What the Papers Say, Aug. 21, 2013

Kommersant

1. Ksenia Dementyeva and Nina Vlasova article headlined "Sberbank establishes good dialogue with Troika" says that Sberbank will soon hold personnel reshuffles following integration with the Troika Dialogue investment company; p 1 (583 words).

2. Yegor Popov article headlined "Taman to be offered to Kazakhstan" says that President Vladimir Putin has chaired a meeting on the development of ports in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. The new port Taman is the most promising project and Kazakh companies could be invited to take part in it; pp 1, 7 (642 words).

3. Yelizaveta Kuznetsova and Yelena Kiseleva article headlined "Air and letter of show" says that the U.S. company Aero Management has filed a lawsuit over the demonstration of the VIP-class Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft at the MAKS-2013 airshow in the Moscow region town of Zhukovsky because the interior of the aircraft was allegedly illegally adopted; pp 1, 7 (592 words).

4. Vadim Visloguzov and Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Russia and Ukraine declare customs truce" says that the Federal Tax Service has given up stepped-up control over imports from Ukraine; pp 1-2 (614 words).

5. Irina Nagornykh article headlined "United Russia to end elections with congress" says that the ruling United Russia party is planning to hold a congress in autumn, supposedly on Oct. 5; p 2 (513 words).

6. Sergei Goryashko and Ilya Barabanov article headlined "Kaliningrad mayor conceals villa in Cannes" says that Kaliningrad Mayor Alexander Yaroshuk, who is a United Russia member, has concealed for two years that his wife owns a villa in Cannes. Experts say that Yaroshuk has violated electoral laws; p 2 (499 words).

7. Irina Nagronykh article headlined "Referendums instead of elections" says that according to the Fund for the Development of Civil Society, the Sept. 8 elections are de-facto a referendum on confidence as the winners are pre-determined. Competitive elections are possible only in some regions where the ruling United Russia party has a weak position; p 3 (471 words).

8. Sofya Samokhina and Ksenia Dorokhina article headlined "Parties stumble over foreign property" says that according to the Civil Initiatives Committee headed by former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, the recent laws passed in Russia, including the one banning politicians from having foreign assets and property and the one banning people having previous convictions from running in elections, have restricted competition in the forthcoming Sept. 8 elections; p 3 (486 words).

9. Yulia Rybina and Nikolay Sergeyev article headlined "Buynaksk militants found at home" says that at least nine militants have been killed in Dagestan in the course of a special operation; p 4 (845 words).

10. Diana Munasipova and Vyacheslav Kozlov article headlined "Participants in Bolotnaya case keep silence in court" says that 10 out of 12 participants in the so-called Bolotnaya case on the 6 May riots in Moscow's Bolotnaya Square have refused to take part in the trial following a judge's refusal to reveal the details of a riot policeman's questioning; p 5 (443 words).

11. Maria Yefimova article headlined "Israel stands up for Egyptian army" says that Israel is trying to persuade the U.S. and the EU to back the Egyptian army in a confrontation with Islamists. Economic sanctions imposed by the West could become a disaster for the entire region; p 6 (411 words).

12. Olga Kuznetsova article headlined "Muslim Brotherhood being split from within" says that the Muslim Brotherhood movement has split in two independent groups after the leader of the movement was arrested; the article also features a Russian expert's comment on the issue; p 6 (551 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Anton Khodasevich article headlined "Lukashenka rattles sabres" says that Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has instructed the Defense Ministry to begin implementing agreements on aviation and missile defense systems reached with Russia; pp 1-2 (758 words).

2. Andrei Serenko article headlined "'Stalingrad' for president and Surgeon" says that President Putin is expected to visit Volgograd on Aug. 23 to take part in a patriotic motorbike show initiated by the head of the motorbike club Night Wolves, Alexander Zaldostanov aka Surgeon; pp 1-2 (737 words).

3. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Candidates without slogans" says that acting Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin's rivals in the Sept. 8 mayoral election are struggling not for the victory, but for the second place and tries to find out what slogan the contenders would like to make the main one; pp 1, 3 (889 words).

4. Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "Russia to stay on brink of recession for long" says that according to economists from the Gaidar Institute, the current economic stagnation in Russia may last several years as increasing state spending cannot speed up the GDP growth for long. The Russian authorities consider increasing state spending the main means to avoid a crisis; pp 1, 4 (793 words).

5. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Ukraine provokes gas crisis" says that Ukraine is ready to worsen gas relations with Russia as it plans to significantly decrease Russian gas purchases in 2013-14; pp 1, 6 (1,060 words).

6. Editorial headlined "Masha and Bear: invitation to auto-da-fe" criticizes the anti-piracy law which has been recently passed in Russia and looks at an instance of an absurd application of this law in the town of Veliky Novgorod; p 2 (530 words).

7. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Elections lack positive news" says that experts have warned opposition candidates running in the Sept. 8 elections against sticking to criticism of the ruling authorities in their election campaigns as this is doomed to failure; p 3 (690 words).

8. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Judges' opposition surprises Khodorkovsky" says that former Yukos head Mikhail Khodorkovsky has met his lawyer to discuss the Supreme Court's recent decision to reduce by two months the prison term for him and Menatep head Platon Lebedev. Khodorkovsky is planning to challenge the decision; p 3 (517 words).

9. Valery Rubakov and Sergei Gulev article published in the Carte Blanche regular column headlined "Struggle for science: new stage" criticizes pending reforms in the Russian Academy of Sciences as they are aimed to destroy science in Russia; p 3 (749 words).

10. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Rosgidromet to defend country from natural calamities" says that heavy floods in Russia's Far East have forced the Russian authorities to return to the modernization of the Russian Federal Agency of Hydrology and Meteorology (Rosgidromet); p 4 (904 words).

11. Natalya Spivak interview with Energy Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Suhayl al-Mazru'i, headlined "Arab bet on gas, sun and atom", who speaks about the world energy sector and bilateral relations between Russia and the UAE; p 5 (1,555 words).

12. Grigory Mikhaylov article headlined "Bishkek demands 100Bln dollars from Moscow" says that a number of Kyrgyz public organizations have asked the authorities to recognize the 1916 massacre as tsarist Russia's genocide of Kyrgyz people and demand that Russia should pay compensation for the killed people; p 6 (641 words).

13. Yury Panyev article headlined "British attack on journalism" says that the U.K. authorities have secured that the newspaper Guardian will destroy exposing materials received from U.S. whistle-blower Edward Snowden, but the newspaper will continue publishing articles about the performance of the U.S. and British security services; p 7 (655 words).

14. Darya Tsilyurik article headlined "China masters Northern Sea Route" says that China will for the first time ever deliver commercial goods from Dalian to Rotterdam through the Arctic Ocean. Experts say Russia should develop cooperation with China in the Arctic; p 7 (782 words).

Vedomosti

1. Yulia Orlova et al. article headlined "New regulator for financial markets" says that first deputy chairman of the Central Bank Sergei Shvetsov will head the future mega-regulator, a service for financial markets under the bank; pp 1, 14 (649 words).

2. Editorial headlined "Aggression accumulation" looks at the development of democracy given the latest developments in the Middle East; pp 1, 6 (367 words).

3. Lilia Biryukova article headlined "Authorities yield cities" says that according to the Fund for the Development of Civil Society, the results of the Sept. 8 mayoral elections are predictable. Opposition candidates could win only in two towns — in Voronezh and in Yekaterinburg; p 2 (673 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Caucasian bookkeeping" says that the federal authorities are trying to introduce proper order in the North Caucasus, but they have few tools to succeed; p 6 (342 words).

5. Anastasia Kornya article headlined "Not season for Navalny" says that several advertisers have refused to fulfil contractual obligations to place Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny's campaign materials. Navalny thinks that this is a result of administrative pressure on his partners; p 3 (430 words).

6. Alexei Nikolsky article headlined "Aviators prefer export" says that the Defense Ministry has given up plans to buy 35 helicopters produced by the Italian company Agusta Westland due to their high cost. Meanwhile, Russia has signed with Vietnam a contract on the delivery of 12 fighters Su-30MK2; p 2 (437 words).

7. Ksenia Boletskaya article headlined "Pirates under court cover" says that for some reason the Moscow City Court has classified the names of 10 websites, which should restrict access to films and serials following a complaint from right-holders; p 10 (522 words).

8. Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined ""Brothers' under arrest" features a Russian expert's comment on the arrest of the leader of the Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood movement; p 3 (344 words).

Izvestia

1. Alena Sivkova article headlined "Public activists suspect Livanov of immorality" says that the Public Chamber has accused Education and Science Minister Dmitry Livanov of forging documents when the Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys and the Moscow State University of Mines merged; pp 1-2 (486 words).

2. Alexander Yunashev article headlined "Omsk mayor to be carpeted" says that the Omsk Region branch of the United Russia party will hold a meeting in late August to discuss Omsk mayor Vyacheslav Dvorakovsky's refusal to cut short his vacation after a boat crashed into a barge on the Irtysh river, killing six people and injuring many others, and his future in the party; pp 1-2 (603 words).

3. Alexandra Yermakova article headlined "Luxury on wheels" looks at the 2013 transport public purchases in Russia and says that Moscow leads in expensive car purchases, followed by Chechnya and Moscow Region; pp 1, 3 (856 words).

4. Anastasia Alexeyevskikh and Tatyana Shirmanova article headlined "Officials' salaries are half as much again as citizens'" says that according to the FBK consulting company, regional officials' salaries are by 56 percent higher than Russia's average salary and officials in 12 regions are twice as rich than local residents; pp 1-2 (768 words).

5. Sergei Podosenov article headlined "Kostin's fund does not see intrigue in Sept. 8 elections" says that according to the Fund for the Development of Civil Society, the ruling United Russia party will win the Sept. 8 governor elections in practically all regions, except for Transbaykal Territory possibly; p 2 (719 words).

6. Sergei Dubinin article headlined "Victim of political struggle" looks back at the 1998 economic crisis in Russia and its preconditions and what lessons should be learnt from it by the current authorities; p 5 (1,130 words).

7. Svetlana Basharova article headlined "Hyde parks lose popularity" says that special platforms allocated for public gatherings in Moscow in May are not popular among Muscovites; p 6 (831 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Ivan Yegorov interview with Deputy Prosecutor-General Alexander Zvyagintsev, headlined "Five hundred prosecutors", who speaks about the forthcoming conference of the International Association of Prosecutors, to be held in Moscow on 8-12 September; pp 1, 14 (2,729 words).

2. Roman Markelov article headlined "Five commandments of ruble" outlines five reasons behind a fall in the ruble rate; pp 1, 4 (568 words).

3. Yelena Kukol interview with Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev, headlined "Ocean is not very Pacific", who speaks about the ASEAN summit to open in Brunei today and Russia's economic policy in the South-East Asia; p 2 (1,175 words).

4. Tatyana Smolyakova et al. article headlined "Wheel not according to rank" looks at Russian officials' spending on service cars; p 3 (704 words).

5. Andrei Isayev article headlined "What to do with migrants" contemplates Russia's migration policy given the recent campaign against illegal migrants; p 3 (442 words).

6. Nikolay Zlobin article headlined "About models" says that Russia has adopted an unattractive and even repulsive model of development, whereas the U.S. remains the only global power, which produces global models of development, actively used by other countries; p 3 (742 words).

7. Fedor Lukyanov article headlined "Final calculation" comments on Russian-Ukrainian relations and prospects for their development; p 5 (701 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Maxim Grigoryev and Igor Karamzin report headlined "Sea life with sausage taste" describes the state of affairs in the flood-stricken Amur Region; pp 1-2 (934 words).

2. Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "Surkov's day again" contemplates President Putin's personnel policy and says that Putin is "collecting politicians who are loyal to him" and is ready to employ them at any moment; pp 1-2 (798 words).

3. Alexander Minkin article headlined "World War III finally begins", written as a letter to President Putin, welcomes an idea to hold international tank contests as they improve the image of the Russian army both in the country and abroad and notes that the idea was put forward by the author of the letter 10 years ago; pp 1, 4 (1,984 words).

4. Yulia Kalinina article headlined "Piglets relax" criticizes Omsk mayor Vyacheslav Dvorakovsky's decision not to cut short his holiday after a boat crashed into a barge on the Irtysh river, killing six people and injuring many others; pp 1-2 (398 words).

5. Alexander Dobrovolsky article headlined "Mosque comes true" says that the Heart of Chechnya mosque in Grozny is currently in the lead in the Russia-10 online project, being held to select 10 symbols of Russia; p 2 (825 words).

6. Mikhail Delyagin article headlined "Results of Moscow election" focuses on the Moscow mayoral election to be held on Sept. 8 and says that the election results could be already summed up; p 3 (1,102 words).

7. Maria Soltys and Pavel Chuvilyayev article headlined "To live worse, to live more jolly" zooms in at the economic situation in Russia and prospects for its development; p 4 (1,783 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Yulia Latynina article headlined "Enrichment of voter" defends Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny and says that he is the only candidate who is conducting a real election campaign; p 2 (938 words).

2. Irek Murtazin article headlined "Navalny stumbles" says that Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny's initiative to cancel Acting Moscow Mayor Sobyanin's registration in the election may ruin his reputation; p 3 (398 words).

3. Semen Novoprudsky article headlined "Untrue tsars" says that unfair elections undermine the Russian authorities' legitimacy and looks at a report made by the Civil Initiatives Committee headed by former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin; p 3 (660 words).

4. Lyudmila Alexeyeva et al. article headlined "Why do you keep silent?" is an appeal by some Russian human rights activists to scientists, writers, artists, actors and musicians to condemn a campaign against illegal immigrants; p 7 (907 words).

5. Yelena Masyuk interview headlined "'Release innocent people. Do not deprave population!'" with well-known Russian actress Lia Akhedzhakova, speaking, among other things, about the so-called Bolotnaya case of the 6 May 2012 unrest in Moscow's Bolotnaya Square; pp 13-15 (3,475 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Yulia Savina article headlined "New race in old way" looks at violations in the Sept. 8 election campaigns noticed in various Russian regions and features political analysts' comments on the issue; pp 1-2 (1,147 words).

2. Diana Yevdokimova article headlined "Nothing impersonal" criticizes a bill obliging users of social networks to confirm their personal data published on the internet; pp 1, 5 (554 words).

3. Alexei Aronov article headlined "Fundamental changes" says that the Finance Ministry has suggested abolishing the maternity capital and increasing the retirement age to replenish the budget; pp 1, 3 (840 words).

4. Vitaly Slovetsky and Dmitry Selyavin article headlined "Donations for jihad" says that contributions are being actively collected in Volga Region for Russian Islamists fighting in Syria and features experts' comments on the issue; p 2 (768 words).

RBC Daily

1. Yevgeny Krasnikov article headlined "Navalny's advertising pause" says that the head of Moscow mayoral candidate Navalny's headquarters, Leonid Volkov, is planning to sue the Prof-Media holding company that owns the Avtoradio radio station for the refusal to broadcast Navalny's commercials; pp 1, 8 (400 words).

2. Yulia Yakovleva article headlined "Single day without intrigues" focuses on a report on the Sept. 8 elections made by the Civil Society Development Foundation; p 2 (500 words).

3. Ivan Petrov article headlined "Kitenok for Shoigu" says that the Defense Ministry will buy 300 innovation monoplanes for training flights; p 2 (500 words).

Argumenty i Fakty

1. Boris Kagarlitsky article headlined "Unprintable liberalism" focuses on nationalist rhetoric of opposition politician Alexei Navalny; p 48 (1,000 words).