third finger to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's convoy of vehicles; p 1 (403 words).
3. Melor Sturua article headlined "Obama Needs Revenge Badly" says U.S. President Barack Obama needs to win the next round of TV debates with Republican candidate Mitt Romney; p 3 (763 words).
4. Article by State Duma Deputy Ilya Ponomaryov headlined "Upper Classes Do Not Want, Lower Classes Cannot" says the Russian opposition does not enjoy the support of the electorate as it cannot spell out programs that would make voters interested; p 3 (1,243 words).
RBK Daily
1. Olesya Yelkova article headlined "Middleman Misha" says Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has claimed that some Russian tycoons have used a middleman to offer him a kickback worth $5 billion for the sale of the Belaruskali company; pp 1, 9 (600 words).
2. Anna Reznikova report "Putin's Plan Ruins Regions" says that if regions implement Putin's orders, this will make them run into debt, and they will find themselves on the verge of default; p 3 (600 words).
Novaya Gazeta
1. Alexander Kustarev article headlined "European Union and Peace" comments on the EU being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; p 5 (600 words).
2. Vladimir Pastukhov report "Time of Agents Provocateurs" looks at the problem of radicalism and fundamentalism in Russia; p 3 (800 words).
3. Nikita Girin report "Dances in Church of Democracy" looks at the results of governor and municipal elections in Russia held on Oct. 14; p 8 (700 words).
Komsomolskaya Pravda
1. Dmitry Smirnov interview with Konstantin Romodanovsky, head of the Federal Migration Service; p 14 (1,300 words).
Oct. 17, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC
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