What the Papers Say, Mar. 19, 2013

Kommersant

1. Maksim Ivanov article headlined "Foreign accounts to be covered by all means" says that Russian officials will be not only fined, but also can be prosecuted for violating the would-be law banning them from having property and bank accounts abroad; pp 1, 3 (626 words).

2. Dmitriy Butrin article headlined "Blackening Tuesday" says that the expected one-off levy on bank deposits in Cyprus is, apparently, a consequence of the failed talks between Russia, the EU and Cyprus in 2012; pp 1, 6 (1,032 words).

3. Ivan Safronov and Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Tajikistan brings Russian base under its army" says that Tajikistan has demanded that Russia should guarantee investment in its hydroelectric power sector and contribution to modernization of its army as one of the terms of deployment of the Russian military base there; pp 1, 7 (607 words).

4. Vitaly Gaydayev article headlined "Markets evade Cypriot tax" describes the situation on global stock exchanges given the latest developments in Cyprus; pp 1, 10 (584 words).

5. Svetlana Dementyeva article headlined "On fractional account" says that amendments to the Civil Code introducing new seven types of bank accounts are fraught with a rise in misuse; pp 1, 9 (807 words).

6. Irina Nagronykh et al. article headlined "Communists processed in inter-party way" says that the presidential administration continues holding regular meetings with representatives of the political parties which will stand in the autumn regional elections. This time, a delegation from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation has been received; p 2 (816 words).

7. Article by the newspaper's political section headlined "Voting day to be added to citizens" says that this week, the ruling One Russia party will decide on the Russian regions where party primaries will be held openly, with voters' participation, ahead of the autumn regional elections; p 2 (860 words).

8. Sofya Samokhina article headlined "'What was suggested is not subject to improvement'" says that the State Duma committee on criminal legislation has recommended passing the bill introducing criminal responsibility for insulting believers' feelings, although it admitted that the wording of the bill was vague and ambiguous; p 3 (621 words).

9. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Open Government looks for ways to Roskosmos" says that an Open Government expert, Sergey Nedoroslev, has asked Federal Space Agency head Vladimir Popovkin to hand over space industry enterprises to the company Kosmoprom, specially established to this effect. However, some sources say that the government has already approved another reform of the space sector; p 3 (510 words).

10. Kirill Belyaninov et al. article headlined "Vitaliy Malkin to be checked against passport" says that the newspaper Moskovskiy Komsomolets has officially asked the Federation Council to check information about foreign property and foreign citizenship of senator Vitaliy Malkin, and asked the Prosecutor-General's Office and the Russian Investigations Committee to open a criminal case against One Russia MP Andrey Isayev for insulting and threatening the newspaper's journalists; p 3 (759 words).

11. Grigoriy Tumanov et al. article headlined "NGOs covered with wave of checks" says that the presidential human rights council will hold a meeting today to discuss numerous complaints filed by regional NGOs about inspections of their financing sources. According to the council, the law is often violated during these checks; p 5 (705 words).

12. Roman Yanushevskiy and Aleksandr Reutov article headlined "Unstable seats assigned to Israeli ministers" says that a new coalition government has been sworn in in Israel; p 7 (447 words).

13. Pavel Tarasenko report "NATO does not link rejection of fourth phase of European ABM with Russia" looks at the US authorities' decision regarding the deployment of ABM systems in Europe; p 7 (150 words).

14. Maria Yefimova report "Russia sells assault rifles to Mali" says that the Rosoboronexport arms trader has concluded an agreement to supply Kalashnikov automatic rifles to Mali; p 7 (100 words).

15. Sergey Strokan article headlined "At one's own risk and BRICS" looks ahead at the fifth summit of the BRICS to be held on 26-27 March in Durban, South Africa; p 8 (1,021 words).

16. Sergey Strokan interview with Fedor Lukyanov, chairman of the council of foreign and defense policy, headlined "'Not against, but by-passing West'", who speaks about relations between Russia and the BRICS; p 8 (665 words).

17. Sergey Strokan interview with Georgiy Petrov, vice-president of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, headlined "'Prototype of BRICS is triangle of Moscow, Delhi and Beijing'", who speaks about the role of the BRICS and the G20 in a new system of global relations; p 8 (634 words).

18. Gennadiy Sysoyev comment published in the opinion column headlined "Price of issue" explains why Russia is interested in the BRICS; p 8 (395 words).

19. Khalil Aminov article headlined "Auditors assess Resorts of North Caucasus" says that the Audit Chamber has checked the use of budget funds allocated to the company Resorts of the North Caucasus and revealed a number of violations; p 9 (572 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Darya Tsilyurik article headlined "Alternative government for Syria" says that the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces is expected to elect an interim government today in Istanbul. Observers say that rebels will refuse to obey the new body of power; pp 1, 7 (800 words).

2. Sergey Kulikov article headlined "China rushes to Russia's polar domain" says that Russia is yielding the Northern Sea Route to China. Along with freight shipping, it plans to launch regular commercial voyages via the route this summer; pp 1-2 (1,300 words).

3. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Viktor Yanukovych prepares escape aerodrome" says that Ukraine has begun to develop a state program for cooperation with the Customs Union. The document is to be completed by July; pp 1, 6 (1,200 words).

4. Yury Simonyan article headlined "Saakashvili to become very 'lame duck'" says that the Georgian parliament has begun to debate amendments to the constitution, which envisage restricting the president's powers; pp 1, 6 (800 words).

5. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Ban on 'blasphemy' gets stuck in disagreements" says that the State Duma plans to pass the first reading of the bill introducing criminal responsibility for insulting believers' feelings by the end of this week, although the bill is obscure; pp 1, 3 (700 words).

6. Aleksandra Samarina article headlined "Chayka approached on armoured IVECO vehicle" says that the State Duma has officially asked the Prosecutor-General's Office to check the 2011 deal between the infamous company Oboronservis and the Italian company IVECO. Moreover, it was established that powerful government structures had tried to prevent the deal; pp 1, 3 (600 words).

7. Editorial headlined "New competitive tactics" says that the Russian gas giant Gazprom has changed a scheme of gas sales to strengthen its positions on the European market; p 2 (550 words).

8. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Authorities suppress 'orange flashes'" focuses on the trials of opposition activists in Moscow Region and Khakassia. The law defending policemen is interpreted in a peculiar way and is regularly used to suppress the opposition, human rights activists say; p 3 (800 words).

9. Article by presidential special envoy for cooperation with African countries Mikhail Margelov, headlined "Summit in Durban to help Russia return to Africa", says that Russia should take advantage of the BRICS summit in South Africa on 26-27 March to improve its positions in the region; p 3 (500 words).

10. Igor Naumov article headlined "Business calculates losses incurred from WTO rules" says that Russian officials and businessmen differently assess the advantages and disadvantages of Russia's membership of the WTO; p 4 (750 words).

11. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "New tax in Cyprus insults Russia very much" says that the Russian leadership has harshly criticized the Cypriot authorities' decision to introduce the one-off levy on bank deposits; p 4 (1,000 words).

12. Sergey Kiselev article headlined "Gazprom retreats" says that according to UBS, the capitalization of the Russian gas giant Gazprom has reduced 30 per cent over a year, thus making the company one of the cheapest large oil and gas corporations in the world; p 4 (1,000 words).

13. Viktoria Panfilova article headlined "Astana signals Moscow" says that the Kazakh opposition is initiating a referendum on the country's withdrawal from the Customs Union; p 6 (1,000 words).

14. Yuriy Paniyev article headlined "Obama to listen, not speak in Israel" looks ahead at US President Barack Obama's first official visit to Israel, which begins on 20 March; p 7 (1,300 words).

15. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Beijing to strengthen cooperation with Moscow" says that new Chinese leader Xi Jinping will pay the first official visit to Russia on 22 March; p 7 (700 words).

16. Velimir Razyvayev report "He promised and failed to fulfill" says that Putin may become hostage to his own bureaucratic system of running the country; pp 9-11 (1,400 words).

17. Anastasiya Tsvetova report "Value of deputy's word" says that the number of the One Russia members, involved in parliamentary scandals, is increasing; p 10 (500 words).

18. Roza Tsvetkova interview with political analyst Yelena Shestopal who looks at changes in Putin's image over the last year; p 11 (3,200 words).

19. Aleksey Malashenko report "Russian president: Mister, comrade, citizen" says that Putin realizes that corruption has become a systemic phenomenon in the country; p 14 (1,700 words).

Vedomosti

1. Dmitry Kazmin and Yevgeniya Pismennaya article headlined "Property overtax" says that the property tax will be introduced in Russia in 2014. It is said to become an alternative to the progressive income tax; pp 1, 4 (689 words).

2. Dmitriy Kazmin article headlined "Prisoners of Cyprus" says that the latest developments in Cyprus have become the main political and economic event for Russia; pp 1, 4 (1,311 words).

3. Editorial headlined "In line to ballot box" says that employers' pressure on their employees still remains probably the main tool to influence voters' will; pp 1, 6 (363 words).

4. Vladimir Mau article headlined "Economic policy: Prospects of global crisis" describes a new model of global economic growth given that the global crisis has entered the final stage; pp 6-7 (2,278 words).

5. Mariya Zheleznova article headlined "One's own people on electoral commissions" says that the formation of district electoral commissions has finished in Moscow. Most applications were filed by representatives from businessman Mikhail Prokhorov's Civil Platform party and public organizations loyal to the incumbent authorities; p 2 (388 words).

6. Yelena Khodyakova et al. article headlined "Loan in exchange for offshore area" says that Gazprombank is ready to help Cyprus cope with the financial crisis if a license to develop natural gas deposits on the Cypriot shelf is given to it; p 10 (451 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Cypriot gambit" comments on the Russian leadership's negative reaction to the Cypriot levy on bank deposits; p 6 (375 words).

8. Liliya Biryukova report "Degtyarev's ethics" says that a new chairperson of the State Duma ethics commission will be elected today; p 3 (500 words).

Izvestia

1. Svetlana Subbotina and Yuliya Tsoy article headlined "Degtyarev may replace Pekhtin" says that the new head of the State Duma commission for deputy ethics will be elected today. MPs Magomedkadi Gasanov and Aleksandr Degtyarev are among the most probable candidates for the post; pp 1, 3 (670 words).

2. Denis Telmanov article headlined "Defence industry displeased with 'tax on Skolkovo'" says that defense enterprises do not want to remit 1 per cent of their own innovation development programs to the capital trust fund of the Skoltekh (Skolkovo Science and Technology Institute); pp 1, 4 (772 words).

3. Mariya Kunle and Anastasia Alekseyevskikh interview headlined "'Minimum fine for traffic accident should be R500'" with the head of the Federal Bailiff Service, Artur Parfenchikov; pp 1, 5 (2,164 words).

4. Yegor Sozayev-Guryev and Aleksandr Yunashev article headlined "One Russia members want to check whether MK editor in chief shot at policemen" says that State Duma deputies from One Russia have initiated a check on the information that once, Moskovsky Komsomolets editor in chief Pavel Gusev illegally used arms against policemen; p 2 (347 words).

5. Anna Akhmadiyeva interview with Moskovskiy Komsomolets editor in chief Pavel Gusev, headlined "'Newspaper Moskovskiy Komsomolets closed for Isayev'", who speaks about the recent scandal with One Russia MP Andrey Isayev over the publication of an article on "political prostitution" among Russian officials; p 2 (777 words).

6. Mikhail Rubin report "Medvedev to open One Russia's university" says that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev will open the party university of One Russia next week; p 4 (400 words).

7. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Iran launches first destroyer to Caspian Sea" says that the first destroyer built by Iranian ship-builders has been launched and features an expert's comment on the issue; p 7 (559 words).

8. Yegor Mazur interview with would-be Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, headlined "'We have many disagreements with Russia, but our relations are sincere and direct'", who speaks about priorities of the Israeli foreign policy; p 7 (894 words).

9. Aleksandr Birman article headlined "Timely replacement" contemplates the change of the Central Bank leadership given the latest developments in Cyprus; p 9 (551 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Natalya Kozlova interview with the head of the Russian Investigations Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, headlined "ID card", who speaks about economic crimes in Russia and the agency's initiatives to fight against corruption and capital flight; pp 1, 9 (2,568 words).

2. Yelena Kukol and Roman Markelov article headlined "Europe: Theft of deposits" says that the latest developments in Cyprus have caused panic on global markets; pp 1-2 (861 words).

3. Yuriy Gavrilov article headlined "Soldier not to be returned to kitchen" says that a new department has been set up at the Defense Ministry to maintain military units and organizations subordinated to the ministry and provide them with communal services; p 2 (416 words).

4. Kira Latukhina report "Financial cypriotism" looks at Putin's assessment of Cyprus's tax on deposits; p 2 (1,300 words).

5. Vladimir Kuzmin article headlined "Wrong arithmetic" says that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ruled out the possibility of Ukraine joining the Customs Union in the 3+1 format; p 3 (542 words).

6. Leonid Radzikhovskiy article headlined "Decline of Europe" comments on the election of a new Pope and the ideological role of Catholicism in the EU; p 3 (807 words).

7. Yekaterina Zabrodina report "Three thousand pieces of silver" says that the British mass media have found out how much former Federal Security Service officer Aleksandr Litvinenko was paid; p 8 (200 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Konstantin Smirnov et al. article headlined "Russian depositors rush to Cyprus" says that the Russian leadership and the Finance Ministry are indignant at the latest developments in Cyprus, whereas Russian depositors have flown there en masse; pp 1, 4 (1,273 words).

2. Mikhail Rostovskiy article headlined "Andrey Isayev, man and thermometer" comments on a political and media scandal involving State Duma deputy from the ruling One Russia party, Andrey Isayev; pp 1-2 (690 words).

3. Aleksandr Pokachuyev article headlined "Announcer's booth with Kadyrov" says that Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, has accused a football referee of being corrupt via the social network Instagram following a match played by his team in Groznyy; pp 1, 12 (670 words).

4. Irina Rinayeva article headlined "Hotel owned by deputy Isayev's wife offers wine, and poultry to pilgrims during Lent" reports on an Orthodox pilgrimage hotel in Germany owned by the wife of the State Duma deputy from One Russia, Andrey Isayev; p 2 (786 words).

5. Yelena Makova article headlined "Deputies' foreign accounts under threat" says that the establishment of financial police will be enough after the State Duma approves a bill banning Russian officials from having property and bank accounts abroad; p 2 (961 words).

6. Mikhail Zubov report "Federation Council to discuss Malkin's dual citizenship" says that the newspaper has submitted an inquiry to the Federation Council regarding senator Vitaliy Malkin's dual citizenship; p 2 (600 words).

7. Natalya Rozhkova article headlined "Inquisition fires burn in Moscow" says that Orthodox activists have raided the Moscow office of the Yabloko party, seized its campaign literature and made a bonfire of it in the street; p 3 (525 words).

8. Tatyana Zamakhina article headlined "Audit Chamber about Bilalov's expense: 'What can be said: he lived in style'" says that the Audit Chamber has discovered that money allocated to the company Resorts of the North Caucasus was used improperly under the former head Akhmed Bilalov. However, it will be difficult to punish Bilalov for this; p 3 (724 words).

RBK Daily

1. Yekaterina Belkina et al. article headlined "Island without treasure" says that the Swiss company LGT Capital may exclude Russian companies Renaissance Capital and Alfa-bank from a list of its contracting parties for their participation in the offshore economy in Cyprus; pp 1, 7 (700 words).

2. Ivan Petrov article headlined "Fight of applications" says that One Russia members have asked the Prosecutor-General's Office and the Russian Investigations Committee to reveal how editor in chief of the newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets, Pavel Gusev, managed to avoid prosecution for allegedly drunk shooting at a policeman and injuring him; pp 1-2 (550 words).

3. Anastasia Litvinova article headlined "Foreigners assess Russian business climate" says that foreign investors are more afraid of Russia's administrative barriers than of the spread of corruption and extortion there; p 3 (400 words).

4. Yevgeniy Basmanov and Ivan Shlygin article headlined "To legalize robbery" looks at the latest developments in Cyprus and Russia's losses incurred there; p 4 (700 words).

5. Ivan Shlygin interview with UFG Wealth Management partner Dmitriy Klenov, headlined "'Neither Cypriote authorities nor EU authorities are interested in 'Armageddon"", who speaks about the expected one-off levy on Cypriote bank deposits; p 7 (600 words).

6. Yuliya Yakovleva article headlined "Prodigal politicians" says that a group of deputies who earlier left the A Just Russia party have negotiated with the party leadership, willing to join the party again as it has resumed to the course of constructive opposition; p 2 (500 words).

Novyye Izvestia

1. Yuliya Savina interview with Nikolay Svanidze, a member of the Public Chamber council, headlined "'It is easier and simpler to earn money in power than in business'", who speaks about State Duma deputies' initiative to oblige Public Chamber members to declare their incomes; pp 1-2 (644 words).

2. Nadezhda Krasilova and Olga Churakova article headlined "Ordered to survive" says that Russian NGOs are to submit reports on their activity in 2012 to the Justice Ministry before 15 April. Many NGOs are on the brink of closure after the law on NGOs came into effect; pp 1-2 (1,333 words).

3. Valentina Shakhova article headlined "Death for export" says that according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russia and the USA have remained the leaders in the amount of arms deals closed in 2008-2012. Moreover, China has entered the top five main arms exporters; p 3 (392 words).

4. Nadezhda Bulanova article headlined "Virtual measures" says that the Russian Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection (Rospotrebnadzor) has recommended closing down over 1,000 websites containing teenage suicide propaganda; p 5 (659 words).

5. Vera Moslakova article headlined "Adequacy filter" says that deputies of the St Petersburg legislative assembly have drafted a bill obliging parliamentary candidates and those running for presidency or mayorship to present a medical certificate confirming they have no mental illnesses; pundits agree that the level of inadequacy within the government bodies has gone up; p 2 (450 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Yevgeniy Belyakov and Artur Galeyev article headlined "Whether banking crisis in Cyprus affects Russians" looks at the causes of the banking crisis in Cyprus and what impact it will have on Russian depositors; p 3 (628 words).

2. Valeriy Rodikov article headlined "Superjet: Mission feasible" looks at the Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft project and problems that it is facing and says that the project is important for Russia; p 12 (556 words).

3. Yevgeniy Belyakov article headlined "Seven questions about new pension reform" asks and answers seven questions about a pension reform drafted by the Labour Ministry; p 13 (760 words).

4. Viktor Baranets article headlined "USA redirects missile defence system from Russia to China" says that the move is unlikely to change Russia's critical stance on US missile defence system; p 5 (350 words).

Trud

1. Aleksandr Protsenko article headlined "Time to 'swallow dust'" focuses on the Cypriote authorities' decision to introduce one-off levy on bank deposits; pp 1-2 (1,218 words).

2. Sergey Rusev article headlined "Penalty kick to Moscow's goal" zooms in at a football scandal involving Chechnya's leader Ramzan Kadyrov; pp 1-2 (685 words).

3. Sergey Frolov article headlined "Banning from prohibiting!" wonders why State Duma deputies want to oblige Public Chamber members to declare their incomes; p 2 (466 words).

Krasnaya Zvezda

1. Yelizaveta Orlova article headlined "Missile defense system: new plans, same objectives" comments on the US abandoning the final stage of deploying its missile defense system in Europe; pp 1, 3 (800 words).

Mar. 19, 2013/BBC Monitoring/©BBC

Related articles:

• What the Papers Say, Mar. 18, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Mar. 15, 2012
• What the Papers Say, Mar. 14, 2012