Support The Moscow Times!

What the Papers Say, Dec. 4, 2012

Igor Tabakov

Kommersant

1. Renata Yambayeva et al. report headlined "State Companions" says the Russian authorities have changed their approach to the management of state companies. Officials will return to the companies' boards of directors again; pp 1, 9 (990 words).

2. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Turkey Unfolds Its Complexes in Front of Vladimir Putin" reports on Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Turkey where he assured local journalists that Syria would not attack the country; pp 1, 7 (1,807 words).

3. Dmitry Butrin article headlined "Russia Submits Its Issues to G20" reports on the agenda for Russia's chairmanship in G20. The issues are to be discussed at the G20 summit in St. Petersburg in September 2013; pp 1, 6 (84 words).

4. Yelena Kiseleva and Denis Skorobogatko article headlined "Oleg Deripaska and Vladimir Potanin Leave London" says the hearing of the Norilsk Nikel mining and metallurgical company dispute between tycoons Oleg Deripaska and Vladimir Potanin in London has been postponed till February; p 1 (301 words).

5. Natalya Bashlykova article headlined "Communists Feel Increasing Dissatisfaction With State Duma Elections" says the Communist Party plans to appeal to the Russian Supreme Court against the State Duma election results a year after the voting was held; p 2 (630 words).

6. Taisia Bekbulatova article "Social Problems Are Upsetting Balance in the Regions" sums up the results of the November rating of socio-political stability in Russia's 83 constituent parts issued by the Peterburgskaya Politika think-tank; p 2 (600 words).

7. Sergei Goryashko article headlined "Russians Don't Believe in Fight Against Corruption" says the Levada Center has held a public opinion poll showing that Russians do not expect the ongoing anti-corruption campaign to be effective and find it to be a sign of decay among the ruling elites; p 3 (532 words).

8. Dmitriy Malkov article headlined "Lost in Transition" looks at the situation in Krasnoyarsk Territory under governor Lev Kuznetsov, who has succeeded Alexander Khloponin in the post; p 4 (3,242 words).

9. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Israel Mobilizes Construction Workers" says Israel faces international isolation due to the plans to resume the construction of settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank; p 7 (473 words).

10. Kabai Karabekov and Yelena Chernenko interview with new Kyrgyzstan Prime Minister, Jantoro Satybaldiyev, speaking on military-technical and economic cooperation with Russia; p 7 (878 words).

11. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Pentagon Prefers Reconnaissance to Fighting" reports on the beginning of the reform of the Pentagon's spy network. Up to 1,600 agents are to work under cover abroad; p 8 (599 words).

12. Sergei Strokan article headlined "DPRK Aggravates Missile Situation" says North Korea's neighbors are getting ready to shoot down a missile Pyongyang is planning to test under the disguise of a space rocket launch; p 8 (668 words).

13. Article by Fedor Lukyanov, chairman of the presidium of the Foreign and Defense Policy Council, in the "Price of Issue" opinion column says North Korea is going to stick to the blackmail policy pursued by the country's previous leadership to remind the international community about its problems; p 8 (365 words).

14. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Russia and NATO Stay Outside 'Space of Trust'" says the Russia-NATO Council is to meet in Brussels today. The sides are expected to agree on Afghan cooperation but no breakthrough in the issue of the European missile defense is expected to be achieved; p 8 (641 words).

15. Anna Solodovnikova article "Rosneft Meets Government Halfway" says the state oil giant has reached a compromise with the government in their disagreements over oil and gas exploration and development on the continental shelf; p 9 (500 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Alexandra Samarina and Ivan Rodin article headlined "President Compares Notes With Civil Society" says President Putin is expected to meet with his supporters ahead of his address to the Federal Assembly to discuss national policy strategy with them; pp 1, 3 (841 words).

2. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Authorities Speak About Popular Reforms" says President Putin's populist statements on the cancellation of some public utilities charges or the transport tax are likely to be forgotten like the talk about the populist luxury tax; pp 1, 4 (1,117 words).

3. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Calm Wise Man Instead of Macho" comments on the Kremlin's instructions to an unnamed regional governor which the paper has got hold of, which say that Putin is changing his image and is waging the anti-corruption campaign to save his falling rating; pp 1, 4 (728 words).

4. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Magnitsky Case Drowns Russian Offshore Business" says the EU has demanded that Cyprus revise its offshore policy especially for Russia in connection with the case of the late Hermitage Capital lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, in exchange for another loan. Moscow, meanwhile is ready to provide Cyprus with 5 billion euros without any demands; pp 1, 4 (856 words).

5. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Azarov Ignores WTO rules" says the Ukrainian government has been disbanded as the country plans to raise import taxes on a number of goods for other WTO member states; pp 1, 6 (986 words).

6. Svetlana Gavrilova article headlined "Madonna Is Far Away, Ivanova Is Close" says a court in St. Petersburg has backed a school teacher who complained about pressure from a local official during the last parliamentary election campaign. The official wanted the teacher to pay her around $1,000 in moral damages; pp 1-2 (532 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Percentage of Combat Readiness" says reports on poor combat readiness of the Russian Armed Forces are false as servicemen are regularly taking part in all kinds of exercises; p 2 (548 words).

8. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Chain of Exposures Cannot Be Stopped" contains comments from pundits on the results of a recent public opinion poll that show that people do not believe in the ongoing anti-corruption campaign and see it as a sign of decline in Russia's ruling elite; p 3 (827 words).

9. Andrei Serenko article headlined "Secret Services of 2 Countries Lose Sleeper Agent" says the Russian law-enforcement agencies have failed to find the kidnappers of a Tajik opposition activist from Volgograd; p 5 (597 words).

10. Darya Tsilyurik article headlined "Europe Turns Away From Israel" says a large number of EU member states and Russia have expressed their dissatisfaction with the Israeli decision to resume housing construction in East Jerusalem in response to the UN decision to grant the Palestinian Authority the status of an observer state; p 7 (590 words).

11. Yury Paniyev article headlined "Russia on G20 Command Bridge" looks at the challenges Russia will face as G20 chairman; p 7 (821 words).

Izvestia

1. Maria Vystavkina and German Petelin article headlined "Oboronservis Testimony Will Bring Smetanova to Freedom" says Yekaterina Smetanova, a suspect in the case of theft in the Oboronservis company, is to be released from a pre-trial detention centre as she wants to reach a deal with the investigation; pp 1, 3 (735 words).

2. Tatyana Shirmanova and Anastasia Kashevarova article headlined "Audit Chamber Finds 85Bln Rubles Worth of State Purchases to Be Inefficient" says just in one quarter in 2012 state purchases worth 85.1 billion rubles ($2.7 billion) were conducted with violations of the law on state procurement; pp 1, 4 (557 words).

3. Vladimir Barinov and Alisa Zotova article headlined "Interior Ministry Adapts Bulletproof Vest for Women" says the Russian Interior Ministry is looking for a company to manufacture bulletproof vests for their female personnel; pp 1, 4 (615 words).

4. Vladimir Gusev article headlined "Prokhorov Is Raising Money for Party" says billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov has set up a charity fund to support civil projects and political parties; pp 1-2 (533 words).

5. Alexander Yunashev article headlined "Turks Ask Putin to Defend Them From Syria" sums up President Putin's visit to Turkey and talks with the country's Prime Minister Recep Erdogan; p 2 (500 words).

6. Andrei Gridasov and Vladimir Barinov article "Interior Ministry Is Preparing Personnel Revolution" says Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has postponed an extended session of the ministry's board set for Dec. 4 that was planned to discuss personnel issues till early next year; p 2 (1,100 words).

7. Alexei Mikhailov and Dmitry Balburov article headlined "Defense Ministry to Receive Second Losharik" says the construction of another nuclear-powered deep-water station for the Russian navy has begun in Severomorsk; p 3 (471 words).

8. Igor Yavlyansky article headlined "Eastern Partnership Gets Marks" says the EU and the U.S.A. are trying to cut down Russia's cooperation with Armenia via different regional programs; p 5 (497 words).

9. Yury Matsarsky article headlined "Israel Enters Confrontation With UN Over Palestine" says the Israeli plans to build new housing in East Jerusalem will trigger a diplomatic scandal; p 5 (674 words).

10. Anna Akhmadiyeva article headlined "MTV Russia TV Channel Loses General Producer" says Lika Blank has left the TV channel that forms part of the ProfMedia holding company; p 8 (450 words).

Vedomosti

1. Dmitriy Kazmin and Tatyana Voronova article headlined "Affordable Dreams" reviews the affordable housing program adopted by the Russian government. The authorities pledge to build more housing and to reduce mortgage interest rates down to the inflation level plus 2.2 percent; pp 1, 3 (686 words).

2. Anton Trifonov and Tatyana Voronova article headlined "Troika Soars" says after the merger with the Russian Savings Bank, Sberbank, Troika Dialog investment company has started recovering from its financial problems. Its revenues may amount to 500m dollars in 2012; p 1 (343 words).

3. Anastasia Kornya article headlined "Work for History" says the Communist Party is disputing the results of the December 2011 State Duma election in court; pp 1-2 (651 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Not Precipice, But Slope" analyzes the danger the U.S. fiscal cliff poses for the global economy; pp 1, 4 (595 words).

5. Another editorial headlined "M10 Traffic Jam" reviews the reasons which caused huge traffic jams in Tver and Novgorod regions; p 4 (325 words).

6. Natalya Kostenko and Polina Khamshiashvili article headlined "Cut-Down Visit" sums up President Putin's talks in Turkey; p 2 (450 words).

7. Pundit Konstantin Simonov opinion piece headlined "Premier Without Institutions" speculates on reasons behind Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's efforts to raise his profile, which the author sees as one of the main events of the autumn political season; p 4 (450 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Irina Ivoylova article headlined "Feeling of Faith" comments on plans to make the basics of religious cultures an obligatory school subject in all grades; pp 1, 14 (812 words).

2. Mikhail Falaleyev article headlined "Invisible People Walking Near Us" says the Russian Interior Ministry plans to set up a network of centers coordinating searches for missing and kidnapped children; pp 1, 9 (1,257 words).

3. Kira Latukhina article headlined "Visit of Calm" sums up President Putin's visit to Turkey and talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan; p 2 (1,000 words).

4. Pundit Leonid Radzikhovsky article headlined "False Start" says the present Russian opposition have no chances of reforming the country as they do not offer any real development strategy; p 3 (820 words).

5. Yuliya Krivoshapko interview with the governor of the Khanty-Mansiisk autonomous district, Natalya Komarova, speaking on the development of the tourist industry in the region; p 4 (1,345 words).

6. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Russia Chooses Force" says the Foreign and Defense Policy Council has made proposals for shaping Russia's new image abroad; p 8 (654 words).

7. Olga Dmitriyeva article headlined "Hooray for Censorship" reviews the UK government's plans to impose censorship over the country's press; p 8 (634 words).

RBK Daily

1. Ivan Petrov article headlined "Prosecutor Should Know Everything" says a bill returning the Investigations Committee under the Prosecutor General's Office supervision has been submitted to the State Duma; p 2 (550 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Mikhail Zubov interview with opposition activist and former State Duma lawmaker Gennady Gudkov speaking on plans to stand for Moscow region governor; pp 1-2 (747 words).

2. Tatyana Zamakhina article headlined "Who Paralyses Russia" says the Russian authorities have accused lorry drivers and transport companies of creating traffic jams on the Moscow-St. Petersburg motorway; pp 1-2 (771 words).

3. Vladislav Inozemtsev article headlined "Russia Has Its Own Special Bout" looks into the reasons that made the U.S. authorities reject an extradition appeal for Russian arms dealer Viktor But convicted in the U.S.A.; p 3 (1,010 words).

4. Igor Karmazin article headlined "Non-Working Man" looks at the first six months in office of presidential envoy to the Urals Federal District Igor Kholmanskikh and concludes that he has lived up to President Putin's expectations but has let down his former colleagues, Urals workers; p 4 (1,250 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Unattributed piece headlined "How Ex-Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik Celebrated Her Birthday" contains archive photos from Skrynnik's birthday party and tries to estimate the cost of the watch she is wearing there; p 1, 10 (250 words).

2. Viktor Baranets article "Army Will Change From Yudashkin's Uniforms Into American Ones" interviews an unnamed Defense Ministry official about the new Russian military uniform and compares it to its US equivalent; p 7 (550 words).

3. Vladimir Vorsobin article headlined "Why Hasn't Bolotnaya Developed Into Revolution" marks the first anniversary since the start of latest opposition protests in Russia with an interview with three of the organizers of Bolotnaya Ploshchad rallies, Sergei Davidis, Denis Bilunov and Vadim Korovin; p 8 (1,200 words).

Trud

1. Sergei Frolov article headlined "Unhealthy Interest" expresses exasperation at continued speculation in foreign media about President Putin's state of health; p 2 (500 words).

2. Vasily Shchurov article headlined "Strengthening of Positions" sums up the results of the general shareholder meeting of the state oil company Rosneft and contains an interview with its head Igor Sechin; p 4 (800 words).

Dec. 4, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC 

Related articles:

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more