What the Papers Say, Oct. 7, 2013

Kommersant

1. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Large-scale space switching" says the Kremlin and the Russian government have come to agreement over candidates to head the Federal Space Agency and the united rocket and space corporation. The former body will be headed by Deputy Defense Minister Oleg Ostapenko and the corporation by Igor Komarov, head of the car manufacturer AvtoVAZ; pp 1, 3 (890 words).

2. Dmitry Butrin and Anastasia Manuylova article headlined "Quarter of 1,000 billion rubles enough for pension" says the Russian government is discussing how 244 billion rubles ($7.6 billion), previously allocated for the pension reform, should be spent. Some ministries suggest that the money should be used for social projects; pp 1, 6 (742 words).

3. Yekaterina Belkina et al. report headlined "Rostelecom to break the bank" says the communications giant Rostelecom is conducting negotiations with the Central Bank to purchase one of its assets, Sobinbank; pp 1, 10 (578 words).

4. Sergei Sobolev and Vladimir Lavitsky article headlined "Festival at expense of somebody else's billboard" says that outdoor ads prices have grown by 50 percent in Moscow. The prices are expected to double next year; pp 1, 9 (651 words).

5. Anna Pushkarskaya article headlined "Impeachments of mayors split Constitutional Court" says the Constitutional Court has refused to consider the law allowing local deputies to sack elected mayors if they are dissatisfied with their work. One of the judges, Alexander Kokotov, says that the procedure makes it possible to cancel election results while criteria for effective mayoral work were not developed; p 2 (527 words).

6. Maxim Ivanov and Sofya Samokhina article headlined "To new life with old leader" says Sergei Mironov is likely to return to the post of A Just Russia leader. The move is expected to consolidate the party; p 2 (574 words).

7. Irina Nagornykh article headlined "Party of chiefs takes new course" says the congress of United Russia has decided to make the party closer to people, while in the 2000s the party considered social conservatism to be its main policy; p 2 (777 words).

8. Anna Pushkarskaya and Ivan Safronov article headlined "Vladimir Putin appoints envoy for court staff" says President Vladimir Putin has appointed his fellow group mate from the KGB higher school General Nikolai Bobrovsky as envoy to the Supreme Qualification Board of Judges; p 3 (516 words).

9. Dmitry Komarov et al. report headlined "Person to blame for Yevgeny Roizman's victory found" says Sverdlovsk Regional governor Yevgeny Kuyvashev has sacked first deputy head of his administration Alexei Bagaryakov following the opposition candidate's victory in the Yekaterinburg mayoral election; p 3 (543 words).

10. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Flame, go ahead" reports on the ceremony of the Olympic torch relay in Moscow attended by Putin; p 4 (501 words).

11. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Pentagon back in service" says around 400,000 civilians working for the Pentagon and secret services will resume work today despite the fact that the standoff between U.S. President Barack Obama and the Congress has not been resolved; p 7 (432 words).

12. Sergei Strokan article headlined "Israeli prime minister speaks Iranian" says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed Iranian people and suggested that the two countries should make friends after Iran elected a new president. The purpose of the speech was to show the Middle East that the U.S. and Israel have similar approach to the Iranian nuclear problem; p 7 (595 words).

13. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Taleban forecast" looks at a report drafted for the Russian government on possible developments in Afghanistan after NATO forces leave the region. The report forecasts the threat of destabilization in the Central Asian region and warns that Russia will not be able to cope with the problem alone; p 8 (729 words).

14. Article by PIR-centre expert Vadim Kozyulin in opinion column headlined "Price of issue" says the U.S. is concerned about growing Chinese expansion and is likely to offer the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to cooperate to maintain order in Afghanistan. In this situation Russia's role in Central Asia will grow; p 8 (443 words).

15. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Ichkeria reaches Somalia" reports on the raids of U.S. secret services in Somalia and Libya and notes that a Chechen rebel commander was badly wounded during the special operation in Somalia; p 8 (464 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Hizb ut-Tahrir sets its sights on Crimea" says the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, banned in many European countries and in Russia, is holding its forum in Crimea to discuss the oppression of Muslims in former Soviet republics; pp 1, 7 (1,057 words).

2. Anton Khodasevich article headlined "Having supported Kiev, Minsk may receive problems with Moscow" says the Ukrainian prime minister is visiting Belarus to negotiate cooperation between the two countries; pp 1, 7 (745 words).

3. Yury Panyev article headlined "APEC with Putin, but second time without Obama" says that Putin is to make a speech at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bali. However, U.S. President Barack Obama had to cancel his trip due to his standoff with the Congress; pp 1, 8 (932 words).

4. Ivan Rodin and Alexandra Samarina article headlined "A Just Russia members start revolt at sinking ship" says that Sergei Mironov, former leader of A Just Russia, supported by one of the prominent figures in the party Oksana Dmitryeva, is likely to return his leadership; pp 1, 3 (1,365 words).

5. Mikhail Sergeyev article headlined "State Council named after Navalny" says the Russian authorities are trying to make budget spending more efficient amid budget cuts. The issue was discussed at the recent meeting of the State Council; pp 1, 4 (525 words).

6. Tatyana Dvoynova article headlined "Maritime Territory deputies get into disgrace list" says that only eight out of 40 Maritime region legislative assembly deputies have provided exact information about their property and income, the prosecutor's office has found out. The deputies, however, will get off with publication of their names in a "list of disgrace" on the website of the legislative assembly. Experts note that without punishment, prosecutors' audits of deputies declarations are turning into a formality; pp 1, 6 (478 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Sermon against Russia" says the role of informal radical leaders is growing in the Muslim community in Russia; p 2 (478 words).

8. Savely Vezhin article called "One Russia highlights key points at congress" looks at the United Russia congress that has ended in Moscow; p 2 (1,400 words).

9. Vladimir Mukhin article headlined "Moscow to support Rahmon in exchange for Ayni" says Moscow is to strengthen its positions in Central Asia by developing an air base in Tajikistan; p 3 (785 words).

10. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Europe runs out of patience" says the arrest of foreign Greenpeace activists in Murmansk will affect Russia's relations with the EU; p 3 (604 words).

11. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Washington threatens Kabul with complete withdrawal" says Kabul wants the U.S. to protect Afghanistan like any NATO member state, but Washington has rejected the demand. Article features a Russian politician's comment on the issue; p 8 (643 words).

12. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "Al Qaeda leader seized in Tripoli" comments on operations carried out by the U.S. secret services in Libya and Somalia; p 8 (720 words).

13. Alexander Tsipko report "Bolshevism in new way" looks at Moscow opposition activists; p 9 (3,000 words).

Vedomosti

1. Darya Borisyak and Dmitry Kazmin article headlined "Bank loans pay off" says that Moody's has said that the present model for Russian retail bank growth has exhausted itself; pp 1, 15 (577 words).

2. Olga Kuvshinova and Dmitry Kazmin article headlined "Payment for pension" reviews the bills on state guarantees for Russians' pension savings. The authors of the bills find the system they proposed to be reliable; pp 1, 4 (869 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Social unconscious" says that cruelty and violation of rights that Russian prisoners face, show the state of Russian society; pp 1, 6 (368 words).

4. Another editorial headlined "Medicine for indifference" says the residents of Russian cities and small towns are speaking out for protection of local architectural monuments and protesting against the local authorities allowing developers to destroy the monuments; p 6 (312 words).

5. Svetlana Bocharova et al. report headlined "Who will support Surkov" comments on four candidates considered by the Kremlin for the post of the head of the directorate for social and economic cooperation with the CIS in the Russian presidential administration; p 3 (450 words).

6. Maria Zheleznova report "Present for Vorobyov from anonymous person" says that an unknown commercial company has financed the publicity campaign of Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov; p 2 (700 words).

7. Alexei Nikolsky report "Vasilyeva faces 15 years" says that the former head of the Russian Defense Ministry's property department, Yevgenia Vasilyeva, has been presented with final charges in the Oboronservis case; p 2 (550 words).

Izvestia

1. Andrei Gridasov interview headlined "My reputation suits me" with former Moscow criminal investigation department head Colonel Alexander Trushkin speaking on his resignation and the work of the Moscow police; pp 1, 4 (756 words).

2. Svetlana Subbotina article headlined "State Duma to ban taking gold bars out of Russia" says that export of gold bars and gold ore will be banned in Russia as from Jan. 1 2014; pp 1, 3 (501 words).

3. Natalya Bashlykova and Svetlana Subbotina article headlined "Ruling party plays on All-Russia People's Front field" looks at the results of One Russia's congress and notes that the party has started copying methods used by the All-Russia People's Front; pp 1-2 (611 words).

4. Article by political scientist Boris Mezhuyev headlined "Few words for person celebrating his birthday" congratulates Putin on his birthday and praises his policy; pp 1-2 (924 words).

5. Natalya Bashlykova interview headlined "They should find leader and change name" with political analyst Nikolay Zlobin, who comments on the United Russia congress and suggests that the party should find a real leader and carry out rebranding; p 2 (856 words).

6. Maria Gorkovskaya et al. report headlined "Russian diplomats not to return to Tripoli soon" says that Libya is "turning into Somalia" and notes that the Russian diplomats, who left the country after an attack on the diplomatic mission, may return to the country only after the security situation stabilizes there; p 7 (543 words)

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Ilya Sobolev and Pavel Petrovsky article headlined "From Red Square to Krasnaya Polyana" reports on the launch of the Olympic torch relay in Moscow; pp 1, 11 (1,200 words).

2. Kira Latukhina and Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "Hot breakfasts in Bali" says that Putin, who is turning 61 today, will take part in the APEC summit in Bali; pp 1, 4 (1,500 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Yulia Kalinina article headlined "Much ado and nothing" comments on official charges brought against former defense ministry official Yevgenia Vasilyeva, who is now facing up to 12 years in prison. The author, however, believes that the case will be soft-pedalled; pp 1, 3 (400 words).

2. Article by economic expert Yevgeny Gontmakher headlined "People, have you got money? And if I find some?" calls the ongoing Russian pension reform the expropriation of pension savings; p 3 (1,200 words).

3. Olga Bozhyeva report "Star guesswork" looks at the future of the Russian space industry after head of the Russian Federal Space Agency Vladimir Popovkin leaves his post; p 2 (7 00 words).

4. Svetlana Samodelova interview with Marat Musin, the head of Abkhazia's online news agency ANNA-news, headlined "'Ustyuzhaninova's victims are husband and mother-in-law?'" who comments on the murder of a Libyan officer by Russian citizen Yekaterina Ustyuzhaninova; pp 1, 3 (750 words).

RBC Daily

1. Yevgeny Krasnikov article headlined "Vkontakte waits for foreign advertiser" says that Russian social network Vkontakte is to collaborate with the international advertising company Socialbakers. Experts say this cooperation will boost Vkontakte's income and image; pp 1, 8 (500 words).

2. Stepan Opalev article headlined "Winter is close" looks into the latest poll showing that the number of Russians thinking that Russia and the U.S. are on the verge of a new cold war has grown by 9 percent; p 2 (300 words).

3. Alexander Litoy article headlined "They paid with Cossacks" says that the Human Rights Watch international organization has appealed to the International Olympic Committee with a request that the latter condemns the crackdown on migrants in Sochi. Many of them have not yet been paid for their work at the Olympic construction; p 2 (600 words).

4. Yulia Sinyaeva article headlined "Whipping treasury" says that President Vladimir Putin has criticized the execution of the budget plan, which has led to the toughening of the rules for tax payers; p 2 (400 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Mikhail Nikiforenko article headlined "And who is cleaner?" comments on the United Russia party congress, saying that one of the key positions within the party has been entrusted to 'a simple MSU associate professor', which has been regarded as leap forward in fight against corruption and nepotism within the party; p 2 (600 words).

2. Maria Konstantinova article headlined "Greenpeace sends million complaints to Russian diplomats" says that millions of electronic petitions demanding that the arrested Greenpeace activists be released from jail have been sent to Russian diplomats from various countries; p 5 (400 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Yevgeny Arsyukhin et al. interview with Economic Development Minister Alexei Ulyukayev on the prospects of Russian economy's growth; pp 1, 8-9 (2,700 words).

2. Sergei Vladimirov article headlined "All Russia's People's Front to turn fight against corruption into national idea" says that following Vladimir Putin's demand to boost the effectiveness of the fight against corruption, activists from the All Russia's People Front have launched a website 'For fair procurement', which helps to trace the transparency of commercial orders placed by different state bodies; p 5 (1,000 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Head of professor Medvedev" comments on President Putin insulting a professor from Higher School of Economics Sergei Medvedev following his statement criticizing Russian policy in the Arctic. When asked to comment on the professor's statement President Putin reportedly called him an idiot; p 8 (486 words).

2. Alexander Mineyev article headlined "For arbitration tribunal!" says Netherlands and other countries, citizens of which were aboard the Greenpeace ship, are to file lawsuits against Russia; p 7 (600 words).