What the Papers Say, Aug. 27, 2013

Kommersant

1. Olga Mordyushenko et al. article headlined "Detention talks" says that the Belarussian authorities have arrested the director-general of the Uralkali fertilizers manufacturer, Vladislav Baumgertner, and put four top managers of the company on a wanted list. The article also features experts' comments on the issue; pp 1, 3 (1,585 words).

2. Anatoly Dzhumaylo and Denis Skorobogatko article headlined "Amurmetall alloyed to Korea" says that the state-run bank VEB, which owns a 100-percent-stake in the Komsomolsk-na-Amur-based Amurmetall plant, is holding talks with the South Korean company Posco on the latter's investment in the plant; pp 1, 7 (606 words).

3. Yury Barsukov article headlined "Impossible thing denied to Ukraine" quotes First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov as saying that Ukraine cannot integrate with the EU and maintain the current rather liberal customs regime with Russia at the same time; pp 1, 3 (598 words).

4. Sergei Sobolev and Yevgeny Khvostik article headlined "Minus Europe" looks at the results of the summer tourism season in Russia; pp 1, 9 (716 words).

5. Ivan Sinergyev and Sofya Samokhina article headlined "Mikhail Prokhorov not in hurry for next elections" says that Civil Platform party leader Mikhail Prokhorov is planning to get rid of foreign assets by the Moscow City Duma election in 2014 to be able to stand in it; p 2 (527 words).

6. Natalya Gorodetskaya article headlined "Dismissed mayors to get right to court protection" says that the government has drafted a bill granting mayors a right to challenge their dismissals by municipal parliaments in courts and stay in office until a court decision is made; p 2 (467 words).

7. Matvey Mashin article headlined "Muscovites not 'simpletons'" says that Moscow Mayoral Candidate Sergei Sobyanin has criticized his rivals' election campaigns at a meeting of his campaign headquarters, at which his authorized representatives were present. The article also features Minchenko Consulting experts' comments on the candidates' election campaigns; p 2 (504 words).

8. Unattributed article headlined "Should they be defended and in what way?" features comments by businessmen and human rights activists on the Russian authorities' steps that should be taken over the detention of the director-general of the Uralkali fertilizers manufacturer in Belarus; p 3 (302 words).

9. Oleg Sapozhkov et al. article headlined "How Russia can respond to Belarus" looks at the most effective measures that Russia could take in response to the detention of the director-general of the Uralkali fertilizers manufacturer in Belarus; p 3 (402 words).

10. Alexander Voronov et al. article headlined "Flooding comes with seven-meter-long strides" looks at damage caused by heavy floods in Russia's Far East and gives an update on the situation in flood-stricken Khabarovsk region; p 5 (638 words).

11. Sergei Goryashko article headlined "Russians do not want to live near illegal migrants" says that a public opinion poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation has shown that 65 percent of Russians are vigilant against migrant workers. The article also features a political expert's comment on the use of the illegal migration topic in the election campaigns of the Moscow mayoral candidates; p 5 (467 words).

12. Vyacheslav Kozlov article headlined "No money left for Rosleskhoz for emergency" says that the Federal Forestry Agency (Rosleskhoz) has criticized the government's reforms in the financing of wildfires extinguishing; p 5 (633 words).

13. Sergei Strokan and Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Russia waits for real evidence" says that Russia is doing its best to prevent the West from a military intervention in Syria. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned NATO against the move as it will only aggravate the situation in Syria and called for waiting for the results of the investigation into the recent chemical attack there; p 6 (529 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Kiev prepares oil response to Moscow" says that the Ukrainian government is planning to check the performance of the Russian oil company Rosneft, which bought one of the Ukraine's largest oil refineries in late 2012, which had been standing idle since spring 2012. This could a response to Russia for trade and customs wars, the article says; pp 1, 4 (866 words).

2. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Criminal and administrative encouragement of elites" says that the State Duma is drafting amendments to the Criminal and Administrative codes, which introduce tougher punishment for non-execution of the president's decrees by officials; pp 1, 3 (905 words).

3. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Not by Navalny alone" says that opposition Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny's campaign has outshined his rivals' election campaigns. His recent meeting with voters, which ended with his detention, was treated as a good PR campaign by observers; pp 1, 3 (748 words).

4. Anastasia Bashkatova and Yelizaveta Alexeyeva article headlined "Patients now left at home at death's door" says that as part of the modernization of the Russian healthcare system, emergency doctors have been banned from taking patients to hospitals; pp 1, 4 (823 words).

5. Andrei Serenko article headlined "Opposition demands that Kalmykia's head be dismissed" says that Kalmykia's opposition has demanded that the regional head and the regional government should be dismissed as they are ineffective and unable to control the socioeconomic situation in the republic; pp 1, 5 (438 words).

6. Darya Tsilyurik article headlined "Washington gets ready for quick attack on Syria" says that the U.S. is continuing establishing a coalition of supporters of a military intervention in Syria, whereas Russia and China are advocating a political settlement; pp 1, 6 (787 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Navalnization of Russian elections" says that oppositionist Alexei Navalny has managed to conduct a large-scale election campaign, improve his approval ratings and make himself known as an alternative to the current authorities without administrative backing. This could have an impact on future political campaigns in Russia, the article says; p 2 (496 words).

8. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Consequences are unpredictable" contemplates the consequences of a possible attack on Syria by the U.S. and its allies. Russian-U.S. relations will most likely worsen as a result of the move, the author says; p 2 (780 words).

9. Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "Azarov and Medvedev speak different languages" says that Moscow still believes that Kiev could prefer the Customs Union to the EU, whereas Kiev has resolved to integrate with the EU; p 4 (603 words).

10. Pavel Danilin article headlined "Brands and people" contemplates the role of party brands and personalities in party construction in Russia; p 5 (1,685 words).

Vedomosti

1. Alexandra Terentyeva et al. article headlined "First victim of potash war" says that the director-general of the Uralkali fertilizers manufacturer, Vladislav Baumgertner, has been detained in Belarus; pp 1, 12 (941 words).

2. Editorial headlined "Proud profession" says that a job of a public sector employee is one of the most desired in Russia as it is well-paid and provides a possibility of getting kickbacks and evading responsibility; pp 1, 6 (497 words).

3. Maxim Tovkaylo and Sergei Titov article headlined "Between two unions" says that Russia is doing its best to dissuade Ukraine from integrating with the EU, including warnings about problems facing Ukraine if it signs a free-trade agreement with the EU; p 5 (497 words).

4. Alexei Nikolsky article headlined "Third in guns" says that Russia has been ranked third in military spending in 2013, following the U.S., which is in the lead, and China; p 3 (369 words).

5. Polina Khimshiashvili and Alexei Nikolsky article headlined "Iraqi path for Syria" quotes Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying that the situation around Syria is developing according to the Iraqi scenario implemented 10 years ago; p 3 (458 words).

6. Ksenia Boletskaya article headlined "New couple for RBC" says that Derk Sauer, the chairman of the board of directors of the RBC media holding company, has become the director-general of the company; p 18 (498 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Bans instead of services" criticizes the anti-piracy law adopted in Russia; p 6 (299 words).

8. Lilia Biryukova and Anastasia Kornya article headlined "Money for Khryushi and Doblest" looks at how the president's grants have been distributed among Russian youth non-governmental organizations; p 2 (483 words).

9. Anastasia Kornya article headlined "Lack of observation" says that the Moscow mayoral candidates are facing problems in finding observers for the election because many people have gone on summer leaves and some people are displeased with the results of this activity at the previous elections; p 2 (560 words).

10. Maria Zheleznova and Lilia Biryukova interview headlined "'Creative class is me'" with Moscow mayoral candidate from the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Mikhail Degtyaryov, speaking about his election manifesto and his prospects at the Sept. 8 election; pp 8-9 (7,144 words).

Izvestia

1. Ivan Cheberko article headlined "Americans may lose Russian rocket engines" says that the Russian Security Council is considering cutting off supplies of RD-180 rocket engines to the U.S., which uses them at Atlas V rockets; pp 1, 3 (796 words).

2. Olga Yelkova and Yelizaveta Mayetnaya article headlined "Foreign Ministry 'does not notice' Uralkali head's arrest in Minsk" says that the Russian authorities are not in a hurry to liberate the director-general of the Uralkali fertilizers manufacturer, detained in Belarus, and have not so far officially commented on the issue; pp 1-2 (859 words).

3. Alena Sivkova article headlined "Education and Science Ministry caught in unwillingness to investigate cause of single state exams leaks" says that the Interior Ministry has de-facto denied that it is hackers who leaked the answers of the 2013 single state exams because the Education and Science Ministry has not asked to initiate criminal proceedings against people who hacked the ministry's website and published test answers on the internet; pp 1, 4 (737 words).

4. Andrei Gridasov and Nikita Mogutin article headlined "Pulkovo fails security check on eve of G20" says that the Pulkovo airport in St. Petersburg has failed a security check, which has been carried out ahead of the G20 summit due to take place in early September; pp 1-2 (763 words).

5. Denis Telmanov article headlined "Defense Ministry fails 'change of clothes' in central headquarters" says that a scandal linked to the introduction of a new uniform has flared up in the Defense Ministry; p 2 (560 words).

6. Pavel Kochegarov and Andrei Gridasov article headlined "Interior Ministry to spend 110M Rubles on 'clouds'" says that a security service that will unite all the databases that the Interior Ministry has may appear in Russia in 2014; p 4 (617 words).

7. Igor Yavlyansky article headlined "Egyptian Islamists get steamed-up" says that Egypt's party of Salafites, An-Nur, has announced that its representatives will become members of a committee set up by the interim government to draft amendments to the constitution. The article features a Russian expert's comment on the issue; p 4 (511 words).

8. Vladislav Vdovin article headlined "They rattle" criticizes a two-day patriotic show in Volgograd on Aug. 23, attended by President Putin; p 5 (652 words).

9. Sergei Roganov article headlined "Surgical intervention prescribed" defends the Aug. 23 patriotic show in Volgograd and says that it is necessary to actively change the well-established stereotypes and value systems that Russian society has; p 5 (842 words).

10. Anna Fedorova article headlined "No anti-utopia" criticizes the opposition for following anti-Kremlin rhetoric blindly and urges it to change the strategy; p 5 (634 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Natalya Kozlova interview headlined "Bastrykin conducts investigation" with Investigative Committee head Alexander Bastrykin, speaking about the crime situation in Russia; pp 1, 6 (2,211 words).

2. Vladislav Vorobyov article headlined "Hysteria around Syria" looks at a news conference on Syria given by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to global media outlets and features some of his statements; pp 1, 8 (1,392 words).

3. Leonid Radzikhovsky article headlined "Internal dialogue" describes Russian-U.S. relations; p 2 (848 words).

4. Vladimir Kuzmin article headlined "Trade premiers" focuses on talks between Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and his Ukrainian counterpart in Moscow; p 2 (739 words).

5. Vladimir Fedosenko article headlined "Temporarily without post" says that the Moscow city court has found legal the suspension of Yaroslavl Mayor Yevgeny Urlashov, accused of corruption, from the post; p 2 (449 words).

6. Sergei Ptichkin article headlined "I see aim 400 km ahead" looks at the most interesting exhibits at the MAKS-2013 airshow in the Moscow Region town Zhukovsky, which opens today; p 7 (784 words).

7. Darya Demina interview with Yevgeny Marchukov, general designer at the Lyulka Experimental Design Bureau (Moscow branch of the Saturn Science and Production Association), headlined "Who promotes aircraft", who speaks about the performance of the bureau and the domestic aircraft-building sector in general; p 7 (863 words).

8. Yury Gavrilov article headlined "They do not forgive Anatoly Serdyukov for lake" says that the Main Military Prosecutor's Office (GVP) has given its materials about Moscow region forest lands being illegally sold by the Defense Ministry's property relations department to the Investigative Committee. Thus, a criminal case in which former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov could be targeted might be opened; p 7 (433 words).

9. Olga Dmitryeva article headlined "Albion prepares for trip" says that the U.K. is considering taking part in a military operation that the U.S. could launch against Syria; p 8 (404 words).

10. Yekaterina Zabrodina interview headlined "Assad's children learn Russian and Chinese" with journalist Natalya Andrushchenko, who visited Damascus as a member of a Russian female delegation invited by Syrian President Bashar Assad's wife. The woman told about the situation in Syria and shared her impression of a meeting with the first lady; p 8 (400 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Tatyana Zamakhina article headlined "Budget not calculated: country to be ablaze" says the regions could save on extinguishing wildfires to increase state-paid employees' salaries, thus fulfilling the president's signed given in May 2012; pp 1-2 (503 words).

2. Olga Bozhyeva article headlined "Half-done Sukhoi" says that the Russian military aircraft-building sector is on the brink of ruin; pp 1, 7 (1,402 words).

3. Yulia Kalinina article headlined "Evil investigator changes with kind one" says that the Russian authorities have learnt the lessons of the 2011 to 2012 protests and decided to admit the most prominent oppositionists to elections, but this means that the authorities have admitted their previous behaviour was illegal; pp 1-2 (450 words).

4. Igor Subbotin brief interview headlined "Does intervention not threaten Syria?" with military expert Pavel Felgengauer, speaking about prospects for a military intervention in Syria. Damascus should be afraid of air attacks, the expert says; p 2 (456 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Gennady Petrov interview with Alexander Ignatenko, president of the Institute of Religion and Politics, headlined "'Invasion of Syria will be second and last suicide of U.S.'", in which Ignatenko speaks about the likelihood of an armed Western intervention in Syria; pp 1-2 (795 words).

2. Anna Alexeyeva article headlined "For one beaten person" says that a Moscow court has upheld the arrest of the suspected attackers of a policeman at a Moscow market in late July and notes that punishments are tougher for ordinary people than for law-enforcers, even if they have committed similar crimes; pp 1, 5 (1,631 words).

3. Yelizaveta Dmitryeva article headlined "What the hell, they gave him a ride" looks at Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny's Aug. 25 meeting with voters, which ended with him being briefly detained; p 2 (359 words).

4. Sergei Putilov article headlined "MAKS at minimum" says that the MAKS-2013 airshow in the town of Zhukovsky in Moscow Region, which opens today, seems to be losing some of its standing. Moreover, it has shown that Russia is lagging behind the world leaders in aircraft-building; p 3 (714 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Varvara Onishchenko article, headlined "West ready to launch war in Syria", says that NATO "does not give a damn about the UN Security Council" and plans to "topple" Syrian President Bashar Assad; p 4 (150 words).

2. Israel Shamir article, headlined "Hello, new missile crisis?", says that the firmer Russia is in opposing any Western plans to launch a military intervention in Syria, the greater chances of peace; p 5 (700 words)

3. Oleg Frolov article, headlined "Election two weeks away: are the leaders becoming clear?", says that whether Moscow mayoral candidate Alexei Navalny will be allowed to continue his campaign has turned into a constant topic of discussion, and suggesting that Navalny himself is "adding fuel to the fire" by seeking the disqualification of rival candidate and incumbent Mayor Sergei Sobyanin; p 7 (700 words)

RBC Daily

1. Ivan Petrov and Yekaterina Metelitsa article, headlined "Missile without fear", which says that the Defense Ministry is prepared to pay 7 million rubles ($210,000) to purchase an insurance policy as cover, should any of their missiles accidentally kill members of the public or damage their property; pp 1-2 (700 words).

Trud

1. Pavel Orlov article, headlined "War will break out this week", in which former general Leonid Ivashov and commentator Mikhail Delyagin predict that the U.S. will attack Syria because, according to Ivashov, "without war the U.S. loses its leadership in the world, and, according to Delyagin, "the strategic policy of the U.S. is the destabilization of the world"; p 2 (734 words)

Krasnaya Zvezda

1. Andrei Garavsky article, headlined "Maximum turns", looks ahead to the MAKS-2013 airshow in the town of Zhukovsky in Moscow Region, which opens today; p 1 (450 words)

2. Viktor Ruchkin article, headlined "Pentagon ready to strike", examines the likelihood of Western military intervention in Syria; pp 1, 3 (1200 words)