What the Papers Say Sept. 23, 2013

Kommersant

1.Yelena Kiseleva article headlined "Private investors called to arms" says the Rostekh corporation has found private investors for the Kalashnikov plant. Andrei Bokarev, co-owner of Kuzbasrazrezugol and Transmashholding, and Alexei Krivoruchko, owner of Aeroexpress, will buy 49 percent of the concern's shares for 1.3 billion rubles ($40 million); pp 1, 9 (889 words).

2. Oleg Rubnikovich article headlined "An attempt to steal 10 billion rubles from Moscow history" says a probe into an attempt to acquire ownership of 120 buildings in Moscow in a fraudulent way has been completed. Former head of the city directorate of the Rosimushchestvo state property agency Anatoly Shesteryuk is one of the suspects; pp 1, 3 (780 words).

3. Dmitry Butrin et al. report headlined "Wrong time for losses" says amendments to the law on joint stock companies drafted by the Finance Ministry may formally allow money losing companies to pay dividends to their shareholders; pp 1, 6 (886 words).

4. Pavel Belavin et al. report headlined "X5 conquers Sedmoi Kontinent" says that the retail network Sedmoi Kontinent is going on sale. Its owner Alexander Zanadvorov is to make between $2.4 and $4.05 billon on the deal. The X5 retail group is one of possible buyers; pp 1, 12 (793 words).

5. Krasnoyarsk-based Dmitry Malkov article headlined "Patriots of Russia lack authority" says the Patriots of Russia party, which has enjoyed the greatest support in the Krasnoyarsk city duma election, has failed to get its candidate elected as speaker of the local duma. United Russia member Valery Revkuts supported by A Just Russia and the Civil Platform party was elected the new speaker; p 2 (486 words).

6. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "Luxury to be distributed in accordance with hierarchy" says the federal expert working group studying proposals by the Russian Public Initiative portal has suggested that the prices of vehicles bought by officials, should be divided into groups in accordance with the level of officials ordering them; p 2 (530 words).

7. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Defense to be set outside Roskosmos" says the military industrial commission under the Russian government has supported the idea of Russian Space Agency head Vladimir Popovkin to make four companies engaged in fulfilling defense orders part of the United Missile and Space Corporation; p 2 (48 words).

8. Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "Duma calls on citizens to protect public order" says a bill reviving people's patrols has been passed in the first reading by the State Duma; p 3 (562 words).

9. Maxim Ivanov report "Awaiting good hand" says that according to a poll by the Levada polling agency, only 9 percent of Russians hold liberal views; p 3 (500 words).

10. Sergei Nikolayev report "Uralkali to be handed over to Russia" says that Uralkali general director Vladislav Baumgertner, detained in Minsk, may return to Russia from Belarus without new criminal proceedings being instituted against him; p 4 (350 words).

11. Vyacheslav Kozlov article headlined "Opposition loses coordination of movements" says that the opposition's Coordination Council members cannot come to agreement on the election of the new members of the organization; p 5 (597 words).

12. Georgy Dvali report "Tbilisi may boycott Sochi Olympics" says that the Georgian authorities are displeased with the decision of the European broadcasting union to give accreditation for the Olympic Games to journalists from Abkhazia and North Ossetia; p 7 (150 words).

13. Kirill Belianinov article headlined "Syria being led away from Russian questions" says U.S. authorities have suggested that Moscow should stop looking for those to blame for the chemical weapons attack in Syria and should focus on the destruction of the country's chemical weapons; p 8 (475 words).

14. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "CSTO gets ready for worst" says the Collective Security Treaty Organization summit is to be held in Sochi today. Russia hopes to unite the members of the organization in the face of the security threat from Afghanistan; p 8 (565 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Humanization of Criminal Code postponed by five years" says Dmitry Medvedev's government will not finance the law on making the Russian Criminal Code drafted by Medvedev at the time of his presidency more humane due to budget cuts; pp 1, 3 (662 words).

2. Tatiana Ivzhenko article headlined "Ukrainian Euro integration may be disrupted" reports on the Yalta European Strategy forum where Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has spoken out against EU pressure due to the prosecution of ex-lawmaker Yulia Tymoshenko; pp 1, 7 (1,264 words).

3. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Coordination Council to be reanimated, not closed" says opposition activists are discussing changes to be made to the election procedure of the Coordination Council members; pp 1, 3 (685 words).

4. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Pension silence turns out not to be gold" says that the pension savings of Russians from 2014 will be controlled by the bank Vneshekonombank until private pension funds become joint-stock companies and the new insurance system starts working. The state will get hold of individual savings to finance infrastructure projects, while a new stage of the pension reform is under way; pp 1, 4 (858 words).

5. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Moldovan revolution on Russian tip" says the Moldovan Communists are starting protests against the course of Western integration pursued by the country's authorities as they claim that the majority of the population back closer ties with Russia; pp 1, 7 (732 words).

6. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "Bashar Assad gives America pleasant surprise" says Damascus quickly provided the West with full information on its chemical weapons; pp 1-2 (795 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Image of armed forces is the business of forces themselves" reviews measures taken by the armed forces command to improve the image of the Russian army and the Navy; p 2 (520 words).

8. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "New round of Interior Ministry reform" says the State Duma and the Interior Ministry are discussing possible amendments to the law on police service, while experts are predicting dismissals among the ministry's top officials; p 3 (763 words).

9. Andrei Melnikov report "Unorthodox extremism" says that translation of the Koran has been banned in Russia; p 3 (600 words).

10. Alexander Ryabushev report "Baltic countries fear Russian occupation" says that the Russian-Belarussian exercise Zapad 2013 has provoked a "nervous reaction from neighboring countries"; p 6 (350 words).

11. Yury Roks report "Georgia may introduce visa regulations with Russia" says that Tbilisi does not rule out reinstating visa regulations with Russia; p 7 (600 words).

Vedomosti

1. Bela Lyauv article headlined "Roads become more expensive" says the Moscow city authorities have changed the concept of the construction of new roads. They will build less for a higher price; pp 1, 5 (686 words).

2. Editorial headlined "Red Guard's punishment" compares Chinese senior official Bo Xilai's trial with corruption cases in Russia and notes that he was punished for an attempt to rebel against the existing system rather than for bribery; pp 1, 6 (417 words).

3. Galina Starinskaya article headlined "Rosneft not to be enough" says the Russian oil giant Rosneft is expected to lack 4 million tons of oil to be supplied to the Far East, the Transneft oil transportation company suspects; pp 1, 12 (850 words).

4. Anastasia Kornya report "Election results summed up within half hour" says that the Moscow city court has refused to revise the results of the Moscow mayoral election, question witnesses and study documents; p 2 (500 words).

5. Alexei Nikolsky report "Bloggers to help Puchkov" says that the foundation of advanced research is setting up a social network to allow people to inform each other and the Emergencies Ministry about emergency situations; p 3 (600 words).

6. Another editorial headlined "Merkel's diamond" comments on the German election campaign; p 6 (325 words).

Izvestia

1. Anastasia Kashevarova article headlined "Vladislav Surkov to bring comrades-in-arms to Kremlin" says several officials close to Vladislav Surkov, who was recently appointed the presidential aide, will also start working in the Kremlin; pp 1-2 (613 words).

2. Natalya Bashlykova article headlined "They wait for Alexei Navalny in party 'system'" reports on disagreements within the opposition Coordination Council; pp 1, 3 (917 words).

3. Alexei Krivoruchek article headlined "Shoigu orders 'Skype' vehicles" says the armed forces units stationed in the Far East will be the first to test new equipment to hold video conferences; pp 1-2 (541 words).

4. Olesya Yelkova article headlined "Abramovich's company to make some money in North Korea" says the Evraz group controlled by tycoon Roman Abramovich has started selling coal to North Korea; pp 1, 5 (841 words).

5. Yulia Tsoy report "Period of Vladimir Putin's rule to be described in textbook" says that it has been decided not to hush up the country's modern history in the approved concept of a school textbook; p 2 (800 words).

6. German Petelin report "Russians in Abkhazia ask for protection" says that after the murder of a Russian diplomat in Abkhazia, the situation over the property taken away from Russians has deteriorated; p 2 (1,200 words).

7. Russian women ask U.S. not to unleash war in Syria" says that Yelena Semerikova, head of the political party Women's Dialogue, has addressed a letter to the U.S. ambassador in Moscow asking him to influence a possible decision on the military intervention of his country in the civil war in Syria; p 5 (600 words).

8. Vladimir Zykov article headlined "VGTRK agrees on legalization of its video with VKontakte" says the All-Russian State Television and Broadcasting Company VGTRK has agreed with the country's largest social network VKontakte on the legalization of its video content used in the social network; p 6 (494 words).

9. Darya Tsoy report "Latin America intends to punish U.S. for insults" says that Latin American states are preparing to retaliate against the U.S. for yet another insult, this time in relation to the Venezuelan president, and features Russian experts comments; p 7 (700 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Tamara Shkel article headlined "Audit for benefit" says Tatiana Golikova has become the head of the Russian Audit Chamber as the State Duma backed her nomination by the president; pp 1-2 (800 words).

2. Alexander Gasyuk article headlined "Nairobi in shock" reports on Islamists' attack in Nairobi and says that Putin has expressed his condolences in a telegram to the Kenyan president; pp 1, 5 (900 words).

3. Taras Fomchenkov article headlined "Petrol to mop roads up" says petrol prices are expected to rise by 10 percent in Russia in three years due to a hike in the mineral extraction tax and excise duties; pp 1, 4 (450 words).

4. Kira Latukhina article headlined "Bomb and law" says head of the Russian presidential administration Sergei Ivanov, taking part in an international conference in Stockholm, reiterated Moscow's stance against foreign military intervention in the Syrian conflict p 2 (1,000 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Ignat Kalinin article headlined "Lukashenko tries on Assad's destiny" says the Russian-Belarussian military exercise Zapad 2013 imitates fighting against illegal armed groups in Belarus and in this way helps Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenko to suppress the opposition; pp 1-2 (600 words).

2. Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "Surkov and Russian dolls" comments on the appointment of Vladislav Surkov as the Russian presidential aide; pp 1, 3 (550 words).

3. Dina Karpitskaya report "American senator calls Astakhov 'ass'" says that a U.S. senator dealing with adoption issues has slammed children's rights ombudsman Pavel Astakhov for his refusal to meet legislators during his visit to the U.S. in July 2013; p 2 (550 words).

4. Mikhail Delyagin report "Farewell, rich Russia" says Russia will face economic difficulties soon; p 3 (1,200 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Andrei Kolesnikov commentary headlined "Satan rules there" reviews the results of the Valdai Discussion Club meeting and comments on President Putin's intention to seek re-election in 2018 which he announced at the meeting with club experts; p 10 (474 words).

2. Alexander Panov article headlined "Chemistry and life" says the Russian plan to destroy the Syrian chemical weapons arsenal has not helped resolve the Syrian crisis as the UN report has proven that the Syrian authorities were to blame for the use of chemical weapons; p 13 (1,233 words).

3. Yulia Polukhina article headlined "'We were told they would storm Kremlin'" features comments of policemen on the mass disorders in Bolotnaya Square back in 2012; pp 16-17 (1,700 words).

4. Maria Yepifanova article headlined "Rather alive than dead" looks at the results of a recent meeting of the opposition's Coordination Council in Moscow; pp 7-8 (1,100 words).

Noviye Izvestiya

1. Konstantin Nikolayev article headlined "As an arbitrator" says that Russia's role in the settlement of the Syrian crisis is becoming increasingly notable; p 2 (550 words).

2. Mikhail Nikiforenko article headlined "Dissent of dissident" says the upcoming election to the opposition's Coordination Council will take place amid serious debates among its members; p 2 (650 words).

RBK Daily

1. Alexander Litoy article headlined "War money" says a criminal case has been launched against Moscow lawyer Taisia Baskayeva defending the interests of Russians in the European Court of Human Rights where they try to establish their right for compensation for their participation in the conflict between Ossetia and Ingushetia in 1992. The lawyer was charged with fraud, the article says; pp 1-2 (700 words).

2. Opposition politician Vladimir Ryzhkov article headlined "Valdai reaction" comments on the results of the Valdai Discussion Club conference; p 6 (550 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Yelena Chinkova article headlined "Militants who seized mall in Kenya might be led by woman" looks at the Islamists' attack in Nairobi; p 5 (300 words).

Tvoi Den

1. Andrei Muravyev article headlined "Blood and tears" looks at the Islamists' attack in Kenya; p 10 (200 words).