What the Papers Say Sept. 24, 2013

Kommersant

1. Natalya Gorodetskaya and Viktor Khamrayev article headlined "Powers on request" comments on Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's proposal to allow regions to choose what powers and responsibilities they can have and to sign relevant agreements with Moscow. Experts are sceptical about the plan; pp 1-2 (1,005 words).

2. Vladislav Trifonov and Alexander Zheglov article headlined "Investigation enters central staff" says a probe into possible corruption is under way in the central office of the Investigative Committee, as an investigator was detained red-handed while receiving a bribe claims that it was the aide of the deputy chairman of the committee who should have received the bribe; pp 1, 4 (434 words).

3. Dmitry Butrin and Ivan Safronov article headlined "Defense order being recalculated into fixed prices" says the Russian government is changing the pricing policy for the defense industry sector. Prices on defense products are to be fixed; pp 1, 6 (701 words).

4. Oleg Trutnev and Yevgenia Pertseva article headlined "Roman Avdeiev replenishes medicine kit" says co-owner of the Credit Bank of Moscow Roman Avdeiev is buying a 30 percent stake in the 36.6 pharmacy network; pp 1, 13 (950 words).

5. Natalya Korchenkova article headlined "Senators see consensus in scientific community" says the science committee of the Federation Council has urged senators to approve the law on the Russian Academy of Sciences reform passed by the State Duma; p 2 (459 words).

6. Makhachkala-based Yulia Rybina article headlined "Southern [militants] fail to synchronize watches" says two people have got killed and 16 others — injured as a suicide bomber blew up his car by a police station in Dagestan; p 4 (582 words).

7. Sergei Petunin article headlined "Cuts in Pugachev Police" says almost all leaders of the police in the city of Pugachev, which suffered ethnic unrest, have been dismissed; p 5 (600 words).

8. Dmitry Butrin and Vadim Visloguzov article headlined "Physical strain as top level of culture" says Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has commented on the fiscal policy for 2014 to 2016 at the meeting with the Federation Council, and the government is going to finance demographic programs; p 6 (615 words).

9. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Time for intractability allocated for Alexander Lukashenko" reports on the summit of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in Sochi where the Russian and Belarussian presidents have failed to come to an agreement over the potash scandal; p 8 (460 words).

10. Galina Dudina article headlined "Angela Merkel wins election, loses ally" says Moscow will be happy if Social Democrats will become in charge of the foreign policy in the new German government; p 8 (400 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Customs Union fades into insignificance" says Kiev wants to resume talks on setting up a gas transportation consortium with Russia and the EU. Ukrainian Prime Minister Azarov is expected to raise the issue at the meeting of the Eurasian Economic Council in Astana; pp 1, 6 (993 words).

2. Igor Naumov article headlined "Expensive petrol turns motorists into pedestrians" says growing fuel prices make Russians revise their attitude towards cars. One in 10 drivers will stop using their vehicles if the price of a litre of petrol exceeds 40 rubles ($1.25), a survey shows; pp 1, 4 (868 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Bureaucracy to be cleaned from dodgers in intricate way" says the law coming into effect in January 2014 will not allow Russians who dodged military service to work as officials; pp 1, 3 (637 words).

4. Anton Khodosevich article headlined "Bad peace of Belarus and Russia" says talks between the Russian and Belarussian presidents on the sidelines of the Collective Security Treaty Organization summit in Sochi have not helped resolve the potash disagreements between the two countries; pp 1, 6 (426 words).

5. Svetlana Gavrilina article headlined "St. Petersburg residents scared that they will be pushed aside by aliens" reports on the recent shooting incidents in St. Petersburg and notes that local residents are becoming increasingly worried with the security situation in the city with a large number of North Caucasus natives; pp 1-2 (803 words).

6. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "China to provide Ukraine with bread and fat" says that while Russia is arguing with Ukraine over the Customs Union, the Chinese influence is growing in Ukraine. Beijing rented 3 million hectares of agricultural land in Ukraine for 50 years; pp 1, 7 (509 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Coordination Council loses sense" comments on a crisis within the opposition Coordination Council as a large number of activist are not going to take part in the re-election of its members; p 2 (507 words).

8. Yury Paniyev article headlined "Afghanistan unites Moscow and its allies" says Russia forecasts a further worsening of the security situation in Afghanistan. The Afghan threat was the main topic discussed at the CSTO summit in Sochi; p 2 (597 words).

9. Alexei Mukhin article headlined "Carte blanche: Navalny's decline. By hand" analyses reasons which have prevented opposition activist Alexei Navalny from taking part in the Valdai political discussions; p 3 (752 words).

10. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Bright Dreams of Bolotnaya case defendants" talks to Nikolai Kavkazsky, a defendant in the case of 2012 unrest in Moscow's Bolotnaya square, about conditions in a prison where he has been detained; p 3 (700 words).

11. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "South Stream deprived of illusion" looks into the prospects of Russia's South Stream gas pipeline project; p 4 (800 words).

12. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "U.S. Ambassador to UN Samantha Power bursting to punish Syrian leader" reports on an debate over the Syrian resolution within the UN Security Council; p 7 (789 words).

Vedomosti

1. Margarita Papchenkova et al. report headlined "Russia to set revelation rate" says the Russian Finance Ministry has found a way of making companies name their beneficiaries. The companies which fail to do so will have to pay double taxes; pp 1, 5 (650 words).

2. Editorial headlined "Road economy" criticizes the Russian authorities over their policy of construction and maintenance of roads which do not meet safety regulations; pp 1, 6 (406 words).

3. Alexei Nikolsky article headlined "Private and state rifle" says the Russian Kalashnikov rifle manufacturer has got two private investors; p 2 (400 words).

4. Maxim Tovkaylo article headlined "Medvedev sees half of maps" says Russian officials are not eager to soften control over businesses. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has admitted that the improvement of investment climate is slow, the article says; p 5 (500 words).

5. Editorial headlined "Unsinkable Gulag" comments on the hunger strike of Pussy Riot punk band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova over bad conditions in custody; p 6 (346 words).

Izvestia

1. Denis Telmanov article headlined "Defense Ministry rejects new Kalashnikov [rifle]" says the Defense Ministry has not approved the state tests of the new Kalashnikov rifle AK-12; pp 1, 3 (757 words).

2. Yelizaveta Mayetnaya and German Petelin article headlined "Damage and episodes disappear from Oboronservis case" says friends of former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov charged as part of the Oboronservis corruption case are likely to avoid punishment; pp 1, 5 (1,149 words).

3. Yegor Sozayev-Guryev article headlined "CSTO gets ready for Syrian crisis aftermath" says the Collective Security Treaty Organization summit in Sochi discussed military cooperation in the face of the growing threat from extremists who are fighting in Syria; p 2 (475 words).

4. Igor Karaulov article headlined "Blisters of war" compares the shopping mall attack in Kenya to acts of terror in Russia; p 6 (700 words).

5. Maria Gorkovskaya article headlined "Rapprochement of Russia and EU depends on Angela Merkel" comments on the victory of Angela Merkel's party at the parliamentary election in Germany and tries to predict relations of the future ruling coalition with Moscow; p 7 (524 words).

6. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Terrorist attack in Kenya to strengthen U.S. position in Africa" says the attack on the shopping centre in Nairobi is likely to increase the international community's pressure on Islamists and the U.S. is expected to support the local regimes in their fight against radicals. Russian comments; p 7 (490 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Article by legal experts Tamara Morshchakova and Mikhail Barshchevsky headlined "We will check spelling" analyses the shortcomings of the Russian legal system which make a lot of professionals leave the country to work abroad; pp 1, 6 (1,565 words).

2. Irina Nevinnaya article headlined "You will not be stripped of pensions" says the pensions reform has been approved by the government and has passed public hearings; pp 1, 3 (509 words).

3. Article by political scientist Leonid Radzikhovsky headlined "Thaw in different climate" compares the recent political development in Russia with making elections more transparent during the Soviet time Perestroika; p 3 (671 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Lina Panchenko article headlined "Nadezhda Tolokonnikova shows Gulag" says Pussy Riot punk band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has complained about terrible conditions in custody and has started a hunger strike out of fear of reprisals; pp 1-2 (976 words).

2. Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "Another plan by Putin" says the victory of opposition candidates in some Russian regions was "planned and approved" by the Kremlin to return people's trust in the elections; pp 1, 6 (2,675 words).

3. Olga Grekova article headlined "Metro breaks down as if on schedule" criticizes the Moscow city authorities over recent incidents in metro where people got injured; pp 1, 3 (541 words).

4. Unattributed article headlined "Expert: Wave of Islamic terrorism to increase" features Russian expert comments on the shopping mall attack in Kenya; p 5 (300 words).

RBC Daily

1. Andrei Kotov report "Berezovsky's heritage" says that before businessman Boris Berezovsky's death, his assets were worth $802 million ; pp 1, 4 (450 words).

2. Alexander Litoy report "Mordovia's Riot" says that Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, jailed member of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, has gone on hunger strike over horrible conditions of confinement in the prison; p 2 (850 words).

3. Inga Vorobyeva report "Putin and Lukashenko discuss Uralkali" says that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarussian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko have discussed the dispute around the Uralkali potash company on the sidelines of the Collective Security Treaty Organization summit in Sochi; p 2 (500 words).

Noviye Izvestiya

1. Mikhail Nikiforenko report "'Peaceful' million" says that Russian rock stars have given a charitable concert in Moscow to support those accused in the Bolotnaya case; p 2 (1,000 words).

2. Irina Aleksidze report "A dangerous line" says that attempts to demarcate the border between Georgia and South Ossetia have jeopardized the dialogue between Moscow and Tbilisi; p 2 (650 words).

3. Veronika Vorontsova interview "People from Caucasus have huge demand for justice" with political analyst Andrei Yepifantsev who speaks about the problems that the federal authorities may face in the North Caucasus; p 5 (650 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Dmitry Smirnov report "Vladimir Putin: 'Armed gangs active in Syria have not emerged from nowhere and they will not go into nowhere"' looks at the issues discussed at the Collective Security Treaty Organization summit in Sochi; p 2 (900 words).

2. Yelena Chinkova report "White widow commanded terrorist attack in Kenya" says that a British woman commanded militants who seized a shopping centre in Nairobi; p 4 (550 words).

Moskovskiye Novosti

1. Alexandra Beluza report "All have their own Russia" looks at the results of the Valdai Discussion Club meeting; pp B2-B3 (1,500 words).

Trud

1. Sergei Frolov article headlined "Cynic on Ukrainian front" comments on the appointment of Vladislav Surkov as the new presidential aide; pp 1, 2 (871 words).

2. Sergei Rusev report "Massacre in Nairobi: No sense and no mercy" looks at the terrorist attack in Kenya and features comment of Middle East institute president Yevgeny Satanovsky; p 2 (450 words).

Krasnaya Zvezda

1. Unattributed article "CSTO not to be caught unawares" looks at the Collective Security Treaty Organization summit in Sochi. The situation in Syria was discussed at the summit, among other things; pp 1, 3 (650 words).