What the Papers Say, Jan. 24, 2013

Kommersant

1. Sergei Sobolev article headlined "Economic Development Ministry asked to re-read announcements" says that the Moscow arbitration court has begun to hear a lawsuit filed by the newspaper Argumenty Nedeli against the Economic Development Ministry and the newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta, seeking to annul the results of the ministry's tender for the right to publish bankruptcy announcements; pp 1, 10 (588 words).

2. Yevgeny Timoshinov and Yelizaveta Kuznetsova article headlined "Red Wings bumps into restrictions" says that the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) may shortly suspend the operations of the air carrier Red Wings over a number of incidents with its Tu-204 aircraft. The move may drive the air carrier into bankruptcy; pp 1, 7 (707 words).

3. Dmitry Butrin report headlined "Dmitry Medvedev to re-write three scenarios" looks at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Three negative scenarios for Russia's development were presented at the forum and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev promised to cope with them; pp 1-2 (1,353 words).

4. Musa Muradov et al. article headlined "Dagestan raises its voice against Moscow" says that speculations about the possible dismissal of Dagestani leader Magomedsalam Magomedov have sharply worsened the situation in the republic. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has admitted that there are certain reprimands in relation to Magomedov, but has not confirmed the information about President Vladimir Putin meeting Magomedov in Moscow; pp 1, 3 (645 words).

5. Unattributed article headlined "Which scenario will you bet on?" features experts' comments on scenarios of Russia's development; p 2 (391 words).

6. Natalya Bashlykova and Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "Mikhail Prokhorov picks up Yury Luzhkov's people" says that former minister from the Moscow government Mikhail Vyshegorodtsev has become head of the Moscow branch of businessman Mikhail Prokhorov's party Civil Platform. Experts think that other members of former Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov's team may join the party; p 3 (614 words).

7. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Regions saved from difficult choice" says that the State Duma has approved in the first reading a bill granting Russian regions the right to cancel direct governor elections; p 3 (553 words).

8. Tatyana Drogayeva et al. article headlined "Russian charter plane approached closely" says that the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) has launched a check on the information that a Nordwind Airlines aircraft performing a flight on the route Bali-Yekaterinburg, has been closely approached by what is presumed to be a military fighter, when flying over Kabul; p 4 (571 words).

9. Alexei Sokovnin article headlined "Yury Chaika does not accept police case" says that the Prosecutor-General's Office has no sufficient grounds for charging two policemen with protecting illegal gambling business in Moscow Region; p 4 (373 words).

10. Natalya Korchenkova article headlined "Rights that were taken away, to be returned to business ombudsman" looks at changes made for the State Duma's second reading of a bill regulating the performance of businessmen's rights ombudsmen in Russia; p 5 (442 words).

11. Irina Nagornykh article headlined "Politicians' words to be checked against meaning" says that the social and liberal ideological platforms of the One Russia party have clashed over the meaning of the word "liberal." The Civil Society Development Foundation will study whether the Russian political language needs updating; p 5 (457 words).

12. Grigory Tumanov article headlined "Dutch ambassador gets to Korolev" says that Russia and the Netherlands have come to an agreement on handing over the body of opposition activist Alexander Dolmatov, who committed suicide in the Rotterdam deportation center; p 5 (519 words).

13. Yelena Chernenko et al. article headlined "Russia looks for tougher words" says that Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has held a news conference to sum up the foreign policy results of 2012 and describe a new version of Russia's foreign policy concept yet to be approved by Putin; p 6 (659 words).

14. Andrei Kolesnikov report headlined "Vladimir Putin to help Lebanon with money and tents" gives an account of Putin's meeting with his Lebanese counterpart in Moscow; p 6 (640 words).

15. Roman Yanushevsky and Alexander Reutov article headlined "Israel corrects Binyamin Netanyahu's calculations" focuses on the results of the parliamentary election in Israel; p 6 (495 words).

16. Pavel Tarasenko and Mariya Yefimova article headlined "PACE shows humanitarian attitude" says that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has approved a report on the humanitarian aftermath of the Russian-Georgian war in 2008. The issue has triggered fierce debate; p 6 (595 words).

17. Ivan Safronov and Yelena Kiseleva article headlined "Italian things do not do for military" says that the Defense Ministry has decided to give up cooperation with the Italian company Defense Vehicles, which produces armored cars Iveco LMV M65; p 9 (585 words).

18. Anna Solodovnikova and Yevgeny Khvostik article headlined "LUKoil finds new shelf for itself" says that the oil company LUKoil may become the first Russian company operating in Lebanon; p 9 (614 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Igor Naumov article headlined "Distortions return to Russia" says that Putin has chaired a meeting of a commission for monitoring the achievement of target indicators of socio-economic development. Meanwhile, State Duma deputies have suggested punishing officials for not achieving the planned results when spending budget funds; pp 1, 4 (662 words).

2. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Nuclear war may begin in Kashmir" says that the Indian authorities have advised residents of Jammu and Kashmir to prepare for a nuclear war, but denied that the move was linked to recent India-Pakistan clashes; pp 1, 7 (628 words).

3. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Coordination council being torn to pieces" says that a democratic faction will be set up at the opposition Coordination Council. The founder is opposition activist Boris Nemtsov; pp 1, 3 (697 words).

4. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Kiev ready to give Moscow its gas transport system" says that Russia-Ukraine gas talks have resumed this week. Kiev believes that speeding up the creation of the Russian-Ukrainian gas transport consortium was discussed at the talks; pp 1, 6 (1,033 words).

5. Alexander Samarina article headlined "Medvedev's Davos illusions" says that while visiting Davos for the World Economic Forum, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has not ruled out that he may stand for president once again. Experts say that such kind of statements from Medvedev is an intention to show the West and the Russian elites that he is not a "lame duck"; pp 1-2 (945 words).

6. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Freedom for governors" says that the State Duma has approved in the first reading a bill granting regional authorities a right to decide whether to hold direct governor elections or appoint regional heads by local parliaments; pp 1, 3 (822 words).

7. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Oboronservis case comes to light in Maritime Territory" says that the military prosecutor's office of the Russian Pacific Fleet has opened 10 criminal cases on administrative offenses against Slavyanka, a subsidiary of the infamous company Oboronservis. Another subsidiary of the company, Voyentorg, is involved in a number of scandals over the poor feeding of servicemen; p 2 (490 words).

8. Editorial headlined "Politburo instead of vertical chain of command" comments on a report entitled "Vladimir Putin's big government and Politburo 2.0" made by political analysts Yevgeny Minchenko and Kirill Petrov. The authors describe the current system of governing Russia as "politburo", rather than a vertical chain of command, and believe that Putin continues to act as the highest arbiter in the ruling elite; p 2 (470 words).

9. Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "What new things investors learn about Russia in Davos" looks at scenarios of Russia's development presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos; p 2 (601 words).

10. Sergey Rogov article headlined "New start or new stagnation?" contemplates prospects for the development of Russia-USA relations during Barack Obama's second term in office; p 3 (401 words).

11. Konstantin Dolgov article headlined "American roulette is not children's game" looks at the life of adopted children in the USA given the U.S. adoption ban in place in Russia; p 5 (1,877 words).

12. Svetlana Sukhova interview with the chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), headlined "Difficult dialogue between Strasbourg and Moscow", who speaks about Russia-EU relations, the recent controversial laws passed in Russia and the future of the EU; p 7 (700 words).

13. Nikolai Surkov article headlined "Israelis yearn for center" focuses on the situation in Israel after the parliamentary election was held there and says that a coalition government may be formed there; p 7 (529 words).

14. Yury Paniyev article headlined "World experiences unprecedented transition period" looks at a news conference held by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to sum up the foreign policy results of 2012; p 7 (722 words).

Vedomosti

1. Dmitry Kazmin article headlined "Beware of closing cantons" says that the European Commission wants Switzerland to cancel cantonal tax privileges. The move will seriously hit Russian traders; pp 1, 4 (524 words).

2. Natalya Kostenko et al. article headlined "Duma divides land" says that the State Duma may not back a bill easing the rules of allocating plots of lands for construction, although the government has already approved it; pp 1, 3 (729 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Upon word of honor" says that depositors of non-state pension funds and management companies are absolutely unprotected from their possible low qualification; p 1 (474 words).

4. Another editorial headlined "Israel's choice" says that the parliamentary election held in Israel has changed the domestic political landscape, but will not change the country's foreign policy; p 6 (272 words).

5. Natalya Kostenko and Anton Filatov article headlined "Dagestan already elected" says that Ramazan Abdulatipov will most likely be appointed the head of Dagestan instead of Magomedsalam Magomedov, who reportedly may be dismissed ahead of time; p 2 (597 words).

6. Anastasia Kornya article headlined "Loyal ones not accepted as agents" says that the Justice Ministry has refused to register the human rights organization Shield and Sword as a foreign agent because the organization's aims do not contradict the state policy, although it is financed from abroad; p 3 (309 words).

8. Maria Eysmont article headlined "Civil society: What next after victory" says that mayor of the Moscow Region town Zhukovsky, Alexander Bobovnikov, has resigned by his own will officially, but in fact, his low approval rating among the locals was the reason for resignation; p 7 (442 words).

9. Margarita Lyutova and Tatyana Lysova article headlined "Government impedes" looks at the Russian session of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The Russian government was named the country's main problem; p 4 (641 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Zykova interview with Vladimir Ilichev, a department head at the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), headlined "Import under investigation", who speaks about the first protective investigations of the market of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan by the EEC; pp 1, 5 (1,213 words).

2. Yury Gavrilov article headlined "Landing troops do not drown and fly" says that Russia plans to launch mass production of BMD-4M modernized armoured assault vehicles; p 2 (491 words).

3. Vladimir Kuzmin report headlined "Russia storms Alps" looks at Medvedev's speech in Davos, dedicated to the Russian government's economic plans for the next decade; p 4 (660 words).

4. Vladimir Kuzmin article headlined "Not rivals" says that in an interview with Bloomberg TV, given in Davos, Medvedev has ruled out his rivaling Putin in the presidential election in 2018; p 4 (493 words).

5. Simon Shuster interview with Sergei Makhlay, the chairman of the board of directors at the Tolyattiazot ammonia-producing plant, headlined "Russia not to change because of Western stings", who speaks about the workers' protest against the Pussy Riot punk band in October 2012 and the political situation in Russia; p 4 (1,104 words).

6. Alexei Aronov article headlined "Closing America" says that Russia may ban beef and pork import from the USA and Canada as from 4 February. An embargo on beef, pork and poultry supplies from Germany will be introduced at the same time; p 10 (485 words).

7. Yekaterina Zabrodina brief interview with former head of the Russian State Library, Igor Filippov, headlined "Schneerson does not dream about it", who speaks about the Russian-US scandal over the co-called Schneerson collection (several thousands of Jewish books and manuscripts stored in Russia's archives), which Washington's district court ruled to be handed over to the U.S. Hassidic community; p 8 (688 words).

8. Igor Dunayevsky article headlined "He wants to stay very much" features comment by the lawyer of Russian opposition activist Alexander Dolmatov, who committed a suicide in the Netherlands, on the issue; p 8 (405 words).

9. Vladislav Vorobyev report "Lavrov speaks and proves" looks at Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's news conference in Moscow; p 8 (600 words).

Izvestia

1. Marina Kirpichevskaya article headlined "Government to back Russian-language media abroad" says that Putin has instructed the government to develop mechanisms to render aid to foreign Russian-language media outlets as part of the measures to improve Russia's image abroad; pp 1-2 (771 words).

2. Yelizaveta Mayetnaya article headlined "Adagamov's victim gives testimony" says that the former wife of blogger and opposition activist Rustem Adagamov, who has publicly accused him of sexual abuse of a minor, has handed over inculpatory evidence to Russian investigators. His victim has already been questioned by the Norwegian police; pp 1, 4 (930 words).

3. Yegor Sozayev-Guryev and Alena Sivkova article headlined "Document on Mikheyev lost on way to Duma" says that the State Duma has not received a document from the Prosecutor-General's Office to deprive A Just Russia MP Oleg Mikheyev of deputy immunity; pp 1, 3 (395 words).

4. Anton Lednev et al. article headlined "Governors to be appointed in seven regions" says that the leaders of seven North Caucasus republics have asked the presidential administration to give up introducing direct governor elections there because the move is fraught with political and social tension; pp 1, 4 (801 words).

5. German Petelin and Tatyana Tyutyunnik article headlined "One more Serdyukov's protege appears in Oboronservis case" says that law-enforcement agencies are looking into the activities of Irina Krivich, the head of the company Aviaremont, a subsidiary of the company Oboronservis, over a number of violations revealed in its state contracts; pp 1, 4 (728 words).

6. Alexei Mikhaylov and Vladimir Voloshin article headlined "Officers obliged to find out conscripts' sexual orientation" says that new rules drafted by the Defense Ministry's main personnel directorate oblige military assistant commanders for personnel to establish the sexual orientation of conscripts and contract soldiers; pp 1, 3 (475 words).

7. Ivan Cheberko report "Russia issues ultimatum to Kazakhstan worth 500m dollars" says that future cooperation between Russia and Kazakhstan in the space industry is doubtful; pp 1, 4 (850 words).

8. Anton Lednev article headlined "Money for ethnic tolerance to be built into budget" says that as from 2014, the federal budget will have a separate item on implementation of the state ethnic policy; p 2 (794 words).

9. Aleksandr Yunashev article headlined "Georgian Patriarch expresses hope for rapprochement with Russia" looks at Putin's meeting with Catholicos Patriarch Ilia II of All Georgia in Moscow; p 2 (371 words).

10. Vladimir Gusev and Svetlana Subbotina article headlined "One Russia sets up scientific centre for economic policy" says that the ruling One Russia party has decided to draft its own strategy of Russia's economic development and established a scientific center to this effect; p 3 (452 words).

11. German Petelin article headlined "Businessman Amelin does not live to see Oboronservis case" says that Sergey Amelin, director of the construction firm Stroy Impuls, which has cooperated with the Defense Ministry and the company Oboronservis, has died from a heart attack. The investigation looked into the firm's activities as part of the Oboronservis case; p 5 (761 words).

12. Mikhail Vignansky article headlined "Georgian deputy foreign minister resigns over 'Tbilisi's pro-Russian policy'" says that the Georgian deputy foreign minister has resigned in protest against the new Georgian authorities' policy, which is too pro-Moscow from his point of view; p 7 (492 words).

13. Igor Yavlyanskiy article headlined "North Korea finishes nuclear disarmament" says that North Korea has promised to build up its military potential, develop its nuclear program and give up talks on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in response to the new international sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council; p 7 (492 words).

14. Another article by Igor Yavlyansky headlined "Britain threatens to quit EU" quotes British Prime Minister David Cameron as saying that the UK will quit the EU if it is not reformed. The referendum on the issue may be held in 2015 if the ruling Conservative Party wins the election; p 7 (398 words).

15. Leonid Zlotin article headlined "Tyutchev in Davos" ironically comments on the scenarios of Russia's development presented at the Davos forum; p 9 (738 words).

16. Boris Mezhuyev article headlined "War creates enemy" comments on an article by former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov called "Russia-2012: Challenges and problems", published by the newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta on 16 January; p 9 (864 words).

17. Alexander Birman article headlined "Business Khmers" contemplates the behavior of Russian oligarchs abroad; p 9 (914 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Andrei Yashlavsky article headlined "'Everyone forgets me, no-one cares about me here'" focuses on Russian businessman Sergei Polonsky's imprisonment in Cambodia; pp 1, 3 (776 words).

2. Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "Authorities intrigue against themselves" criticizes the Russian authorities' decision-making; pp 1-2 (756 words).

3. Another article by Mikhail Rostovsky headlined "Medvedev wants not to defeat, but outlive Putin" ridicules Medvedev's statement that he does not rule out standing for president once again, but will not compete with Putin; pp 1-2 (399 words).

4. Anastasia Rodionova article headlined "'It is not accusation, but act of provocation!'" says that according to the Prosecutor-General's Office, two State Duma deputies, Communist Konstantin Shirshov and A Just Russia member Oleg Mikheyev, should be deprived of deputy immunity. Mikheyev believes that economic interests, rather than political ones, are behind the issue; p 2 (339 words).

5. Renat Abdullin article headlined "'Eternal reset is systemic failure'" outlines Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's statements on certain topics made at his annual news conference; p 2 (698 words).

6. Pavel Chuvilyayev article headlined "Militarism sets Kudrin and Rogozin at variance" focuses on Kudrin-Rogozin row in Twitter over Russia's inflated military budget; p 3 (400 words).

7. Mikhail Zubov article headlined "Elections with help of drawing machines" features comments by Federation Council senators on a bill granting Russian regions a right to appoint regional heads instead of electing them; p 3 (764 words).

8. Yevgeny Balabas article headlined "Children, do not go to Finland for walking" looks at yet another Russia-Finland scandal over removing parental rights from the Russian mother of children who went to Finland to visit their father; p 5 (452 words).

RBK Daily

1.Anastasia Novikova article headlined "Villa in favor of state" says that the State Duma deputies have introduced amendments to the bill banning the officials from having property abroad. They will most likely be allowed to have property in the CIS states; in case they have property in other countries, it will be confiscated, but no prosecution will follow; pp 1-2 (500 words).

2. Alexander Litoy article headlined "Uncertain feelings" comments on the latest developments around the bill on insulting believers' religious feelings; p 2 (400 words).

3. Tatyana Kosobokova article headlined "Medvedev not understood in Davos" says that experts taking part in the World Economic Forum in Davos have presented three negative scenarios for the development of Russian economy despite Prime Minister Medvedev's optimistic views; p 3 (400 words).

Novyye Izvestia

1. Nadezhda Krasilova article headlined "Feelings or rights?" says that a bill introducing criminal responsibility for insulting believers' feelings and desecrating religious shrines has split State Duma deputies and human rights activists; pp 1-2 (851 words).

2. Vera Moslakova article headlined "Making no headway, resembling procession" says that opposition State Duma deputies have complained about the application of the law about rallies to One Russia colleagues; p 2 (722 words).

3. Valentina Shakhova article headlined "Russia cancels gubernatorial elections yet again" says that the bill allowing regions to abandon the direct elections of governors has been supported by the majority of deputies in the first reading; p 2 (400 words).

4. Yevgenia Zubchenko interview with economist Sergey Drobyshevskiy on Russia's participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos; p 3 (450 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta (weekly)

1. Mikhail Barshchevskiy interview with Audit Chamber head Sergey Stepashin, headlined "And you to be counted", who speaks about high-profile criminal cases on corruption and fraud charges that have recently been opened in Russia thanks to the agency; p 8 (827 words).

2. Olga Dmitriyeva article headlined "People of Koran" says that Muslin patrols have started patrolling the streets of London; p 12 (500 words).

3. Irina Muravyeva interview headlined "Acid attack" with general director of Bolshoi Theatre Anatoliy Iksanov, who speaks about the recent attack on the theatre's ballet director, Sergey Filin; p 24 (1,000 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Alena Bezmenova article headlined "Entire Petersburg stands for hospital" comments on a protest rally against making an exclusive medical facility for senior judges out of a city hospital, which provides unique cancer treatment for sick kids; p 3 (400 words).

2. Alexander Grinev interview with the head of One Russia executive committee, Dmitry Travkin; p 5 (1,000 words).

3. Mikhail Ozerov article headlined "Britain could become Muslim country by end of century" says that British self-identification may disappear because of the growing number of Muslim immigrants; p 8 (1,500 words).

Krasnaya Zvezda

1. Andrei Gavrilenko article headlined "Strong fleet as guarantee of stability" comments on the inter-fleet exercise of the Black Sea, North and Baltic fleets; p 1 (250 words).

Jan. 24, 2013/BBC Monitoring/©BBC