What the Papers Say Sept. 20, 2013

Kommersant

1.Maria Yakovleva article headlined "VEB to be supported with private money" says that the government is discussing a proposal to oblige the state-run bank VEB to deal with money from clients of private pension funds until the funds are incorporated and enter the system of savings insurance; pp 1, 10 (642 words).

2. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Russian space industry acquires presidential features" says that the government has drafted a presidential decree on setting up a joint rocket-space corporation; pp 1, 3 (791 words).

3. Kirill Melnikov and Sofia Samokhina article headlined "Viktor Ishayev to return to Far East" says that former presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District and Far East development minister Viktor Ishayev has been appointed Rosneft's vice president in charge of Far Eastern projects; pp 1, 9 (594 words).

4. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Term admission" gives an ironic account of President Putin's meeting with participants in the Valdai Discussion Club where Putin said he might run for president in 2018; pp 1-2 (2,221 words).

5. Irina Nagornykh article headlined "Vladimir Putin gives more to human rights activists" says that President Putin has allocated additional financing of 250 million rubles ($8 million) for human rights organizations; p 2 (587 words).

6. Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "Convicted making stand for right to be elected" says that the Constitutional Court has gotten down to considering a set of complaints against the law banning people convicted for grave and very grave crimes to run for political office; p 3 (60 words).

7. Sofia Samokhina and Sergei Goryashko article headlined "Sergei Naryshkin holds non-parliamentary hearings" says that the council of non-parliamentary parties under the State Duma speaker has discussed the results of the Sept. 8 elections and proposals on amendments to electoral law; p 3 (587 words).

8. Sergei Mashkin and Georgy Dvali article headlined "Diplomat's murderer disguised as souvenir vendor" says that the Russian Investigative Committee has announced they have identified the killer of Russian diplomat in Abkhazia Dmitry Vishernev. The suspect is Chechen militant Yusuf Lakayev who must have acted on the order from a North Caucasus militant group, it said ; p 5 (820 words).

9. Dmitry Butrin article headlined "Tough but elastic budget" looks at the draft budget for 2014 to 2016; p 6 (558 words).

10. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Resolution on Syria under military intervention" says that the discussion of the draft resolution on Syria at the UN Security Council may drag on indefinitely; p 7 (729 words).

11. Olga Mordyushenko et al. report headlined "Belarus labels Uralkali as bankrupt" says that ahead of the meeting with President Putin Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko has voiced tough criticism of the Russian potash giant Uralkali ; p 11 (596 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1.Anton Khodasevich article headlined "Minsk and Moscow agree to make peace" says that Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko is ready to hand over Uralkaly CEO Vyacheslav Baumgertner to Russian law enforcers and resume cooperation with Uralkaly; pp 1, 7 (700 words).

2.Igor Naumov article headlined "Citizens to support monopolies with personal finances" says that Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev has stated that tariffs of monopolies will be frozen for the industry but not for ordinary people; pp 1, 4 (400 words).

3. Stanislav Minin article headlined "Russia without identity" says that speaking at a plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club, President Putin emphasized the need for a discussion about Russian identity and a national idea; pp 1, 3 (650 words).

4. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Zorkin gets involved in politics" says that the Constitutional Court is considering reinstating the right of people convicted for grave and very grave crimes to run for political office; pp 1, 3 (800 words).

5. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Iran ready for nuclear compromise" says that in an interview with a U.S. channel Iranian President Hassan Rouhani stated that Iran was definitely not going to create a nuclear bomb which is another positive signal for talks on the Iranian nuclear problem. However, the U.S. is unwilling to mollify sanctions against Iran in response to the concessions made by its new leadership, an expert says; pp 1-2 (500 words).

6. Editorial headlined "Prokhorov's model versus Navalny's model" looks at Mikhail Prokhorov's article in Vedomosti newspaper where he proposed a two-party system for Russia: a liberal party, for example his Civil Platform, and a left-wing party like United Russia. The proposed model is more appealing for the authorities than the model protest leader Alexei Navalny is pushing for, but the society may find it moot, the editorial says; p 2 (600 words).

7. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "'Aggrieved witnesses' from special police force" looks at the latest developments in the trial over 12 participants in the Bolotnaya Ploshchad riots in May 2012; p 2 (400 words).

8. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Carte blanche. Reforms begin looming for law enforcers again" says that President Vladimir Putin has replaced head of the presidential security service which may be related to another reform of law-enforcement agencies; p 3 (600 words).

9. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Putin advised to return party blocks" says that the presidential human rights council is going to propose that the election laws be amended to ensure more competition; p 3 (1,000 words).

10. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Regions choke over electric diet" says that as regions where social electricity norms were introduced are beginning to protest against the move the pro-Kremlin All-Russian People's Front is going to demand that the introduction of these norms all across Russia be postponed; p 4 (800 words).

11. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Flimsy budget for nearest three years" looks at the draft budget for 2014 to 2016 and says that the Finance Ministry's plans to obtain some 400 billion rubles by reducing the shadow economy are not feasible; p 4 (750 words).

12. Tatiana Ivzhenko article headlined "Kiev fears Russia to bring down Ukrainian currency rate" says that Ukrainian bankers are concerned that Russia may affect the collapse of the Ukrainian currency now using Ukrainian currency trading at the Moscow exchange; p 7 (800 words).

13. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "Bashar Assad declassifies chemical arsenals" says that the Syrian president has stated that it will take a year and $ 1 billion to eliminate the Syrian chemical arsenals, information on which Damascus is to provide to the UN tomorrow; p 8 (900 words).

14. Yury Paniyev article headlined "Washington not to stop printing press" says that stock markets have rapidly grown in response to the decision of the U.S. Federal Reserve not to stop the printing press; p 8 (550 words).

Vedomosti

1.Editorial headlined "Kings speaking" says that King of Netherlands Willem-Alexander has declared the end of the welfare state in its televised address to the Dutch people and says that the announcement reflects a worldwide trend; pp 1, 6 (356 words).

2. Maxim Tovkaylo and Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "Central Bank stands up for inflation" says that the government has decided against freezing natural monopolies' tariffs for the population; pp 1, 4 (736 words).

3. Anastasia Fomicheva and Alexandra Terentyeva article headlined "Minus $12 billion from Belarussian leader" says that Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko has accused Russian potash company Uralkali and its main shareholder Suleiman Kerimov of financial fraud against Belarus; p 11 (507 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Outlining priorities" says that the draft budget for 2014 to 2016 vividly reflects the state's priorities; p 6 (429 words).

5. Svetlana Bocharova article headlined "Private security firms to look into handbags" says just before the Sochi Olympics private security firms might be given the right to check luggage without police participation. However, the article says, the adoption of the amendment is being delayed now; p 2 (500 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1.Yelena Kukol and Vasily Mironov article headlined "Ruble capable of buying" says that Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev has pledged that neither the cabinet nor the Central Bank are going to devalue the ruble; pp 1, 5 (750 words).

2. Vitaly Petrov article headlined "Vladimir Putin's red lines" gives account of President Vladimir Putin's speech at the session of the Valdai Discussion Club; pp 1-2 (1,300 words).

3. Yelena Yakovleva article headlined "N. not to be minister" speculates on who and why circulates rumors and fake news in Russian media; pp 1, 11 (1,200 words).

4. Tamara Shkel article headlined "Acting as steam engines" says that the council of non-parliamentary parties under the State Duma speaker has discussed the results of the Sept. 8 elections; p 4 (700 words).

5. Vladislav Vorobyev article headlined "Swimming in news flow" says that Moscow is hosting the 15th general assembly of the Organization of Asian-Pacific News Agencies; p 4 (600 words).

6. Sergei Belov article headlined "Syria by right" says that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stated at the 15th general assembly of the Organization of Asian-Pacific News Agencies in Moscow that any outside interference in the Syrian affairs is unacceptable; p 5 (500 words).

7. Mikhail Falaleyev article headlined "Did Snowden like Russian vodka?" features brief comments by former CIA contractor Edward Snowden's lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, who says that his client is getting used to living in Russia; p 7 (150 words).

8. Alexander Gasyuk article headlined "'I am a U.S. senator'" comments on U.S. Senator John McCain's article posted on the pravda.ru website in response to President Putin's article in The New York Times; p 8 (300 words).

9. Vladislav Vorobyev article headlined "If you give your word you must keep it" looks at the factors that might complicate the placing of Syrian chemical arsenals under international control; p 8 (400 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1.Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "My reply to John McCain, or Turkish sultan's letter to Zaporozhye Cossacks" comments on U.S. Senator John McCain's article on the Pravda.ru website; pp 1, 3 (660 words).

2. Stanislav Belkovsky article headlined "Kisa and Navalny were here" contemplates the phenomenon of Navalny's popularity despite all the authorities' attempts to discredit him; p 3 (1,230 words).

3. Lina Panchenko article headlined "Same gang kills Politkovskaya and Khlebnikov?" says that the defendant in the Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaya murder case Dmitry Pavlyuchenkov confessed that he had also organized surveillance of U.S. journalist Paul Khlebnikov who was killed in Moscow; p 6 (531 words).

4. Andrei Yashavsky article headlined "Doomed Arab politics" speculates on what leads Middle Eastern rulers to defeat: inability to reach compromise or the Western hostility; p 15 (1,654 words).

5. Igor Subotin interview with head of the St. Petersburg Centre of Middle East Studies Gumer Isayev headlined "Syrian revolution of discontent" where he speaks about the Syrian opposition; p 15 (967 words).

Izvestia

1.Boris Mezhuyev article headlined "World leadership as prerequisite of national leadership" looks at the outcomes of the Valdai Discussion Club; pp 1-2 (685 words).

2. Natalya Bashlykova article headlined "Non-parliamentary parties lack 'good mushrooms' at elections" says that non-parliamentary parties criticized the outcomes of the Sept. 8 elections at the session of the council of non-parliamentary parties under the State Duma speaker; pp 1-2 (889 words).

3. Yegor Sozayev-Guryev article headlined "Vladimir Putin comes into open for opposition and experts" says that speaking at the Valdai Discussion Club President Putin mentioned the possibility of his running for president in 2018 and an amnesty for Bolotnaya Square riots defendants; p 2 (1,222 words).

4. Mikhail Rubin interview with board chairman of the pravda.ru Vadim Gorshenin headlined "'McCain was looking for Kremlin's mouthpiece and he found it" where he details the circumstances under which U.S. Senator John McCain's article was published on the pravda.ru website; p 3 (556 words).

5. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "War in Syria to improve U.S.-Iranian relations" says that Iran's main concession is keeping silent amid calls for military intervention in Syria and looks at the fruits the melting in U.S.-Iranian relations may yield; p 7 (674 words).

6. Maxim Kononenko article headlined "Episode with trousers" provides an ironical comment on U.S. Senator John McCain's article posted on the pravda.ru website; p 9 (756 words).

RBC Daily

1. Yulia Sinyaeva report "Whiskey and soda, homosexuality and women connoisseur Berlusconi" says that the situation in Syria, homosexuality, Russian-Ukrainian relations, the Bolotnaya case and the president's political opponents were discussed at the Valdai international political discussion forum when President Vladimir Putin addressed the forum; pp 1-2 (900 words).

2. Yevgeny Novikov report "Optimistically tough" says that the government has approved the draft budget for 2014 to 2016. Its discussion was difficult: ministries and agencies were struggling for additional funds, author says; p 2 (650 words).

3. Yulia Gallyamova report "Lukashenko reveals fraud" says that Belarus continues informing the public about the major Russian potash producer Uralkali; p 5 (450 words).

Noviye Izvestiya

1. Gennady Savchenko report "Abkhazia says killer of Russian diplomat caught" says that the official representative of the Abkhaz president has said that the murder of a Russian diplomat has been solved; p 2 (300 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Yelena Krivyakina report "Vladimir Putin: "One should not kick future like football'" looks at Putin's meeting with participants in the Valdai international political discussion forum; p 2 (1,000 words).

2. Sergei Semushkin report "Time, back" says that the State Duma has decided to debate the return to the winter time in Russia; p 3 (450 words).

3. Asya Khovanskaya report "'America is weak and is talking rubbish, Russia is reviving"' says that the picture of Putin has been put on the cover of the September issue of Time magazine. However, this cover was only published in Time's international editions. In the United States, a football player replaced Putin; p 4 (400 words).

4. Asya Khovanskaya report "Assad names price on his chemical weapons" says that it may take years to destroy Syrian chemical weapons; p 4 (200 words).

5. Vladimir Vorsobin report "Did Chechen militant kill Russian diplomat in Abkhazia?" says that Georgians have detained a person suspected of killing a Russian diplomat in Abkhazia; p 4 (450 words).

6. Alexander Pavlov report "John turns the clock back" says that U.S. Senator John McCain has written an article in response to Putin's article in The New York Times. McCain's article was published on the website pravda.ru; p 4 (350 words).

7. Alexander Grishin report headlined "Bomb that does not explode" comments on John McCain's article in pravda.ru. McCain has failed to give a proper response to Putin, author says; p 4 (250 words)

Novaya Gazeta

1. Alexei Polikovsky report "Everyone to his trade" looks at the trial of people suspected of participating in mass disturbances on Bolotnaya square on May 6 2012; p 2 (1,200 words).

2. Diana Khachatryan report "State Duma finishes off academy" says that the State Duma has passed the controversial bill on the Russian Academy of Sciences in the second and third readings; p 7 (650 words).

3. Nadezhda Prusenkova report "Forged documents, gun and killer" looks at the trial of the newspaper's slain journalist Anna Politkovskaya; pp 12-13(1,700 words).

Tvoy Den

1. Sergei Ivanov report "Good Kalashnikovs" looks at Putin's visit to the Kalashnikov factory in Izhevsk where Kalashnikov assault rifles are produced; p 2 (350 words).

2. Brief unattributed article "Smear campaign" comments on John McCain's article on pravda.ru; p 2 (100 words).

Trud

1. Alexander Dmitryev report "Putin makes them find compromise" looks at the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences; pp 1, 3 (1,700 words).