What the Papers Say, Mar. 13, 2013

Kommersant

1. Andrey Kolesnikov article headlined "To bank" provides an inside look into the nomination of presidential aide Elvira Nabiullina as the Central Bank head; p 1 (490 words).

2. Svetlana Dementyeva et al. report headlined "Elvira Nabiullina in loop again" says that by nominating Elvira Nabiullina as the Central Bank head, President Vladimir Putin has managed to surprise practically everyone. The report also looks at expectations related to Nabiullina's policy; pp 1, 3 (968 words).

3. Pavel Belavin article headlined "Japan rocking copyright" says that the Japanese authorities have asked the Russian government to revise the system of collecting royalties from importers of consumer electronics; pp 1, 12 (475 words).

4. Margarita Fedorova and Khalil Aminov article headlined "Mikhail Gutseriyev brought to Krasnaya Polyana" says the Bilalov family, whom Putin has criticized for the disruption of construction terms for ski-jumps in Sochi, may sell their stake in the Krasnaya Polyana company worth some 395m dollars to businessman Mikhail Gutseriyev; pp 1, 9 (661 words).

5. Sergey Mashkin article headlined "Anatoly Serdyukov covers himself with air defense" says that former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov for the first time has given a lengthy testimony at the Investigations Committee on the high-profile Oboronservis case; pp 1, 4 (619 words).

6. Musa Muradov article headlined "Law of district scale" looks at a territorial dispute escalating between Chechnya and Ingushetia; p 2 (510 words).

7. Irina Nagornykh et al. report headlined "Participants in Vladimir Yakunin's seminar hold Duma election recount" says that experts working in line with the seminar headed by the president of Russian Railways have published a report, which said that the Communist Party of the Russian Federation had been the true winner of the parliamentary election in 2011. The conclusions were made right after the election, but they were made public only now, when suggestions to dissolve the State Duma have emerged; p 2 (691 words).

8. Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "Power or oversees" says that One Russia may draft a bill to ban candidates running for MPs and governors from having accounts in foreign banks; p 2 (553 words).

9. Sofya Samokhina and Maksim Ivanov article headlined "Head of state to have more paperwork" says the State Duma's committee has prepared a bill on governor elections to increase the presidential filter; p 2 (663 words).

10. Dmitriy Butrin article headlined "Rules of game" comments on reasons behind Putin's decision to nominate Elvira Nabiullina as the Central Bank head; p 3 (650 words).

11. Aleksey Sokovnin article headlined "Dmitriy Pavlyuchenkov speaks about his elimination" says that former law enforcer Dmitriy Pavlyuchenkov, sentenced to 11 years in prison for his involvement in the murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya, has asked the state to ensure his security as some criminals he exposed are planning to eliminate him; p 4 (873 words).

12. Grigoriy Tumanov article headlined "Human rights council writes in for Navalnyy" says that some 20 members of the presidential human rights council have signed a resolution in support of opposition activist Aleksey Navalnyy dismissing all criminal cases against him as politically motivated; p 5 (534 words).

13. Olga Golovanova interview with British Foreign Secretary William Hague headlined "'We have several key differences" where he speaks about the upcoming "2+2" meeting of Russian and British foreign and defense ministers and about differences that hamper the development of Russian-British relations; p 8 (730 words).

14. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "Problems of growth to be reported to China" says that the European Parliament is to approve the report on the relations between the EU and China today; p 8 (407 words).

15. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "China answers USA in hacked English" says that the USA has for the first time directly accused China of cyber attacks which incurred damage of at least 300bn dollars to US companies; p 8 (453 words).

16. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Russia fails to get easier [visa regime]" says that Moscow has again failed to get the EU to ease visa regime with Russia as Brussels links the move with reducing corruption and observing human rights in Russia; p 8 (762 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Aleksandra Samarina article headlined "Between Zheglov and Sharapov" says that the government has approved the state programme aimed at ensuring public order and fighting against crime, which is supposed to make Russians protected against criminals by 2020. Experts doubt that the programme worth some R9.5bn will be efficient; pp 1, 3 (800 words).

2. Marina Gaykovich article headlined "Tsiskaridze goes to bat for Dmitrichenko" says that the staff of the Bolshoi Theatre have published an open letter in support of their colleague, soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko, who is believed to have masterminded an acid attack on the ballet director Sergey Filin; pp 1, 2 (550 words).

3. Grigoriy Mikhaylov article headlined "Kyrgyz people announce another attack on authorities" says that protest sentiments are growing in Kyrgyzstan; experts, however, differ whether the protests will result in a coup; pp 1, 7 (550 words).

4. Igor Naumov article headlined "Motor insurers' appetites grow" says that insurance companies dealing with obligatory car insurance policies demand that the cost of policies should grow along with the compensatory payments; pp 1, 4 (700 words).

5. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Small-party filter for governors" looks at a new draft of the bill enabling regions to give up direct governor elections; pp 1, 3 (300 words).

6. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Sergey Shoygu's elite research groups" says that Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu has backed the idea of rectors' community to make students serve three months a year; pp 1, 3 (700 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Moscow's silence brings dividends" says that Moscow's giving up direct influence on political processes in former Soviet republics has yielded results and looks at the collapse of the ruling alliance in Moldova which has benefited Russia a lot; p 2 (500 words).

8. Petr Mordasov article headlined "From boots to orbit" says that the number of anti-corruption cases has been growing and features most outrageous ones; p 4 (900 words).

9. Georgiy Mirskiy article headlined "Escalating crisis" looks at the situation in the Middle East, reasons behind the Arab Spring and the developments in Syria; p 5 (2,500 words).

10. Yuriy Roks article headlined "Tbilisi's compass does not show north" says that the chairman of the Georgian parliament is on a visit in the USA with a complicated task to convince Washington that Tbilisi's pro-Western vector has not changed; p 7 (950 words).

11. Anton Khodasevich article headlined "Lukashenka needs 2bn dollars" looks ahead at the meeting of Russian and Belarusian presidents scheduled for the end of the week; p 7 (500 words).

12. Yuriy Paniyev article headlined "Europe eases barrier a bit" looks ahead at the talks between the EU delegation with Russian Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev to discuss visa-free travel scheduled for the next week and outlines the differences hampering the negotiations; p 8 (900 words).

13. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Japan to mark reinstatement of its sovereignty" says that Tokyo is going to mark the anniversary of the end of the US occupation for the first time ever, which means that it will defend its interests in territorial disputes in tougher ways and increase its army potential; p 8 (500 words).

14. Artur Blinov article headlined "USA offers cyber peace to China" says that Washington has for the first time officially accused Beijing of cyber attacks on US establishments and companies and suggested that rules aimed at preventing cyber wars be drafted jointly; p 8 (550 words).

Vedomosti

1. Vasiliy Kudinov article headlined "Putin chooses woman" says that aide to the Russian president and former Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina has been nominated for the post of chairman of the Central Bank of Russia and features comments on the nomination; pp 1, 4 (656 words).

2. Editorial headlined "Work for Nabiullina" looks at the challenges Elvira Nabiullina as new head of the Central Bank is bound to face; pp 1, 6 (444 words).

3. Mariya Zheleznova article headlined "Council about Navalnyy" says that a group of members of the presidential council on human rights has drafted a resolution stating that theft and fraud charges against opposition activist Aleksey Navalnyy are politically motivated; pp 1, 3 (440 words).

4. Unattributed article headlined "Visa-free regime for officials" looks at the concessions Moscow is ready to make in order to get an agreement on visa-free travel signed; p 3 (425 words).

5. Interview with European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro Olli Rehn headlined "'Balance of risks moves from Europe to other parts of world'" where he speaks about the efficiency of G20, differences with Russia and why tougher regulations will not eliminate business initiative in Europe; p 8 (1,962 words).

6. Unattributed article headlined "Sberbank gets Krasnaya Polyana" says that Mikhail Gutseriyev has bought some 41 per cent of Krasnaya Polyana from Akhmed Bilalov in the interests of Sberbank; pp 1, 10 (746 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Kira Latukhina article headlined "Republics visiting" looks at Putin's meetings with heads of Armenia and Abkhazia; p 2 (300 words).

2. Fedor Lukyanov article headlined "Anything" looks back at the US military campaign in Iraq; p 8 (800 words).

3. Mikhail Gusman interview with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas ahead of his visit to Moscow headlined "We have no secrets from Russia"; p 11 (1,600 words).

4. Vladimir Snegirev article headlined "Personality cult" looks at the situation in Venezuela; p 11 (1,300 words).

Izvestia

1. Svetlana Subbotina interview headlined "'Choosing between Regional Development Ministry and Far East'" with One Russia deputy Vladimir Pekhtin, who has to give up his seat in the State Duma as information about his property in Miami is spreading. Pekhtin speaks about his achievements in the State Duma and his plans for the future; pp 1, 4 (630 words).

2. Dmitriy Yevstifeyev article headlined "Seven criminal charges brought for Pavel Astakhov" says the leader of the anti-paedophile organization Head Hunters, Sergey Zhuk, has asked the prosecutor's office to check the activities of children's ombudsman Pavel Astakhov and to initiate several criminal cases against him; p 3 (604 words).

3. Boris Mezhuyev article headlined "Failure of advocates of social state justified and legal" looks at the consequences of the nomination of presidential aide Elvira Nabiullina as the head of the Central Bank; p 9 (832 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Newspaper publishes dancer Nikolay Tsiskaridze's open letter in support of Bolshoi Theatre soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko; p 1 (611 words).

2. Natalya Rozhkova article headlined "Governors to be appointed by minority of votes: New amendments to law" looks at a bill enabling regions to give up direct governor elections; p 2 (734 words).

3. Igor Karamzin article featuring a brief interview with opposition activist Dmitriy Gudkov headlined "'Russian officials buy up half of Miami'" in which Gudkov speaks about his trip to the USA during which he met US senators and visited three US families with adopted children from Russia; p 2 (529 words).

4. Ignat Kalinin article headlined "Lugovoy: Litvinenko is no Trotsky" gives account of a news conference given by Russian MP Andrey Lugovoy; p 3 (637 words).

5. Mikhail Delyagin article headlined "Matrix closes Russian Federation project" says that the ruling class is in a dead-end in Russia; p 3 (1,148 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Yelena Shafran report "'Allah has given this' and it was returned to Allah" says that a mosque is being built in a village in Israel with the money of the Republic of Chechnya; pp 1-2 (1,100 words).

2. Andrey Kolesnikov report "New special signal: Twittering of Investigations Committee" looks at the statements made by Russian Investigations Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin in his Twitter, which run counter to the presumed innocent principle; p 3 (750 words).

3. Natalya Zotova report "Case for half an hour" looks at the way investigators have obtained a confession from Ilya Gushchin charged in the case of mass riots on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow; p 5 (500 words).

4. Vladimir Khitrov report "Average One Russia member has capital of R38,196,375" looks at the scandal over the luxury flat of head of the State Duma anti-corruption committee Irina Yarovaya. The article also quotes some statements by Yarovaya when she was a member of the Yabloko party; p 5 (700 words).

5. Olga Romanova report "Heroic deeds every day" looks at problems that prisoners face when they apply for release on parole; p 16 (550 words).

RBK Daily

1. Natalya Starostina report "Chief of state banks" says that a new department has appeared in the Bank of Russia to oversee systemically important credit organizations. Yuriy Chekashkin has become head of the department; p 1 (600 words).

2. Aleksandr Litoy report "Communist revenge" says that according to a group of experts led by head of Russian Railways Vladimir Yakunin, the Communist Party could have had more votes than One Russia in the election to the State Duma in December 2011; p 2 (500 words).

3. Yekaterina Belkina et al. report "Central Bank is headed" says that President Vladimir Putin has chosen a future chairperson of the Central Bank. Aide to the president and Former Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina's candidacy will be proposed to the State Duma for approval; p 3 (450 words).

4. Article by head of the Town Without Narcotics foundation, Yevgeniy Royzman, headlined "Four cases of independent journalists" looks at persecution of Aksana Panova, editor in chief of the Ura.ru news agency; p 7 (1,400 words).

5. Sergey Khayruk report "Performing encore" says that as part of Secondary Public Offering, Yandex intends to sell 7.4 per cent of shares; p 11 (650 words).

Novyye Izvestia

1. Konstantin Nikolayev report "Beautiful future" says that despite optimism of Russian officials, visa-free travel between Russia and the EU will not be introduced in the near future; pp 1-2 (1,300 words).

2. Yelena Ryzhova interview with Bolshoi Theatre ballet teacher Mikhail Lavrovskiy who says that rich and influential people may be behind the attack on the theatre's ballet director Sergey Filin. The interview is followed by a brief report that says that the artists of the theatre are preparing an open letter to support soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko accused of the attack; pp 1, 4 (700 words).

3. Nadezhda Krasilova interview with A Just Russia MP Dmitriy Gudkov who explains why his recent trip to the USA has provoked a scandal and disapproval of the Russian authorities; pp 1-2 (950 words).

4. Vera Moslakova report "In observation zone" looks at the annual report prepared by Reporters Without Borders dedicated to the problem of censorship in the Internet; p 2 (700 words).

Krasnaya Zvezda

1. Viktor Ruchkin report "West hurries to militants' rescue" says that according to foreign press, the USA and its allies are directly intervening in the Syrian crisis aiming to topple Bashar al-Asad; p 3 (1,300 words).

2. Marina Yevdotyeva report "To leave to stay" looks at US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel's visit to Afghanistan; p 3 (900 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Yevgeniy Belyakov report "Elvira Nabiullina to become new head of Central Bank" says that Putin has proposed the candidacy of his aide Elvira Nabiullina to the post of Central Bank head; p 2 (400 words).

Trud

1. Vitaliy Golovachev report "Missiles explode closer in space" looks at the collision of the Russian satellite Blits with a fragment of a Chinese satellite; p 3 (1,200 words).

Tvoy Den

1. Anton Stepanov report "Border locked" says that the One Russia faction in the State Duma has suggested that parliament members should be banned from travelling abroad without permission of the State Duma speaker; p 2 (400 words).


Mar. 13, 2013/BBC Monitoring/©BBC