What the Papers Say, Oct. 23, 2012

Kommersant

1. Kirill Melnikov and Anna Solodovnikova article headlined "Master of Barrel" details Rosneft's deal with TNK-BP. The oil giant is to spend $55 billion on the deal to make Rosneft the world leader in oil extraction; pp 1, 9 (881 words).

2. Anna Pushkarskaya and Musa Muradov article headlined "These People's District Is Narrow" says presidential envoy to the Central Federal District Alexander Beglov has formed his team. Former Ingush president Murat Zyazikov received a post in the envoy's office. Experts believe Zyazikov may use the post as a launch pad for taking part in the regional election next year; pp 1-2 (769 words).

3. Grigory Tumanov and Ilya Shepelin article headlined "Secret Becomes Surrender" says opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev has given himself up to the law enforcement agencies and confessed to committing the wrongdoing he was accused of in the NTV documentary "Anatomy of Protest 2". His lawyers claim he was tortured into confessing; pp 1, 5 (767 words).

4. Ksenia Dementyeva article headlined "Suitcase, Railway Station and Sberbank" says the Russian Savings Bank Sberbank will no longer charge its clients for taking cash from its cash machines abroad; pp 1, 10 (716 words).

5. Ufa-based Bulat Bashirov article headlined "Bashkortostan President Consolidates Control Over Executive Power" says Bashkortostan president Rustem Khamitov has dismissed the local government; p 2 (627 words).

6. Taisia Bekbulatova et al. report headlined "New Regulations Written for Next Elections" says United Russia is to benefit from the new regulations for the single voting day to be held in September 2013; p 2 (997 words).

7. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "With Congratulating Advantage" reports on Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych in Moscow; p 3 (791 words).

8. Sofia Samokhina et al. report headlined "Foreign Ministry Reads Disregarded Rights to America" reports on the parliamentary hearings in the State Duma on the observance of human rights in the U.S.A. Russian lawmakers have come to the conclusion that human rights are violated in the U.S.A.; p 3 (727 words).

9. Alexei Tkachenko and Alexei Sokovnin article headlined "Man Charged With Plotting Assassination of Vladimir Putin Withdraws Testimony" reports on the progress in the probe into the planned assassination of Russian President Vladimir Putin; p 4 (664 words).

10. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Viktor But [Bout] Defense Launches Offensive" says the lawyers of Russian businessman Viktor But serving a prison term in the U.S.A. have asked the Russian authorities for financial support to appeal against the U.S. court verdict and carry out an investigation into the actions of the Thai authorities who handed over Bout to the U.S.A.; p 5 (567 words).

11. Ilya Shepelin and Alexander Chernykh article headlined "Opposition Reorganizes Itself From Marches Into Hit Parade" says the Kremlin is not going to conduct talks with the newly elected opposition Coordination Council; p 5 (629 words).

12. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Spies Stay in Touch via YouTube" gives details of the work of Russian spies in Germany exposed by the country's authorities; p 7 (770 words).

13. Maria Yefimova article headlined "Kuwait Violates Regime" says that large-scale anti-government protests threaten the ruling dynasty in Kuwait; p 7 (454 words).

14. Sergei Strokan article headlined "Syrian Revolution Becomes Lebanese One" says that political tension in Lebanon triggered by the killing of a senior intelligence officer risks growing into a civil war; p 7 (505 words).

15. Sergei Strokan article headlined "East and West Rattle Values" looks at the conflict of the Eastern and Western civilizations, which is growing as the recent incident with the anti-Islamic film has shown; p 8 (1,051 words).

16. Sergei Strokan interview with Yevgeny Satanovskiy, president of the Middle East Institute, speaking on new global challenges caused by disagreements between the Eastern and Western cultures; p 8 (861 words)

17. Sergei Strokan interview with Alexei Malashenko, expert from the Moscow Carnegie Center, speaking on the reasons for disagreement between the Eastern and Western civilizations; p 8 (656 words)

18. Article by head of the Centre of Political Technologies Boris Makarenko in opinion column headlined "Price of Issue" attributes the recent clashes between the East and the West to the difficulties that the Eastern countries are having with the adaptation to globalization; p 8 (371 words).

19. Yelena Kiseleva article headlined "Submarine S1000 Surfaces in Africa" says Russia and Italy have revived a joint project to build small submarines, which has been suspended for over four years; p 9 (712 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Pension Roller Hits Ladies" says that Russian women will become victims of the pension reform as the retirement age for women and men will become equal meaning that women will have to work several years more than now; pp 1, 4 (817 words).

2. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Alexander Bastrykin's Trigger" says the fact that opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev has allegedly "confessed" to committing the wrongdoing he was accused of in the NTV documentary "Anatomy of Protest 2" shows that the law enforcement agencies are looking for the possibility of bringing charges against protest leaders such as Ilya Ponomaryov; pp 1, 3 (816 words).

3. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "They Filter and Will Continue to Filter" says the law on gubernatorial elections is unlikely to be amended radically, so candidates standing in the elections will have to undergo several "filters" on the local and federal levels; pp 1, 3 (730 words).

4. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "All-People's Anti-Terrorist Patrol" reports on the fight against militants that the Russian law enforcement agencies are carrying out in the North Caucasus. Meanwhile, the local people are setting up people patrol teams to maintain security; pp 1-2 (785 words).

5. Yury Roks article headlined "Pankisi Conceals Military Secret" says that a special operation by the Georgian law enforcement agencies in the Lopota Gorge close to the border with Russia looks like a PR action by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili; pp 1, 6 (789 words).

6. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Beijing Sneezes, Tokyo Catches Cold" says the territorial dispute with China has affected the Japanese economy and may hit the country hard as the global economic crisis is escalating; pp 1, 7 (539 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Headache From Hijabs" says the reaction of the federal authorities to the recent scandal over hijabs at a village school in the Krasnodar region has shown that Russia remains a secular state and the Kremlin will not allow any religious organizations to dictate their rules; p 2 (507 words).

8. Ivan Rodin article headlined "White Tents to Replace White Ribbons" says the Russian opposition is trying to form its Coordination Council and is coming under attacks from the authorities; p 3 (792 words).

9. Milrad Fatulalyev report "Sacral Ingush October" says that Yunus-bek Yevkurov, head of the Republic of Ingushetia, plans to take part in the next presidential election in the republic; p 5 (800 words).

10. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Chiefs Frame Peacekeepers" says Moscow has admitted illegal arms supplies to the Transdnestr republic; p 6 (390 words).

11. Viktoria Panfilova article headlined "NATO Looks for New Transportation Corridors" says Central Asian countries are competing with each other to reach an agreement with NATO on supply routes to Afghanistan; p 6 (667 words).

12. Darya Tsilyurik article headlined "Libya Plunges Into Feudal Chaos" reports on ongoing violence in Libya where the new authorities are fighting against the supporters of the former leader, Col Gadhafi; p 7 (808 words).

Vedomosti

1. Timofei Dzyadko article headlined "Sechin Comes to Agreement With Everyone" says Rosneft has agreed with TNK-BP shareholders on the takeover of the company; pp 1, 10 (981 words).

2. Margarita Lyutova and Dmitry Kazmin article headlined "Russia Lags Behind so far" says Russia is listed only 112th in the international rating Doing Business; pp 1, 3 (600 words).

3. Anastasia Kornya and Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "Voice Nontypical of Him" says that opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev has claimed that he was tortured by the law enforcement agencies into giving testimony against his colleagues; pp 1-2 (639 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Rosneft and Person" says that the country and ordinary consumers will not benefit from the growth of Rosneft; pp 1, 4 (532 words).

5. Maria Zheleznova article headlined "Navalny First One" looks at the results of the election of the opposition Coordination Council and notes that nationalists have failed to get the support of opposition activists; p 2 (358 words).

6. Another editorial headlined "It Reaches Fans" says that St. Petersburg football fans have called for the dismissal of Governor Georgy Poltavchenko after he urged them to take part in construction of the stadium for the Zenit club; p 4 (305 words).

7. Natalya Kostenko and Maxim Glikin interview with Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov speaking on the requirements that Russian officials should meet and on policy to support innovation; p 7 (3,435 words).

Izvestia

1. Maria Kiseleva article headlined "Russians to Be Made to Use Superjets" says the Russian Transportation Ministry is drafting measures making airline companies buy new Superjet aircraft; pp 1, 3 (770 words).

2. Alexei Mikhailov article headlined "Air Force Command to Be Halved" says the Russian Defense Ministry is carrying out a reform of the Air Force command; half of top officers will lose their posts; pp 1, 4 (513 words).

3. Dmitry Yevstifeyev report "Prosecutor's Office Bans Hijabs at Schools" says that a prosecutor's office in the Stavropol region has banned pupils from wearing religious clothing at schools; pp 1, 4 (600 words).

4. German Petelin et al. report "Protests on Bolotnaya Paid for From Georgia" says that Leonid Razvozzhayev, an aide to State Duma member Ilya Ponomaryov, has been detained in Ukraine and admitted the charges of planning mass disturbances; pp 1, 4 (800 words).

5. Alexei Mikhailov article headlined "Anatoly Serdyukov to Get Deputy in Charge of Science" says that a new post, deputy defense minister in charge of science and education, will be introduced in 2013; p 2 (431 words).

6. Vladimir Gusev interview with Mikhail Marchenko, Federation Council member from the Bryansk region, speaking on his appointment and relations with Lyudmila Narusova, who used to hold the senator's seat for the region; p 3 (575 words).

7. Igor Yavlyansky article headlined "Syrian Conflict Spreads to Lebanon" says anti-Syrian protests continue in Beirut and Lebanon has become split into two camps: the supporters and opponents of Damascus; p 5 (487 words).

8. Madina Shavlokhova interview with Yekaterina Kotrikadze, an editor from the Georgian PIK TV channel, which was closed following Mikheil Saakashvili's failure in the parliamentary elections in the country; p 5 (389 words).

9. Comment by political scientist Konstantin Kostin headlined "Nothing to Come Out of Nothing" slams the election of the opposition Coordination Council; p 9 (645 words).

10. Alexandra Sopova report looks at the fake websites of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill that have recently appeared on the Internet; p 7 (600 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Vladislav Vorobyev interview headlined "Besieged Syria" with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaking on the situation in Syria and Russia's stance on the conflict; pp 1, 8 (1,000 words).

2. Natalya Kozlova article headlined "He Makes Confession" welcomes the decision of opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev to "cooperate with the investigation"; pp 1, 7 (800 words).

3. Commentary by Leonid Radzikhovsky headlined "Different Shows" says the nonsystemic opposition has failed to become an option to the present authorities in Russia despite their ambitions; p 3 (700 words).

4. Alexander Gasyuk article headlined "Firing at Obama's Reputation" says that weapons manufacturers have launched a campaign against U.S. President Barack Obama and have staked on his Republican rival Mitt Romney in the upcoming presidential election; p 8 (600 words).

5. Kira Latukhina report "Without Break" looks at the meeting of Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart in Moscow; p 2 (700 words).

6. Tamara Shkel report "Teachers Not of Rights" says that the State Duma has discussed human rights in the U.S.A.; p 2 (600 words).

7. Olga Dmitriyeva report "Paid for Plebeians" looks at a scandal involving a British minister who has insulted police officers; p 6 (500 words).

8. Natalya Kozlova report "Transported in Different Directions" says that two convicted members of the Pussy Riot group will serve prison terms in the Perm region and the Mordovia republic; p 7 (600 words).

9. Vladislav Kulikov interview with Sergei Chucha, head of the Moscow city arbitration court; p 13 (2,300 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Irina Bobrova article headlined "Nord-Ost Last Ring" recalls the stories of the victims of a theater siege in Moscow; pp 1, 4 (1,502 words).

2. Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "Why Has Putin Revived Central Committee?" looks at the reasons prompting Putin to set up a directorate within his administration is charge of patriotic education; pp 1-2 (1,062 words).

3. Anastasia Rodionova article headlined "Sergei Udaltsov: Razvozzhayev Could Give This Testimony Due to Torture" looks at information on the detention of opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev and his confessions of wrongdoing reported by the law enforcement agencies; pp 1-2 (616 words).

4. Yeva Merkacheva article headlined "Alyokhina to Have Access to Cartoons, Tolokonnikova to Be Banned From Using Boilers" looks at the recent developments in the Pussy Riot case as the members of the punk group are reported to have been taken to prisons to serve their sentences; p 2 (684 words).

RBK Daily

1. Alexander Litoi and Ivan Petrov article headlined "Georgia Comes With Confession" says there may be more detentions of May 6 rally activists after one opposition figure admitted his guilt; p 2 (400 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Nadezhda Krasilova article headlined "First Step" says the opposition believes that the election to its Coordination Council has brought Russia closer to democratic standards; pp 1-2 (450 words)

2. Nadezhda Bulanova article headlined "Strange Confession" says opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev has allegedly confessed to preparations for mass disturbances; p 2 (600 words).

3.Yana Sergeyeva and Gennady Savchenko article headlined "Anatomy of Abduction" notes that the kidnapping of Russian opposition Leonid Razvozzhayev activist in Kiev went almost unnoticed; p 2 (300 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Alexander Grishin article headlined "Udaltsov's Companion Tells on His Accomplices" looks at the situation surrounding opposition activist Leonid Razvozzhayev who reportedly confessed to plans for mass disturbances; p 4 (450 words).

2. Vladimir Voloshin article headlined "Sailors Do Not Break Military Secret to Deputies" looks at the Oct. 21 visit of Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and State Duma deputies to Kamchatka and notes that the Pacific Fleet will get three new submarines by 2014; p 5 (550 words).

Kransnaya Zvezda

1.Viktor Ruchkin article headlined "Clashes in Beirut" looks at the situation in Lebanon that is "on the brink of a civil war"; p 3 (400 words).

Oct. 23, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC 

Related articles:

• What the Papers Say, Oct. 22, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Oct. 19, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Oct. 18, 2012