What the Papers Say, Oct. 2, 2013

Kommersant

1. Anna Pushkarskaya et al. article headlined "Kremlin to continue to study abroad" says the Kremlin is to pay an equivalent of $1.1 million to researchers working on a list of topics in politics and history; p 1 (1,072 words).

2. Sergei Sobolyov article headlined "Minister not for print" says Mikhail Lesin, who was the Communications and Press Minister from 1999 to 2004, has become CEO of Gazprom-Media; p 1 (717 words).

3. Oleg Rubnikovich article headlined "Sport of supreme spending" says a PR company hired by the Sports Ministry to promote healthy lifestyles is suspected of embezzling public funds; p 1 (574 words).

4. Sofya Samokhina and Maria Yefimova headlined "Sergei Naryshkin observes PACE" says speaker of the Russian State Duma Sergei Naryshkin has tried to assure members of PACE that the laws on NGOs and LGBT rights are in compliance with the country's international obligations and that PACE should suspend its monitoring of the situation in Russia, but has obviously failed; p 2 (624 words).

5. Ilya Barabanov et al. article headlined "Vladislav Surkov needs new head" says the office of head of the president's directorate for social and economic cooperation with CIS countries, Abkhazia and South Ossetia has fallen vacant, and a new head is likely to be picked by Vladislav Surkov, who was recently appointed as presidential aide; p 2 (858 words).

6. Sergei Petunin et al. article headlined "Dmitry Medvedev to listen to governors and municipal heads" previews a conference of the United Russia party that will formally open on Oct. 5 and will focus on local government; p 2 (543 words).

7. Yevgeny Komarov article called "Doubt cast on Yevgeny Roizman's approval as mayor" says the Yekaterinburg prosecutor's office has challenged the approval of Yevgeny Roizman as Yekaterinburg mayor and speaker of the city council due to the lack of a quorum at the session of the council on Sept. 24. Experts view it as an ongoing conflict between the Yekaterinburg city administration and the regional authorities; p 2 (507 words).

8. Natalya Korchenkova article headlined "Channel One raises money and rating" says Channel One managed to raise an equivalent of $22 million during its 10-hour telethon to help people who had lost their homes during the flooding in the Far East. The project was surprisingly successful both in terms of fund-raising and viewers' ratings; p 3 (542 words).

9. Grigory Tumanov and Maryam Lechyeva article headlined "Ecologists initiated into piracy" says Greenpeace activists who have been arrested after attempting to protest against the Prirazlomnaya oil platform are to be formally charged with piracy today; p 4 (469 words).

10. Konstantin Voronov article headlined "Gang put into box" reports on the completion of an investigation against a criminal gang that is believed to procure funds for Islamic rebels in the North Caucasus by robbing shops and offices in Novosibirsk; p 4 (445 words).

11. Maxim Ivanov article headlined "1993 gone away from people" says an opinion poll by VTsIOM shows that 58 percent of those polled cannot remember whose side they were on during the 1993 constitutional crisis in Russia; p 5 (432 words).

12. Alexander Chernykh article headlined "Academicians bypass reform" says the Academy of Agriculture and the Russian Academy of Medicine want their assets to be taken over by the Agriculture Ministry and the Health and Social Development Ministry respectively as they do not want to be managed by a new government agency that has been recently established as part of the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences; p 5 (532 words).

13. Pyotr Netreba and Dmitry Butrin article headlined "Confiscate before it gets stolen" says a plan of the Finance Ministry to freeze people's pension savings for a year looks more like confiscation rather than an attempt to bring more order to private pension funds; p 6 (448 words).

14. Alexei Shapovalov article headlined "Hydrocarbon taken down from sky to earth" says President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree setting the goal of reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in Russia in 2020 by 25 percent against 1990; p 6 (506 words).

15. Tatyana Grishina article headlined "Change of account" says the new head of the Audit Chamber, Tatyana Golikova, is looking to reorganize the agency, making it more transparent and introducing a system of quality standards; p 6 (578 words).

16. Pavel Tarasenko article headlined "British conservatives drifting away from EU" reports on the Conservative Party conference that is closing today in Manchester. The party might win the next election thanks to its policy of euroscepticism; p 7 (551 words).

17. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "U.S. governor shuts down for crisis" reports on the first day of the U.S. government shutdown after the Congress failed to agree a new budget; p 8 (462 words).

18. Ivan Safronov et al. article headlined "Russia to arm Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan" says Russia is going to supply armaments to the two Central Asian states to ensure its own safety in light of the looming NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan; p 8 (702 words).

19. Ivan Kuznetsov op-ed "Rules of the game" says private pension funds should have foreseen the current "attack" of the Finance Ministry on the sector as the law on investing pension savings clearly states that people's pension savings actually belong to Russia; p 9 (367 words).

20. Kirill Melnikov article headlined "Venezuela to be left to state companies" says Lukoil is withdrawing from the National oil consortium that is developing the Hunin-6 oil field in Venezuela ; p 9 (654 words).

21. Yelizaveta Kuznetsova article headlined "State to pay extras to air carriers" says the Transportation Ministry has come up with a new programme of subsidies for domestic airlines to encourage them to launch flights to new destinations within the country; p 9 (532 words).

Vedomosti

1. Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "Pensions from Central Bank" says private pension funds will have to go public in 2014 to keep their licenses. This might force smaller pension funds to close down; pp 1, 14 (539 words).

2. Lililya Biryukova et al. article headlined "Postponed reform" says the adoption of a bill on electing members of the State Duma has been postponed by a month as the opposition factions want a higher threshold for smaller parties; p 2 (709 words).

3. Novaya Gazeta columnist Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Political economy: I am civil society" argues that people do not have to be members of a formally established group to make up a civil society; p 7 (429 words).

4. Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "Naryshkin shows soft power" looks at the speech delivered by State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin at a PACE session on Oct. 1, says his explanation of the purposes of the Russian bills on NGOs and LGBT left delegates unconvinced; p 3 (484 words).

5. Olga Kuvshinova column headlined "Figure of the week: 244Bln Rubles" says people's pension savings to be accumulated in 2014 will be withdrawn by the Russian government to fill in budget gaps. The author criticizes the government for a lack of a clear strategy and inconsistency of its economic policy; p 7 (416 words).

6. Timofey Bordachev article headlined "Eurasian Union: Integration for the sake of sovereignty" discusses stumbling blocks to establishing the Eurasian Union, a Putin-proposed union of the post-Soviet states; pp 6-7 (966 words).

7. Margarita Lyutova and Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "Pensions to be rolled over with asphalt" says the Russian government might take over pension savings of those who have not transferred them to private pension funds. The money is likely to be spent on infrastructure projects such as road and railway construction; p 4 (526 words).

8. Svetlana Bocharova et al. article headlined "Monetization of power" says President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on a pay rise for the country's top ranking government officials and heads of security services amid the government's plans to freeze salaries of the military and public sector employees; pp 1, 3 (702 words).

9. Yulia Gribtsova et al. article headlined "Deputies against cigarettes" says the Russian parliament is going to introduce an even tougher ban on smoking in public spaces that would provide for penalties on businesses and organizations that allow people to smoke in their premises; p 18 (749 words).

10. Editorial headlined "Closure of America" says the shutdown of the American government indicates that American society is getting more and more polarized and that Democrats and Republicans will find it increasingly difficult to come to an agreement on key issues; p 6 (287 words).

11. Igor Tsukanov et al. article headlined "Pavel Durov gets black message" says the investment company United Capital Partners, that bought a 48 percent state of shares in Russia's most popular social networking website VK.com in April this year, is apparently seeking to replace VK.com CEO Pavel Durov over a conflict of interests; pp 10, 16 (1,111 words).

12. Roman Shleynov and Olga Petrova article headlined "Cypriot ring around Surgutneftegaz" says two non-commercial partnerships that own large stakes in Russia's third largest oil company Surgutneftegaz are affiliated with companies registered in Cyprus. Experts point to the non-transparency of the ownership scheme; pp 11, 13 (840 words).

13. Ksenia Boletskaya article headlined "Mikhail Lesin is back in media business" says Mikhail Lesin, "one of the most influential figures on the Russian media market", has taken over as head of Gazprom-Media that owns NTV and TNT channels; p 11 (510 words).

14. Mikhail Overchenko article headlined "One is not afraid without White House" looks at the implications of a partial shutdown of the U.S. government after the Congress failed to agree a new budget; p 4 (818 words).

15. Editorial headlined "Resident of Moscow" debates with head of the Russian presidential administration Sergei Ivanov who said in a newspaper interview that people in Moscow do not produce anything; pp 1, 6 (411 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Tatyana Golikova's staff revolution" says the powers of the Audit Chamber have increased with the number of its personnel and sacking of some of its leaders; pp 1, 3 (1,000 words).

2. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Kiev may kick Black Sea Fleet out of Crimea" says that, seeking a EU membership, Ukraine may ask Russia to take out its fleet; pp 1, 7 (1,300 words).

3. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Bolotnaya justice" says the enforcers' attitude to suspects in the case of the 2012 unrest in Moscow's Bolotnaya Ploshchad has become harsher; pp 1, 3 (500 words).

4. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Russia calling, economy not responding" says the business activity indicators in the manufacturing industry are lower than critical; pp 1, 4 (800 words).

5. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "General Staff to keep North Caucasus conscription reserve intact" says over 150,000 men are to be called up during the autumn draft campaign that started on Oct. 1. The Armed Forces are reluctant to recruit soldiers from the North Caucasus, specifically, from Dagestan and Chechnya, but may have to do so this year if other regions fail to meet their conscription targets; pp 1-2 (644 words).

6. Editorial headlined "U.S. in budget deadlock" hopes that, during the budget crisis, the U.S. administration will use measures not requiring the Congress approval and will continue cooperation with its partners, including Russia; p 2 (400 words).

7. Dmitry Orlov article headlined "100 leading Russian politicians in September 2013" says that President Vladimir Putin is still the most influential politician in Russia and that party leaders are getting weaker; p 6 (800 words).

8. Yury Panyev article headlined "Russia calls for Olympic truce" is an interview with Russian diplomat Alexei Borodavking saying that politicized NGOs are running an unfair campaign to discredit the upcoming Olympics in Russia; p 6 (600 words).

9. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Confucius and Buddha to help Beijing fight corruption" quotes Russian scholar Andrei Karneyev as saying that the Chinese leadership is concerned with weakening of morals; p 8 (400 words).

10. Darya Tsilyurik article headlined "U.S. and South Korea mark diamond wedding" quotes Russian scholar Vladimir Batyuk as saying that the value of South Korea as an ally will increase for the U.S.; p 8 (600 words).

11. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "Al-Qaeda takes revenge on Baghdad for defeat in Syria" quotes Russian pundit Georgy Engelgardt as saying that Islamists who have fought in Syria would like to take revenge against President Assad's allies; p 8 (700 words).

12. Lidia Orlova article headlined "False friend of Islamic translator" says a Russian court has banned one of the translations of the Quran as an extremist book; pp 1, 4 in NG Religions supplement (1,300 words).

Izvestia

1. Anastasia Kashevarova et al. article headlined "Surkov makes first visit to Abkhazia in new capacity" says new presidential aide Vladislav Surkov has visited Georgia's breakaway region of Abkhazia; pp 1-2 (400 words).

2. Alena Sivakova and Alexander Yunashev article headlined "Igor Levitin to be Kremlin's coordinator for Olympics" says presidential aide Igor Levitin will administer the upcoming Olympics in Russia; pp 1-2 (300 words).

3. Anna Akhmadyeva article headlined "There will be no revolutions" is an interview with the newly appointed head of the Gazprom-Media holding company Mikhail Lesin; p 3 (300 words).

4. Alexei Krivoruchek article headlined "Special task forces to protect 2014 Olympics on snowmobiles" says special military forces will use Yamaha snowmobiles during the winter Olympics; p 5 (400 words).

5. Maxim Sokolov article headlined "Let there be dawn then" slams the presidential human rights authority over its reaction to supposed mistreatment of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, the jailed member of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot; p 9 (600 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Anna Fedyakina article headlined "Obama budget disrupted" reviews the U.S. government shutdown; pp 1, 8 (400 words).

2. Vitaly Petrov article headlined "Sent in peace" says Putin has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize; p 2 (200 words).

3. Fedor Lukyanov article headlined "The impossible is possible" says the Russian initiative on elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons pushes the international community to focusing on another problem, namely control over nuclear weapons; p 8 (800 words).

4. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "London to get rid of human rights" says the British government is planning to abandon the human rights act; p 8 (300 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Renat Abdullin article headlined "U.S. lose government because of healthcare" reports on the U.S. government shutdown; pp 1, 3 (300 words),

2. Olga Rakhimdzhanova article headlined "Modest Putin and bloody Obama" says Putin has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize; p 2 (400 words).

3. Matvey Ganopolsky article headlined "Nation of stagnation" comments on Russia's economic slowdown; p 3 (700 words).

4. Eva Merkacheva article headlined "Friendly ties will be useful" is an interview with the new head of the Audit Chamber, Tatyana Golikova, on the future of this agency; p 4 (500 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Vera Moslakova article headlined "Mercifulness of sovereign" says frequent amnesties in Russia show that the country's legal system needs reforms; pp 1-2 (1,100 words).

2. Alexander Kolesnichenko interview with managing director of Ekho Moskvy radio station Yury Fedutinov, who speaks about Russian protest movement as well as the policy and prospects of the radio; pp 1, 5 (2,000 words).

3. Margarita Alyokhina article headlined "Nine days of one hunger strike" says that jailed Pussy Riot group member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been accused of blackmailing the penal colony's administration; pp 1, 5 (500 words).

4. Mikhail Vinogradov and Gennady Savchenko article headlined "Not apocalypse after all" looks at the government shutdown in the U.S. and says that ordinary U.S. citizens do not complain about it since they are not much affected by the shutdown; p 2 (450 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Yelena Masyuk interview with jailed Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova speaking about her hunger strike and confinement conditions in the penal colony; pp 1-6 (5,200 words).

2. Pavel Felgengauer article headlined "Ownerless Syrian chemical weapons" says that peaceful settlement of the Syrian crisis is currently "too good to be true", even though it seems possible; p 14 (800 words).

3. Nina Petlyanova article headlined "Hello, mister Putin" features letters written by Russian children adopted in the U.S. in which they ask President Vladimir Putin to lift the ban on U.S. adoption; pp 15-16 (1,110 words).

RBC Daily

1. Alexander Litoy article headlined "Federal Service n.a. Tolokonnikova" says after jailed Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova's hunger strike the Russian authorities might tighten the control over prisons in the country; pp 1-2 (500 words).

2. Gleb Kostarev article headlined "Budget of discord" says the government shutdown in the U.S. may affect the work of the Federal Reserve System; p 4 (550 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Alexander Grishin article headlined "Tolokonnikova's hunger strike 'organized from the outside'" says a commission of the presidential council for human rights has confirmed reports of violations at the penal colony in Mordovia where Pussy Riot group member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is serving. However, the members of the commission also came to a conclusion that Tolokonnikova's hunger strike had been "organized from the outside"; p 5 (350 words).

2. Yelena Chinkova article headlined "Obama 'shut down'" looks at the shutdown of the U.S. government after the two houses of Congress failed to agree upon a new budget; p 6 (300 words).

Krasnaya Zvezda

1. Alexander Gerasimov article headlined "Indefinite leave" reports on the U.S. government shutdown; p 3 (300 words).