What the Papers Say, Dec. 10, 2012

Kommersant

1. Maxim Ivanov et al. report headlined "Comrade Without Fear and Reproach" says the Communists have decided not to seek the cancellation of the State Duma results in court. The move is attributed to their decision not to argue with the authorities; pp 1-2 (1,072 words).

2. Darya Nikolayeva and Dmitry Butrin article headlined "Deputy Isayev Comes to Employment Market" says United Russia lawmaker Andrei Isayev has prepared an amendment to the labor law in response to the Magnitskiy Act, that would make life of U.S. and translational companies in Russia more difficult. Only national recruitment agencies will be able to operate in Russia; pp 1, 7 (839 words).

3. Yevgeny Timoshinov and Anatoly Dzhumailo article headlined "Mechel Takes Vanino" says Mechel buys a 73 percent stake in the Vanino port for 15.5 billion rubles (around $500 million) to export coal via the port; pp 1, 11 (945 words).

4. Sergei Sobolev article headlined "Mayoral Office to Carry Out Revision of Surfaces" says the Moscow city authorities are adopting new regulations for outdoor ads. Around 7,000 billboards are to be removed in the city after the law comes into effect; pp 1, 9 (638 words).

5. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Sergei Shoigu to Return Officers and Health Care to Armed Forces" says new defense Minister Sergei Shoigu is correcting the mistakes made by his predecessor. The most qualified officers fired by Serdyukov will be able to return to the armed forces; p 2 (528 words).

6. Taisia Bekbulatova article headlined "Dmitry Medvedev Stays on Air Too Long" says Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's interview with five TV channels has resulted in a scandal as Russia Today TV channel made public the recording of the unofficial part of the interview where Medvedev called the Investigation Committee investigators jerks; p 2 (643 words).

7. Irina Nagornykh article headlined "One in 550 Faces" says today President Putin is to hold a meeting with some 500 public figures who acted as his authorized representatives in the March presidential election. The meetings are to become regular; p 2 (624 words).

8. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "South at the End of Tunnel" reports on President Putin's inspection of the Olympic facilities being built in Sochi; p 6 (2,229 words).

9. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Venezuelan President Ready for Successor" says Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has acknowledged the possibility of his resignation, as doctors have found another cancer tumor and he is to undergo a medical operation; p 8 (580 words).

10. Maxim Yusin article headlined "Egyptian President Sacrifices Unneeded Powers for Main Ones" says the Egyptian president has cancelled his controversial decrees giving himself unlimited powers. The decree, however, will not be required if the new constitution is passed; p 8 (493 words).

11. Sergei Strokan article headlined "Fast Hands Operation" says that Silvio Berlusconi facing the risk of imprisonment is going to take part in the next parliamentary election together with his party; 8 (596 words).

12. Article by Dmitry Polikanov, vice-president of PIR-center, in opinion column headlined "Price of Issue" says the return of Silvio Berlusconi to the Italian prime minister's post will become a farce for Italian politics; p 8 (371 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Chop Made Out of Magnitsky Act" says U.S. meat manufacturers have criticized Russia over restrictions on U.S. pork and beef imports. They believe the move to be a response to the Magnitsky Act and claim, it contradicts the WTO rules; pp 1, 4 (1,040 words).

2. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Kiev and Moscow May Take Single Stance on Transdnestr Republic" says Kiev is likely to support the Russian peacekeepers in Transdnestr, as the U.S.A. is calling for a change in the peacekeeping mission format in the region; pp 1-2 (921 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Opposition in Russian Concord" says the Communists have set up the Russky Lad (Russian Concord) movement. The opposition organization was set up in response to the pro-Kremlin's All Russia People's Front; pp 1, 3 (705 words).

4. Anastasia Bashkatova and Igor Naumov article headlined "Business Adapts to Corruption" says the Russian Economic Development Ministry has claimed that the information on corruption among the Russian authorities is exaggerated. Meanwhile, a poll among Russian businessmen shows that most of them treat corruption as an inevitable phenomenon; pp 1, 4 (977 words).

5. Anton Khodosevich article headlined "New Belarussian Slaves" says Belarussian workers will not be able to quit jobs without the consent of their employer; pp 1, 6 (704 words).

6. Article by Italian journalist Giovanni Bensi headlined "Monti Leaves, Berlusconi Returns" says early parliamentary elections are to be held in Italy in March 2013, as Prime Minister Mario Monti wants to resign; pp 1, 6 (597 words).

7. Editorial headlined "When It Explodes, It Happens at Once..." analyzes the Russian authorities' reaction to the recent traffic problems caused by a snowfall; p 2 (555 words).

8. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Vladimir Putin's 2nd Front" comments on today's meeting of President Putin with public figures who acted as his authorized representatives in the March presidential election; p 3 (826 words).

9. Nikolai Surkov article headlined "Morsi Pulls His Opponent's Leg" says the Egyptian opposition refused to conduct a dialogue with the president despite the fact that he cancelled his controversial decree; p 6 (465 words).

10. Artur Blinov article headlined "Congress Makes Barack Obama's Life More Complicated" says Republicans prevent U.S. President Obama from resolving long-term tasks; p 9 (1,277 words).

11.Editorial headlined "Business Adapts to Corruption" says Russian officials say rumors about the high level of corruption in Russia have been greatly exaggerated; p 4 (700 words).

Vedomosti

1. Editorial headlined "To Adapt Constitution" comments on the discussions over the possibility of amending the Russian Constitution; pp 1, 4 (497 words).

2. Another editorial headlined "Where Streams Flow" says Gazprom used to resolve Russia's geopolitical tasks is losing its positions on the European market. Its new project South Stream is called a suicidal one; p 4 (291 words).

3. Mikhail Overchenko article headlined "Person of Week: Bill Browder" says Hermitage Capital fund manager Bill Browder has succeeded in persuading U.S. authorities to pass the Magnitsky Act; p 4 (322 words).

4. Natalya Kostenko and Polina Khimiashvili article headlined "How Russia Responds to Act" says Russia will deny entry to U.S. citizens believed to be involved in the violation of Russians' rights, they are parents adopting children in Russia and later abusing them; pp 1 — 2 (824 words).

5. Bela Lyauv and Natalya Kostenko interview with acting Governor of the Moscow region Andrei Vorobyov speaking on the planned development of the region and relations with the Moscow city authorities; p 5 (3,575 words).

6. Margarita Lyutova article headlined "Climate Isolation" says Russia will withdraw from Kyoto treaty after 2012; p 3 (700 words).

Izvestia

1. Maxim Sokolov article headlined "Honorary Right" comments Prime Minister Medvedev's interview with five TV channels in which he did not say anything new, but claimed to have special privileges; pp 1 — 2 (667 words).

2. Vladimir Barinov article headlined "Interior Ministry Sets Up Base of Corrupt People" says the Russian police set up a database of officials, law enforcement agencies and businessmen involved in corruption; pp 1, 4 (748 words).

3. Mikhail Rubin et al. report headlined "Prime Minister and Investigators Argue Over Search" says Prime Minister Medvedev's comment on a search at the flat of film director Pavel Kostomarov has resulted in a scandal; pp 1 — 2 (669 words).

4. Yekaterina Kvon article headlined "Psychologists Do Not Like Theory of Politkovskaya Death" says linguists studying the recording of the testimony of the main suspects in the murder case of journalist Anna Politkovskaya have come to the conclusion that Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov spoke on the involvement of Sergei Khadzhikurbanov in the murder only based on his own thoughts; pp 1 -2 (1,017 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Anna Zakatnova article headlined "Divorce Without Freedom" says the Communists and the Yabloko party will not take part in the Dec. 15 opposition march in Moscow; p 3 (400 words).

2. Article by Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin headlined "Do Not Evade" speaks on the fight against tax crimes in Russia; p 5 (900 words).

3. Olga Dmitriyeva article headlined "Farce and Tragedy" says the British are shocked by the news on the death of the nurse who put through a hoax call that gathered details of the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge's condition; p 9.

4. Vladislav Vorobyov article headlined "Clinton Wants to Ruin U.S.S.R." comments on a statement by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in which she said that the suppression of revolutionary moods in the former Soviet states may result in turning them into Soviet again; p 9 (400 words).

5. Alexander Gasyuk article headlined "List for List" says Russia is considering retaliatory measures in response to the U.S. Magnitsky Act; p 9 (550 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Marina Ozerova article headlined "State Duma Makes Retaliation Strike" says the State Duma is currently working on a response to the US Magnitsky Act imposing sanctions on a group of Russian officials; pp 1 — 2 (733 words).

2. Alexander Minkin article headlined "We Will Be Held to Account for Jerks" criticizes Prime Minister Medvedev for calling investigators jerks in a conversation with TV journalists after his interview was recorded; pp 1 — 2 (866 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Speech of Lawyer Medvedev" says Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev acted as a defender of Putin's course in his recent interview with five TV channels; p 12 (496 words).

2. Irek Murtazin article headlined "Killer Witness" gives details of the theft in the Rosagrolizing holding currently investigated by the law enforcement agencies; pp 2 — 3 (2,444 words).

3. Andrei Sukhotin article headlined "Have You Not Tried Asking Serdyukov?" says some of the corruption deals with the Defense Ministry's property were made with the consent of former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov; pp 4 — 5 (2,638 words).

4.Semen Novoprudsky article headlined "Mistake of (P)resident" says Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's attempt to make former officials to blame for the pension reform failure sounds unconvincing; p 13 (751 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Marina Ozerova article headlined "State Duma Makes Retaliation Strike" says the State Duma is currently working on a response to the U.S. Magnitsky Act imposing sanctions on a group of Russian officials; pp 1 — 2 (733 words).

2. Alexander Minkin article headlined "We Will Be Held to Account for Jerks" criticizes Prime Minister Medvedev for calling investigators jerks in a conversation with TV journalists after his interview was recorded; pp 1 — 2 (866 words).

RBK Daily

1. Tatyana Kosobokova article headlined "Staff Reformed" says head of the Russian government staff Vladislav Surkov has received two new deputies to work with the State Duma and deal with social issues; pp 1 — 2 (600 words).

2. Article by opposition activist Yevgenia Chirikova headlined "Year of Looking for Sense" analyzes the Russian protest movement and calls for changes in people's attitude towards the authorities and their country; p 6 (800 words).

3. Inga Vorobyeva article headlined "Peskov: 'Putin Not Ideal'" comments on a speech made by President Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov during a meeting with the president's authorized representatives, in which he outlined success and failures of presidential policy; p 2 (350 words).

4. Article by deputy speaker of the State Duma, United Russia representative Sergei Zheleznyak headlined "Layered Cake of Protest" says that the protest movement has deteriorated, while the State Duma has become a real reflection of "Russia's dynamically developing political system"; p 6 (800 words).

5. Alexei Kuzmenko article headlined "Russian Dist for Overseas Pork" says that Russia's toughening control over imported pork meat containing certain additives has been regarded as a response to Magnitsky list; p 10 (600 words).

Moskovskiye Novosti

1. Irina Granik interview with Tamara Morschakova, a member of the presidential human rights council, on the Russian Constitution, its drawbacks and ways of improving them; p B3 (700 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Andrei Baranov article headlined "U.S.A.-Russia: Reload of Cold War?" comments on Russian-U.S. bilateral relations after the passing of Magnitsky list; pp 1, 1, 200 words).

Dec. 10, 2012/BBC Monitoring/©BBC

Related articles:

• What the Papers Say, Dec. 7, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Dec. 6, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Dec. 5, 2012