Support The Moscow Times!

What the Papers Say, Jan. 9, 2013

Igor Tabakov

Kommersant

1. Yury Senatorov article headlined "Pirates of South China Sea" gives details of the arrest of Russian businessman Sergey Polonskiy and his friends in Cambodia. The local authorities have charged them with beating customs officials up and doing harm to border guards; pp 1, 4 (850 words).

2. Natalya Bashlykova et al. report headlined "Non-recognition movement" says that representatives of Russian NGOs believe that the new law banning people with dual U.S.-Russian citizenship from working in Russian NGOs, is unconstitutional and plan to appeal to the Constitutional Court; pp 1, 3 (750 words).

3. Alexei Dospekhov article headlined "NHL breaks the ice" says Russian sport fans will be disappointed by the agreement reached between the managers and the players of the National Hockey League, as many hockey stars currently playing in Russia will return to North America; pp 1, 12 (600 words).

4. Alexandra Bayazitova and Olga Shestopal article headlined "Banker in reserve" says Russian businessman Alexandr Lebedev is quitting the banking business completely and is selling the National Reserve Bank; pp 1, 8 (600 words).

5. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Next Duma to be mixed well" says the presidential administration and the State Duma will draft a bill to restore a mixed electoral system whereby deputies are elected partly through party lists and partly through single-seat constituencies; p 2 (650 words).

6. Dmitry Butrin article headlined "Order issued to finish painting fence" looks at financial aspects of the presidential address to the Federal Assembly and outlines the tasks the Russian government has to fulfil; p 2 (700 words).

7. Taisiya Bekbulatova article headlined "Law on adoption hard to amend" says the amendment to the law banning U.S. adoptions, which was designed to allow disabled children to find parents abroad, is unlikely to be passed, as the Russian authorities do not want to change their stance on the issue; p 3 (600 words).

8. Natalya Korchenkova article headlined "Senators do not need help of volunteers" says Russian volunteers claim that the bill regulating their work has been drafted without their participation and they do not need it at all; p 3 (600 words).

9. Ivan Safronov report "Space to spend R2,000bn" says that the state program of Russia's space activities until 2020 has been approved; p 3 (500 words).

10. Sergei Mashkin article headlined "Tu-204 lacks lubricant" says that the Tu-204 aircraft of Red Wings Airlines must have crashed at Moscow's Vnukovo airport due to failure of its reversing gear; p 5 (800 words).

11. Grigory Tumanov and Anna Pushkarskaya article headlined "Parks of protests and rest" says that the law allocating special places for political rallies to be held without authorization of the Moscow city administration, has come into effect. The opposition agrees to gather at the allocated spots; however, they do not plan to abandon other forms of protest; p 5 (500 words).

12. Sergei Strokan article headlined "U.S. defense being turned towards Iran" says U.S. President Barack Obama has offered Chuck Hagel the post of the U.S. secretary of defense and John Brennan the post of the CIA director. The nominations are likely to trigger a scandal in the Senate as Brennan will have to explain his attitude to torture of arrested suspects, while Hagel is being accused of anti-Semitism and too lenient stance on Iran; p 6 (600 words).

13. Alexander Reutov article headlined "Bashar al-Asad performs in opera with peace plan" says the Syrian opposition and the West have rejected the peace plan proposed by Syrian President Bashar al-Asad during his speech at an opera house; p 6 (600 words).

14. Maxim Yusin article headlined "Ministerial posts distributed fraternally " says that representatives of the Muslim Brotherhood movement have received key posts in the Egyptian government; p 6 (600 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Nikita Kartsev article headlined "Gerard-liberator" comments on French actor Gerard Depardieu receiving Russian citizenship; pp 1-2 (600 words).

2. Olga Rakhmidzhanova article headlined "Polonsky's prison overcrowded three times" reports on conditions in the jail in Cambodia where Russian businessman Sergey Polonsky is kept; pp 1-2 (600 words).

3. Darya Andreyeva interview headlined "Why Yashin and Sobchak broke up" with a friend of Ilya Yashin, opposition activist, and Ksenia Sobchak, socialite TV presenter turned opposition figure, who speaks about their relationship; pp 1, 3 (500 words).

4. Marina Ozerova article headlined "Putin's little known privilege" criticizes the Russian authorities' migration policy because many Russian compatriots willing to get Russian citizenship cannot do it as easily as Gerard Depardieu; p 2 (400 words).

5. Melor Sturua and Andrei Yashlavskiy article headlined "Chief found for Pentagon" gives details of the career of Chuck Hagel nominated for the post of the U.S. secretary of defense and outlines political challenges he is facing; p 3 (500 words).

6. Vladislav Inozemtsev article headlined "Russia does not need millions of migrants" calls on the Russian authorities to develop a well-thought-out migration policy as millions of unskilled workers will not help develop the country's economy; p 3 (1,000 words).

7. Ilya Baranikas interview headlined "If someone adopts children somewhere" with the owner of an adoption agency in the U.S., who speaks about her work; p 3 (650 words).

8. Marina Ozerova report "From markets to Hyde Parks" looks at the laws that came into effect on 1 January 2013; p 4 (1,200 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Konstantin Poleskov et al. report headlined "Total of 89,626 signatures for dissolution of State Duma of sixth convocation" says the paper is gathering signatures calling for the dissolution of the Russian parliament. Some activists, who have left their signatures on the paper's website, explain their stance; pp 1-5 (1,900 words)

2. Vladimir Pastukhov report "Betrayed revolution" looks at the privatization carried out in Russia in the 1990s and at how Russia may return to liberal policy; pp 7-9 (2,000 words).

3. Alexander Panov report "'Black Swan' heading for extinction" looks at the Global Trends 2030 report of the U.S. National Intelligence Council; p 9 (800 words).

4. Alexander Mineyev article headlined "Great French Depardieuzation" says the decision of French actor Gerard Depardieu to become a Russian citizen suits the Kremlin's policy of improving Russia's image abroad; pp 12-13 (800 words).

5. Yuliya Latynina article addressing French actress Brigitte Bardot, who said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had done more for wildlife protection than any of his French counterparts. The author says that Putin's interest in wildlife is just part of his PR campaign; pp 12-13 (700 words).

RBK Daily

1. Yuliya Yakovleva report "Blocs against Medvedev" says that the Kremlin has introduced the norm into the new law on the State Duma election, which former President Dmitry Medvedev opposed; p 1 ( 600 words).

2. Alexander Litoy report "Oriented to Navalnyy" says that Putin has signed amendments to the law on NGOs envisaging state support of public figures who fight against corruption and ethnic enmity. Experts say that the authorities are building a system of support of "loyal rights activists"; p 2 (700 words).

3. Yevgeny Basmanov report "USA looks behind cliff" says that the Republicans and the Democrats have managed to conclude a deal averting the USA going over the "fiscal cliff"; p 3 (650 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Alexei Ovchinnikov report "'All I need to be happy is house with pond in Mordovia"' looks at French actor Gerard Depardieu, who has received the Russian citizenship and visited Mordovia; pp 1, 8-9 (700 words).

2. Yelena Chinkova interview with Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All-Russia, who speaks about problems of orphans in Russia, among other things; p 2 (1,300 words).

Tvoy Den

1. Lana Kamilina report "Fugitive" looks at Gerard Depardieu, who has received the Russian citizenship and visited Mordovia. He is facing a prison term for failing to attend a court session in Paris, article adds; pp 1; 6-7 (700 words).

2. Nadezhda Gladchenko report "Robinson and Fridays" looks at Russian businessman Roman Abramovich, who has spent a holiday in St Barts in the company of TV presenter Vladimir Pozner; p 2 (300 words).

Jan. 9, 2013/BBC Monitoring/©BBC 

… 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