What the Papers Say, Aug. 28, 2013

Kommersant

1. Vladislav Novyy et al. article headlined "Security agencies united in net" says President Vladimir Putin has approved a project to build a telecommunications network that would be shared by Russian security and defense agencies. A similar network used by Pentagon proved to be prone to insider leaks, the authors note; p 1 (858 words).

2. Alexei Shapovalov article headlined "Economy lagging behind president's instructions" says Russia's budget revenues are projected to go down by an equivalent of $48 billion within the next three years, making it impossible to meet the goals that President Putin set to the cabinet in May 2012; p 1 (595 words).

3. Yury Senatorov article headlined "Anatoly Serdyukov replaced by women" former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov is not among the suspects in a criminal case that has been launched in connection with the illegal sale of three plots of woodland owned by the ministry in Moscow Region; p 1 (563 words).

4. Irina Nagornykh and Natalya Gorodetskaya article headlined "Captain of grants" looks ahead at the results of a contest to distribute the presidential grants among non-governmental organizations; p 2 (750 words).

5. Tatyana Yedovina article headlined "Russian business has government support, but no investment" reviews a business environment report released by Ernst and Young in the run-up to the G20 summit in St. Petersburg; p 2 (476 words).

6. Sergei Goryashko et al. article headlined "Sergei Sobyanin backs up CPRF" says candidate for Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has backed a proposal by his rival Ivan Melnikov of the Communist Party to verify the results of the Sept. 8 election by manual vote counting. The authors note that according to recent polls Sobyanin's approval rating has gone down slightly to 52 percent, whereas his key competitor Alexei Navalny would have got 11 percent of votes of the voting had taken place on Aug. 25; p 2 (556 words).

7. Anna Petrova article headlined "Defense Ministry to get VIP summer residence back" says a Moscow company has agreed to give up its ownership rights for an estate on the Azov Sea shore that it acquired from the Defense Ministry through a supposedly fraudulent scheme; p 4 (364 words).

8. Natalya Gorodetskaya article headlined "Human rights council considers economic amnesty unsuccessful" says the presidential human rights council intends to come forward with a proposal of an extended amnesty marking the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution; p 4 (473 words).

9. Alexander Voronov et al. article headlined "School to college education to be introduced in Moscow" looks at Sergei Sobyanin's idea of launching two-year high school courses at four Moscow universities where school leavers could receive tailored training to ensure their enrollment with the desired college; p 5 (511 words).

10. Maxim Yusin and Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Syria either to be stricken or to be hit" considers three possible scenarios of future developments in Syria as military strikes appear imminent; p 6 (811 words).

11. Olga Mordyushenko and Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Belarus not subdued by Russian diplomacy" says Uralkali CEO Vladislav Baumgertner is still under arrest in Belarus despite Russian diplomats' efforts to secure his release or at least to meet him; p 6 (679 words).

12. Yegor Popov and Yelizaveta Kuznetsova article headlined "Superjet to be offered for test drive" says aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi Company and Sberbank Leasing are to set up a joint company that will offer Sukhoi Superjet-100 aircraft for lease; p 7 (615 words).

13. Kirill Melnikov article headlined "Minister not forgiven for being late" says Nature Resources Minister Sergei Donskoi might be disciplined for procrastinating over the issuance of an exploration license for the Norilsk-1 copper nickel deposit; p 9 (447 words).

 Vedomosti

1. Anton Filatov and Alexei Rozhkov article headlined "Millhouse going to garden" says Roman Abramovich's company Millhouse Capital is in talks to buy the Beliye Sady (White Gardens) business centre in Moscow. The deal might prove to be the second largest in Moscow's property market; p 18 (489 words).

2. Anastasia Golitsyna article headlined "Stood up for links" says Russian search engine Yandex has suggested amending the law on online piracy as it leaves too much room for interpretation; p 17 (497 words).

3. Yekaterinburg Kravchenko article headlined "Protection from FRS" says BRICS counties are close to setting up their own reserve bank; p 4 (266 words).

4. Margarita Lyutova article headlined "Roads to wait for budget" says the Russian government has considered the renewed transportation development strategy that conservatively requires the investment of $2.1 billion until 2030 in the development of transportation infrastructure; p 5 (405 words).

5. Lilia Biryukova et al. article headlined "To rescue drowning people is Putin's business" says President Vladimir Putin will visit the flood-stricken areas in Russia's Far East in the next few days. Pundit Alexei Makarkin says it is extremely important that Putin is personally coordinating the handling of the flood aftermath; p 2 (639 words).

6. Svetlana Bocharova and Anna Gallay article headlined "State Duma returning to turning point work" says the parliament is going back to work after summer recess, looks back at controversial bills passed by the parliament during its previous session; p 1 (784 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Medical care too expensive" says the health care reform that aimed to make funding of hospitals more transparent has resulted in decreased efficiency and poorer access to health care in rural areas; p 6 (383 words).

8. Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "Assad to be punished, but not dethroned" quotes experts who say that without a land operation it will be impossible to dethrone Syrian President Bashar Assad, so the planned action is aimed at sending a signal to Russia and Assad and to prevent a retaliatory strike by Syrian armed forces against Israel; p 3 (452 words).

9. Filipp Sterkin article headlined "Figure of the week: 400,000" says 656,000 individuals have terminated their business licenses over the past six months; generating serious doubt about the effectiveness of the government's business support measures; p 7 (396 words).

10. Sergei Karaganov article headlined "Map of the World: Doomed reset" looks at the current cool-off in Russian-U.S. relations; pp 6-7(1,112 words).

11. Alexei Nikolsky article headlined "New fighter jets to be purchased later" says the United Aircraft Building Corporation and the Defense Ministry failed to sign a deal to purchase 16 MiG29-SMT fighter jets because the contract would not be in line with the state armaments procurement program; p2 (427 words).

12. Yekaterinburg Sobol and Alexei Nikolsky article headlined "Sukhoi Superjet 100 for president" says the presidential administration might purchase up to four Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft. The deal might help to market the aircraft, experts say; p 12 (318 words).

13. Editorial headlined "Permitted technique" says the arrest of Uralkali CEO Vladislav Baumgertner in Minsk has not yet provoked a political conflict between Russia and Belarus; but Russia is more restricted in its means and has so far been forced to play by the rules of Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko; pp 1-6 (394 words).

 Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Velimir Razuvayev article headlined "Head of Security council shot dead at second try" says the killing of head of the Security Council of Ingushetia Akhmed Kotiyev, who was shot dead on Aug. 27 is likely to have been linked to his work; pp 1,2 (572 words).

2. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Secret of survival for Oboronservis" says that the Main Military Prosecutor's Office has submitted its files to the Main Military Investigations Directorate in connection with the illegal sale of three land plots in the Moscow region owned by the Defense Ministry. Former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov is unlikely to be listed as a suspected in the new criminal case, expert Alexei Makarkin says; pp 1,3 (736 words).

3. Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "Sluggish economy till 2020" says experts doubt the feasibility of the government's strategic economic plans as economic growth this year is likely to be 1.8 percent and capital is flowing out of the country; p 4 (876 words).

4. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Witnesses sinking in Bolotnaya case" says members presidential human rights council are going to speak to President Putin about the Bolotnaya case at a meeting scheduled for Sept. 4; pp 1,3 (607 words).

5. Anton Khodasevich article headlined "Ground for dialogue fertilized with potassium" says the arrest of the Uralkali CEO Vladislav Baumgertner in Minsk must have been authorized by Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko; looks at how the case might affect Russian-Belarussian relations; pp 1,6 (760 words).

6. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Brussels takes Ukraine under protection" says a session of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs will take place on Aug. 29 to offer protection to Ukraine amid the latter's trade spat with Russia; pp 1,6 (950 words).

7. Oksana Skripnikova article headlined "Run-off not expected in Moscow" says polls show that Sergei Sobyanin is likely to be elected Moscow mayor already in the first round of the election; p 2 (536 words).

8. Editorial headlined "Prokhorov factor" says billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov's Civil Platform party is extremely important for keeping the balance between right wing and left wing forces in the Russian opposition; p 2 (490 words).

9. Igor Naumov article headlined "Water to be tamed with pensioners' money" says money from the Federal Pension Fund might be used for building hydroelectric power plants and water reservoirs. Environmentalists, however, doubt that the construction of dams could help prevent floods; p 4 (924 words).

10. Artur Blinov interview with Chinese ambassador in Moscow Li Hui headlined "Chinese Dream and Russia's plans compatible". The diplomat speaks about Russian-Chinese relations, cooperation on key international issues; p 5 (2,192 words).

11. Viktor Litovkin article headlined "Russian will be able to protect its interests" says a war in Syria will not be an easy road for the U.S. and its allies. The Russian fleet will not engage in the action as Syria is not Russia's ally, but the personnel of the Russian naval maintenance centre in Tartus will be protected by the Russian navy; p 6 (246 words).

12. Darya Tsilyurik headlined "American 'Tomahawks' on warpath" says the consular department at the Russian embassy in Damascus has closed down till Sept. 1 as the situation in Syria is growing increasingly tense. The Emergency Situations Ministry has started evacuating Russian citizens from the country; pp 1,6 (744 words).

 Izvestia

1. Alena Sivkova article headlined "Human rights council will make NGO account for foreign financing" says that at their meeting with President Vladimir Putin members of the presidential human rights council will ask the president to make amendments to the law on NGOs; pp 1-2 (500 words).

2. Andrei Gridasov article entitled "Vendetta may be behind Ingush security secretary's murder" says investigators believe Akhmet Kotiyev's murder could be linked to the death of opposition activist and founder of the Ingushetia.ru website Magomed Yevloyev; pp 1, 4 (700 words).

3. Boris Mezhuyev article entitled "America is a hostage of its friends" says the U.S. is ready to launch a strike against Syria but has no idea what the country should look like after it. The author reviews some of the U.S. analytical publications; p 5 (700 words).

4. Dmitry Drobnitsky article headlined "Being Barack Obama" the new U.S. strategy described as "leading from behind" goes to conceal the fact that there is no strategy at all; p 5 (600 words).

5. Liberal Democratic Party of Russia leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky article entitled "Love your country" looks at the role of democrats in the Moscow mayoral election campaign; p 5 (400 words).

6. Igor Karaulov article headlined "Leadership crisis" looks at the federal targeted programme adopted by the Russian government until 2020 and aimed at strengthening the unity of the Russian nation and Russia's ethnic and cultural development and highlights the problems one may face in fulfilling it; p 5 (500 words).

7. Maria Gorkovskaya and Igor Yavlyansky article headlined "Americans are forming coalition to attack Syria" says the overthrow of President Assad will come first followed by an operation against Iran; p 4 (700 words).

8. Yelena Teslova article entitled "TV channel Moskva 24 refuses to air Nikolai Levichev's election ads" says the reasoning behind the refusal was the fact that the ads of A Just Russia's leader contained images of a Russian matryoshka doll that looked remarkably like acting Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin; p 6 (500 words).

9. Sergei Podosenov article entitled "Migrant workers content with life" quotes a report on the situation with migrants in Moscow and the Moscow region, prepared by a fund close to the Federal Migration Service that says that most of guest workers from Central Asia currently working in Moscow are not going to stay in Russia. They come here to earn a living and do successfully do so without any necessary documents; pp 1-2 (500 words).

 Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "G20 to stop the war?" says the White House continues to "hypocritically" claim that the Syrian conflict has no political solution; pp 1, 8 (800 words)

2. Anton Alexeyev article entitled "To come back to Earth" says G20 should think about inviting new members to open its doors to countries from underrepresented regions; p 8 (400 words).

3. Chairman of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy (SVOP) presidium Fedor Lukyanov article headlined "Instincts and reflexes" says these days there is no way of checking information — about chemical attacks in Syria for instance — that would suit all involved parties. "Politics is reduced to ideological reflexes and natural instincts; p 8 (700 words).

4. Yekaterina Zabrodina and Alexander Samozhnyov articles headlined "Invited and arrested" looks at the detention in Minsk of managing director of major Russian potash producer Uralkali Vladislav Baumgertner and says it may have a negative impact on the relations between Russia and Belarus; p 5 (900 words).

 Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Yekaterinburg Sazhneva article headlined "'Chemical attack' in Syria as seen by Russian eye witnesses" quotes Valentina Lantseva, who recently returned from Damascus, as saying that the Aug. 21 chemical attack in the outskirts of the city was actually faked by rebels; p 1 (1,643 words).

2. Tatyana Zamakhina and Natalya Vedeneyeva article headlined "Dmitry Medvedev tries his hand at being spaceman at air show" reports on Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's visit to MAKS air show; p 1 (908 words).

3. Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "Kudrin tears matrix apart, once again on Russian nightmare" reviews a report by the Strategic Developments Center that reveals a new stage of political stabilization in Russia and points to low public demand for opposition forces; p 1 (890 words).

4. Dmitry Katorzhnov article headlined "What human rights activists are going to discuss with president" previews the Sept. 4 meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with members of the presidential human rights council; p 2 (459 words).

5. Viktoria Prikhodko article headlined "Putin holds meeting at hydroelectric power plant" reports on a meeting that President Vladimir Putin chaired at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power plant to discuss flood prevention; p 2 (503 words).

6. Lina Panchenko article headlined "Vasilyeva stealing army ranges?" says former head of the property relations department at the Defense Ministry Yevgenia Vasilyeva might face charges in connection with the illegal sale of three plots of woodland in Moscow Region; p 3 (575 words).

7. Matvey Ganapolsky article headlined "Hurray, we are allowed politics!" mocks the announcement by first deputy head of the presidential administration Vyacheslav Volodin that it was the Kremlin's decision to allow opposition activists to take part in elections; p 3 (988 words).

8. Anna Mishina article headlined "Six percent of Muscovites saw Sobyanin participating in debates" shares the results of a recent survey by VTsIOM that show a lead for Sergei Sobyanin in the Moscow mayoral race with 64 percent of potential votes; p 7 (387 words).

9. Igor Subbotin article headlined "U.S. to bomb Syria for two days" says air strikes on Syria are likely to continue for two days; p 8 (431 words).

 RBC Daily

1. Stepan Opalev and Yulia Yakovleva article headlined "Discounted parties" says the United Russia candidates were less frequently denied registration to participate in the Sept. 8 election than the candidates from the other parties; pp 1-2 (800 words).

2. Alexander Litoy article headlined "From racism — to U.S." says the Meskhetian Turks of Russia would like to move to the U.S. en masse as they are fearing discrimination in Russia; p 2 (700 words).

3. Stepan Opalev article headlined "Searches at customs more important than arrest for potash, published in the section "Rankings of fight against corruption", says that searches in the Federal Customs Service have got wider media coverage than the arrest of the director-general of the Russian potash producer Uralkali, Vladislav Baumgertner; p 2 (300 words).

4. Unattributed article headlined "Art of extremism" says the police in St. Petersburg have seized a number of paintings from a museum of contemporary political art; p 6 (100 words).

5. Yulia Galyamova article headlined "Operation Baumgertner" says Russia is trying to get Uralkali director-general Vladislav Baumgertner out of jail in Belarus; p 7 (600 words).

 Novaya Gazeta

1. Yulia Latynina article headlined "Linden for 200,000 dollars" contains two interviews, with a famous landscape designer and a Moscow city official. The author implies that planting of trees in Moscow was not a transparent process; pp 1-3 (2,200 words).

2. Irina Khalip article headlined "No doubt, this is war" says Uralkali director-general Vladislav Baumgertner is a prisoner of the Russian-Belarussian economic row; p 6 (700 words).

3. Pavel Felgengauer article headlined "Today in Syria, where tomorrow?" says the U.S. administration has not wanted to intervene in Syria and is planning just a limited strike now; p 7 (600 words).

4. Dmitry Travin article headlined "Eternal Arab Spring" says the unrest in the Middle East may last decades; p 10 (500 words).

 Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Sergei Polosatov article headlined "Mikhail Prokhorov thinks Navalny protege of Kremlin" quotes Russian businessman and politician Mikhail Prokhorov as saying that the Kremlin is more afraid of his Civil Platform party than of opposition politician Alexei Navalny; p 5 (400 words).

2. Alexander Kots and Dmitry Steshin article headlined "Why no victory for Shari'ah in Egypt" is an interview with the leader of the Egyptian National Progressive Unionist Grouping Party, Rif'at Muhammad al-Sa'id; pp 12-13 (1,700 words).

3. Alexander Khodyakin article headlined "U.S. ready to punish Damascus" says the U.S. scenario for Syria is similar to the scenario it has used in Iraq; p 13 (300 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Gennady Petrov article headlined "If Obama loses Syrian war, they will tell him he loses to Russia" is an interview with Russian pundit Georgy Mirsky on Syrian developments; pp 1-2 (600 words).