What the Papers Say, July 9, 2013

Kommersant

1. Oleg Rubnikovich article headlined "Cash withdrawal being eliminated" says the Russian Interior Ministry has cracked down on a criminal group engaged in money laundering and illegal cash withdrawal. The alleged criminals managed to withdraw about 36 billion rubles (about $1 billion) abroad in several years; pp 1, 4 (760 words).


2. Viktor Khamrayev and Alexander Chernykh article headlined "Standard source of pride" says the Russian Historical Society has developed standards for the single history book for Russian schools. The document makes the history of the Russian Orthodox Church an integral part of history teaching at schools; pp 1, 3 (843 words).


3. Yegor Popov article headlined "VEB to get off tractor to tank" says Vneshekonombank is to sell the Traktorniye Zavody (Tractor plants) concern to the Uralvagonzavod plant; pp 1, 7 (683 words).


4. Maria Timoshinov and Yana Voytsekhovskaya article headlined "Airlines to be allowed hiring one thousand [foreign pilots]" says Russian airlines are to be allowed to hire up to 1,000 foreign pilots in five years; pp 1, 8 (535 words).


5. Maria Plyusnina et al. report headlined "Vladislav Surkov's comrade-in-arms leaves people of labour to join businessmen" says deputy envoy to the Ural Federal District Yevgeny Kolyadin, considered to be a close ally of former presidential administration and government official Vladislav Surkov, has resigned. He will become the vice president of the United Shipbuilding Corporation; p 2 (505 words).


6. Saratov-based Asya Safiullina article headlined "Pugachev revolts against Caucasus" says residents of the town of Pugachev in Saratov Region have clashed with North Caucasus nationals following the murder of a retired serviceman by a Chechen teenager. Additional police forces were sent to the town; p 4 (672 words).


7. Alexander Chernykh article headlined "Vladimir Fortov updates status" says President Putin has finally approved the election of Vladimir Fortov as new Russian Academy of Sciences head. Fortov backed the academy reform which was heavily criticised by scientists; p 5 (663 words).


8. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Russia and EU check each other's visas" says plans for setting up visa-free travel between Russia and the EU has been fulfilled by 70 percent; p 6 (712 words).


9. Kirill Melnikov commentary in the "Rules of game" section looks into the Russian-Venezuelan economic cooperation; p 7 (378 words).


10. Andrei Sobolev article headlined "TNT director-general replaced" tells about the leadership change in the Russian television channel TNT; p 8 (400 words).


11. Mikhail Serov et al. article headlined "'There will be no strict regulations'" is an interview with the energy minister, Alexander Novak; p 10 (1,700 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Fifth column of Russian media" says the State Duma is drafting a bill allowing authorities to take media under full control. Media will have to join so called "self-regulated organizations", which will develop the editorial policy and ethic rules. Media outside the organizations will be closed; pp 1, 3 (890 words).


2. Andrei Serenko article headlined "They wait for Surgeon and three presidents on Volga" says a joint military exercise in Volgograd Region is to finish by the summit of the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian presidents. President Putin is also planning to take part in a bike show in the region; pp 1, 5 (624 words).


3. Ivan Pavlov article headlined "Virtual voting with zero result" says one of the proposals at the Russian public initiative portal has gathered 98,000 signatures. It has been opposition activist Alexei Navalny's idea to ban officials from purchasing vehicles that cost more than 1.5 million rubles (about $45,000). The authorities will have to consider it when it gathers 100,000 signatures; pp 1, 3 (608 words).


4. Igor Naumov and Ivan Shvarts article headlined "Ten tonnes of gold to be panned out to state treasury" says the Russian authorities will resume purchasing gold for the treasury in 2014. Experts appreciate the plans; pp 1, 4 (635 words).


5. Viktoriya Panfilova article headlined "Kyrgyz creating reservation for Uzbeks" says Kyrgyzstan has started surrounding the Uzbek enclave, Sokh, with barbed wire. The article features an opinion by Russian researcher Sergei Knyazev; pp 1, 6 (642 words).


6. Editorial headlined "Urlashov's false start" says the persecution of opposition mayor Yevgeny Urlashov has shown that it is impossible for Russian opposition politicians to integrate into the political system; p 2 (506 words).


7. Viktor Myasnikov article headlined "Proton failure: Anonymous theory for fools" says authorities have decided to make the Pilyugin Centre personnel responsible for the recent Proton-M rocket crash; p 2 (672 words).


8. Vladimir Kotlyar commentary headlined "Carte blanche: Flight difficulties" says the forced landing of the Bolivian president's plane in Vienna has shown that the EU is ready to violate international standards if Washington asks; p 3 (685 words).


9. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Geopolitical formula of sea interaction" comments on the Russian-Chinese navy exercise and notes that Russia's Asia-Pacific neighbours are concerned about the purpose of the drill; p 5 (800 words).

Vedomosti

1. Irina Kezik article headlined "Russia's oil record" says Russia has broken 25-year record in oil extraction, as 10.53m barrels of oil were extracted daily in June. Oil companies are going to increase their output, while experts believe it will not be easy to achieve; pp 1, 12 (695 words).


2. Editorial headlined "Cool reception" says the Russian national hockey team will be unable to train in Sochi ahead of the 2014 Winter Olympics due to the high cost of the use of sports facilities built there for the games. The article notes that Russians having a choice prefer getting services abroad as they are less expensive and have better quality; pp 1, 6 (451 words).


3. Maria Zheleznova article headlined "Dependent signatures" says the ruling party has collected signatures for opposition candidate Alexei Navalny as a candidate for mayor of Moscow. But Navalny's team say they will not accept this kind of support; p 3 (400 words).


4. Another editorial headlined "Bottom-upwards" says President Putin's legislation aiming to control NGOs, volunteer organizations and now the Academy of Sciences has shown that the Russian authorities do not tolerate any independence; p 6 (298 words).


5. Igor Bunin and Alexei Makarkin headlined "Cheap and conservative" analyses the current strategy of the Russian leadership; pp 6-7 (1,000 words).


6. Yekaterina Derbilova and Bela Lyauv interview with acting deputy mayor of Moscow Andrei Sharonov speaking on the mayoral office policy, plans to build new roads and maintain the city property; p 8 (4,121 words).

Izvestia

1. Nikita Mogutin article headlined "Yaroslavl mayor case witness suspected of fraud" says the Investigations Committee has started a probe into the bankruptcy of the Yaroslavl City Road Directorate in 2012. The head of the directorate, Eduard Avdalyan, is suspected of bankrupting it on purpose in order to take control over the facilities; pp 1, 4 (326 words).


2. Sergei Podosenov article headlined "Group of A Just Russia members become supporters of communists" says at least five A Just Russia deputies in the State Duma are going to join the Communists following the scandal with the Russian Academy of Sciences reform; pp 1-2 (706 words).


3. Yelena Teslova article headlined "Putin's co-author to deal with Russia's image" says the Positive Russia NGO has been registered in the UK to promote Russia's positive image in the country. State Duma deputy Vasiliy Shestakov is one of the heads of the organization; pp 1, 4 (553 words).


4. Maria Kunle article headlined "Arbitration justice moves to Russia" says the Russian government has drafted a reform of arbitration tribunals to make them more trustworthy; pp 1, 4 (936 words).


5. Igor Karaulov commentary "Bloody dances" tries to play down an ethnic conflict in the town of Pugachev, Saratov Region, where locals have clashed with Caucasus citizens; pp 1, 4 (710 words).


6. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Syrian opposition changes orientation in favour of Persian Gulf" says the Syrian opposition has suggested that a truce should be reached for Ramadan between the rebels and the government forces. Russian researcher Sergei Demidenko comments on the recent developments; p 7 (518 words).


7. Yulia Gorkovskaya article headlined "Germany cooperated with USA on PRISM" contains a comment by former FSB officer Kirill Kabanov on the U.S. surveillance scandal; p 7 (600 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. labor Kozlova article headlined "Banks fall" says the Russian police have cracked down on a group of people engaged in money laundering. Details of the operation are kept secret; pp 1, 7 (615 words).


2. Irina Rybnikova article headlined "Navalny helped to overcome barrier" says the ruling United Russia party has helped opposition member Alexei programmer collect signatures to register as a candidate for Moscow mayor; p 2 (500 words).


3. Article by political scientist Leonid Radzikhovskiy headlined "Multi-dimensional East" analyses the recent developments in Egypt and the reaction of neighbouring Middle East countries to the new coup; p 3 (749 words).


4. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Morsi does not ask for pardon" says arrested former Egyptian President Morsi may return to power if he comes to an agreement with the military; p 8 (416 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Ignat Kalinin article headlined "Oboronservis case comes to ring" says former Defense Ministry's property department director Yevgenya Vasilyeva has been spotted shopping in Moscow despite her house arrest. Moreover, observers note that she had a wedding ring; pp 1-2 (568 words).


2. Marina Ozerova article headlined "No confidence vote leaves on holidays" says the Communist faction in the State Duma has decided to hold a non-confidence vote against the government in September; pp 1-2 (596 words).


3. Yelena Yegorova article headlined "Sobyanin helps Navalny pass filter" says the acting mayor of Moscow has helped his opposition rival collect signatures necessary to run for mayor; p 3 (300 words).


4. Igor Karamzin article headlined "Past life of mayor Urlashov" shines a dark light on the arrested opposition mayor; p 3 (350 words).


5. Igor Subbotin article headlined "Obama's visit uncertain?" says political expert Alexander Makarkin does not rule out the possibility of Washington sending Vice President Joe Biden to Russia instead of President Obama if CIA whistleblower Snowden stays in Moscow; p 3 (434 words).

RBC Daily

1. Ivan Petrov article headlined "Not to remember Kursk and Magnitsky" says that Russian lawyer Boris Kuznetsov, who represented the interests of relatives of those who died at the nuclear submarine Kursk, has been arrested in absentia by a court in Moscow. Kuznetsov lives in the U.S. and attributes the arrest to his public activities; p 2 (600 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Vera Moslakova article headlined "Does not have constitutional prospects" says that the public movement Social Justice has come up with an initiative to deprive seven opposition activists of Russian citizenship and deport them from the country. The article provides the ruling United Russia party lawmakers' comments on the initiative; pp 1-2 (300 words).


2. Washington-based Gennadiy Savchenko and Nikolai Snezhkov article headlined "Circle tightens" comments on the CIA whistle-blower Edward Snowden case and says that it is becoming a factor of world politics; p 2 (250 words).

Moskovskie Novosti

1. Natalia Konygina interview with Irina Prokhorova, businessman and politician Mikhail Prokhorov's sister, who speaks about the Russian language; pp 4-5 (830 words).