What the Papers Say, Oct. 11, 2013

Kommersant

1. Anna Pushkarskaya article headlined "Everyone to be granted access to elections" says that the Constitutional Court has canceled a ban for people convicted for grave and especially grave crimes to stand for elections for term of life and recommended that the 'criminal filter' be modified; pp 1, 3 (750 words).

2. Yegor Popov article headlined "Disposal argument" says the EU has demanded that a special group of experts be set up within the WTO to check the compliance of Russian disposal charge on imported cars with the organization's rules; pp 1, 11 (700 words).

3. Yelizaveta Surnacheva interview with former head of the Audit Chamber Sergei Stepashin headlined "'I told Anatoly Serdyukov: put things right or you will go to prison'" where he speaks about the outcomes of his work as head of the Audit Chamber and his plans for the future. Full version of the interview will be published on Oct. 14, the article says; pp 1-2 (1,000 words).

4. Ivan Buranov article headlined "Freedom recognized to be medical fact" says that the Health and Social Development Ministry has drafted a list of diseases which allow a person to avoid administrative arrest. The new document may help drivers but it is unlikely to help activists who get arrested during protests, though, the article says; pp 1, 5 (650 words).

5. Ivan Safronov article headlined "Military science added to space" says that Deputy Defense Minister in charge of science Oleg Ostapenko has replaced head of the Federal Space Agency Vladimir Popovkin; p 2 (450 words).

6. Yelena Kiseleva and Ivan Safronov article headlined "Defense Ministry retreats from Russian land" says that the Defense Ministry keeps getting rid of non-core assets: the JSC Agroprom company engaged in food supplies to the Armed Forces has begun handing over its agricultural assets to municipalities free of charge; p 2 (720 words).

7. Natalya Gorodetskaya article headlined "Presidential human rights council making amnesty wider" says that the presidential human rights council is to approve the final draft of the resolution on amnesty timed to the 20th anniversary of the constitution. Bolotnaya Square case defendants may be affected by the amnesty plan as well, the article says; p 3 (350 words).

8. Irina Nagornykh article headlined "People's Front opening Facebook account, forming executive committee" says that the People's Front for Russia has opened a Facebook account where it plans to communicate with the president's supporters; p 3 (450 words).

9. Dmitry Komarov article headlined "Nationalist detained" says that the leader of nationalist group Perun's Warriors-SS, Alexei Tomarovshchenko, who has been on the federal wanted list, has been detained in Yekaterinburg; p 4 (300 words).

10. Yelena Lodygina and Alexander Chernykh article headlined "Russian human rights activists earn awards" says that Igor Kalyapin and Svetlana Gannushkina have been awarded top international rewards for human rights activists for work in Chechnya and assistance to migrants respectively; p 5 (400 words).

11. Vadim Visloguzov article headlined "Kremlin recalculates metres" says that the presidential administration has not approved the bill on a market-based approach to calculation of property tax; p 6 (600 words).

12. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Budget crisis spreads over U.S. borders" says that the budget crisis in the USA may affect the U.S. Department of State, including U.S. embassies all over the world; p 7 (650 words).

13. Olga Kuznetsova and Maxim Yusin article headlined "Chaos replaces Jamahiria" says that the abduction of Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zaydan (Zeidan) by armed militants has shown that Libya as a state does not exist anymore; p 7 (500 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1.Ivan Rodin article headlined "Valery Zorkin makes Solomon's decision" says that the Constitutional Court ruled yesterday that the law banning people with criminal records from standing for elections at any time does not comply with the constitution but recommended ambiguous amendments to the law that may preserve the ban in some other form; pp 1, 3 (1,500 words).

2.Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Prokhorov remains on Civic Platform" says that the Civic Platform's press service has denied reports that Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov is going to resign as the Civic Platform's chairman; pp 1-2 (1,400 words).

3. Gleb Postnov article headlined "Black flags in Kazan recognized to be extremist" says that the prosecutor's office in Tatarstan has launched a criminal case over the organization of a motor rally under the flag of the international terrorist organization Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami in Kazan in autumn and winter of 2012; pp 1, 6 (500 words).

4. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "President's advisor threatens Ukraine" says that President Putin's adviser Sergei Glazev has stated in an interview with the Ekho Moskvy radio station that Russia may introduce a visa regime for Ukrainians after Ukraine signs the agreement on association with the EU; pp 1, 7 (1, 100 words).

5. Yury Panyev article headlined "Old World's currency starts reviving" looks at the economic situation in the eurozone ahead of the annual sessions of the IMF and the World Bank to open today in Washington. The eurozone has overcome the crisis, the question is whether the revival will be dynamic or will be more like recession; pp 1, 8 (700 words).

6. Editorial headlined "Legislative protection against exposure" looks at the conflict between the amendment to the Civil Code aiming to protect people's private lives and the law on mass media outlets which regulates the work of journalists; p 2 (500 words).

7. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Tymoshenko's fate in hands of German foreign minister" says that Kiev is to make a decision on former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's case in the next few days. On Oct. 15 the European Parliament is to listen to a report on selective justice in Ukraine which will determine the fate of the agreement on association between Ukraine and the EU, the article says; p 2 (771 words).

8. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "No use arguing with Putin" says that the European Parliament has decided against adopting a resolution condemning the Russian authorities for the arrest of Greenpeace activists and a trade war with Lithuania. Brussels is going to try to settle the problem backstage by sending its representatives to Moscow for talks, the author of the article says; p 3 (676 words).

9. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Grain sold bypassing exchange" says that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has announced that the state is going to support agriculture by canceling grain stock trading. Experts are optimistic about the move; p 4 (483 words).

10. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Moscow to let Moldova join EU naked and barefoot" says that as Moscow's embargo on Moldovan wines has dealt a serious blow on the Moldovan economy, the European Commission is considering the possibility of opening the European market for Moldovan wines before Chisinau signs the agreements on association and free trade with the EU; p 7 (782 words).

11. Sokhbet Mamedov article headlined "Ilham Aliyev's third presidential victory" says that some 84 percent of voters in Azerbaijan have voted in favour of the incumbent president Ilham Aliyev; p 7 (485 words).

12. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Thousands of militants plot explosions in Britain" says that the new head of the MI5 intelligence agency has accused The Guardian newspaper and former CIA contractor Edward Snowden of making life easier for terrorists, including those in Britain and British mercenaries in Syria, by exposing the methods special services use; p 8 (556 words).

13. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "Obama deprives Cairo of helicopters and missiles" says that Washington has decided to cut military aid to Egypt; p 8 (764 words).

Vedomosti

1. Anastasia Golitsyna and Maxim Tovkaylo article headlined "Kremlin's Sputnik" says that Rostelecom, Russian state telecom giant, is to launch a state search engine Sputnik at the beginning of 2014; pp 1, 17 (983 words).

2. Editorial headlined "Save for protest" says that although experts say that the new pension reform and the confiscation of accumulative component of pensions in 2014 violates laws and rights of people, Russians do not protest against the injustice and contemplates over the reasons; pp 1, 6 (477 words).

3. Anastasia Kornya and Svetlana Bocharova article headlined "Can be elected but not now" says that the Constitutional Court has ruled unconstitutional the law banning people convicted for grave and especially grave crimes to run in elections for the term of life; p 2 (628 words).

4. Lilia Biryukova article headlined "Winter time to come in one year" says that winter time will be returned next year which some experts regard as a sign of prolongation of Prime Minister Medvedev's powers; p 3 (549 words).

5. Editorial headlined "Iranian ease of tension" looks ahead at the talks on the Iranian nuclear problem next week with optimism and contemplates the benefits Russia may get from Iran's rapprochement with the West; p 6 (308 words).

6. Anastasia Kornya article headlined "Man of week: judge's identity card" criticizes the president's bill on the merger of the Supreme Arbitration Court and the Supreme Court and says that the mass resignation of judges of the Supreme Arbitration Court is the most telltale reaction to the idea; p 7 (313 words).

7. Irina Mokrousova et al. report headlined "Aeroflot goes back to its roots" says that Russia's biggest airline has set up a low-cost airline Dobrolet; p 12 (729 words).

8. Yury Nekhaychuk article headlined "Who to be responsible for harvest" says that President Putin has ordered the government to draft proposals on creating a state-controlled insurer of agricultural risks; p 15 (460 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Yury Gavrilov article headlined "Appointment with a view" says Deputy Defense Minister Oleg Ostapenko has replaced head of the Federal Space Agency Vladimir Popovkin; pp 1, 7 (600 words).

2. Natalya Kozlova article headlined "To be granted access to elections" says that the Constitutional Court has ruled unconstitutional the law banning people with criminal records to stand for elections for the term of life; pp 1-2 (650 words).

3. Alexander Gasyuk article headlined "Clans against Libya" says that the abduction of the top Libyan official demonstrates the chaos reigning in Libya where clans are busy with re-division of spheres of influence; pp 1, 8 (550 words).

4. Timur Alyev interview with head of Dagestan Ramazan Abdulatipov headlined "'We have same fate"; p 6 (1,100 words).

5. Yevgeny Shestakov article headlined "We need EAS" looks at the outcomes of the East Asia Summit in Brunei; p 8 (750 words).

6. Anna Fedyakina article headlined "Comes for council" says that the father of former CIA contractor Edward Snowden, Lon Snowden, has arrived in Moscow; p 8 (400 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Pavel Gusev interview with Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Puchkov headlined "'Protection of people our priority'" where he speaks about the elimination of consequences of large-scale floods in Russia's Far East; pp 1, 4 (3,254 words).

2. Marina Ozerova article headlined "Navalny to be deprived of right to get elected for eight years?" looks at how lawmakers may react to the decision of the Constitutional Court to rule unconstitutional the life ban for people with criminal records to stand for elections; pp 1-2 (653 words).

3. Igor Subbotin article headlined "Lon Snowden arrives in Moscow and notices surveillance" says that the father of NSA leaker Edward Snowden arrived in Russia to meet his son and talk about his future; p 3 (377 words).

4. Natalya Vedeneyeva article headlined "Third general comes to orbit" comments on the reshuffle in the Federal Space Agency; p 3 (611 words).

5. Andrei Yashlavsky article headlined "Libyan prime minister abducted and released" comments on the arrest of Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zaydan by armed militants; p 3 (368 words).

Izvestia

1. Ivan Cheberko article headlined "Roskosmos once again left to trust of military man" says Deputy Defense Minister Oleg Ostapenko has replaced head of the Federal Space Agency Vladimir Popovkin; p 2 (350 words).

2. Yelena Teslova article headlined "Presidential human rights council to give legal grounds for supervision of bureaucracy" says the presidential human rights council is expected to prepare a bill on public control in Russia legitimizing activities of civil and public activists in the country by the end of October; p 5 (700 words).

3. Yelena Teslova and Anastasia Kashevarova article headlined "Amnesty in presidential human rights council's version to free Yevgenia Vasilyeva" says that some 200,000 people may be amnestied under the amnesty resolution drafted by the presidential human rights council; p 6 (1,123 words).

2. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Libyan lawmaker arrested for deals with America" says that the Libyan prime minister was abducted by militants who demanded that he pressured Americans into releasing their fellow terrorist captured by U.S. servicemen on the Libyan territory; p 7 (497 words).

RBC Daily

1. Alexander Litoy report "Set free with right to be elected" says that the Russian Constitutional Court has overturned an earlier ban for people with prior convictions to stand in elections; pp 1-2 (650 words).

2. Yulia Yakovleva interview with Oksana Dmitriyeva, deputy head of the A Just Russia faction in the State Duma and head of the St. Petersburg branch of the A Just Russia party, who looks at the situation in the party and at the upcoming A Just Russia congress; p 2 (850 words).

3. Ivan Petrov report "Warden's move" says that according to Prosecutor General Yury Chaika's subordinates, it is the Investigative Committee that will benefit from a change in the procedure to appoint the prosecutor-general's deputies; p 2 (950 words).

4. Alina Yevstigneyeva report "Creative class to work for defense industry" says that Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin intends to establish a dialogue between the Russian Academy of Sciences and the defense industry; p 3 (800 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Valery Yakov report "Heroic boor" looks at the incident on a flight to Moscow from St. Petersburg involving United Russia lawmaker Andrei Isayev and his allegedly drunk aide. Indignant passengers with the help of the internet have told the whole world about the "deputy's debauchery", while United Russia members "admire the courage of lawmaker Isayev following a drunken scandal", article says; pp 1-2 (700 words).

2. Yekaterina Dyatlovskaya report "Snowden's father arrives in Moscow to see son" says that Lon Snowden, the father of Edward Snowden, fugitive National Security Agency contractor, has arrived in Russia; p 2 (150 words).

3. Mikhail Nikiforenko report "Yevgeny Roizman to pay 5,000 rubles ($155) for report in blog" says that a Yekaterinburg court has fined city mayor Yevgeny Roizman for publishing defamatory information in his LiveJournal blog; p 2 (150 words).

4. Nadezhda Bulanova report "Investigator not allowed to visit Nadezhda Tolokonnikova" says that the administration of the No 21 prison in Mordovia has not let an investigator to visit jailed Pussy Riot band member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova in the prison's medical facility; p 3 (300 words).

Novaya Gazeta

1. Nina Petlyanova report "Deputy Isayev's career ends on takeoff" looks at the incident with United Russia deputy Andrei Isayev on board an aircraft and says that when "getting on the aircraft his drunk aide, the prominent United Russia member threatened Aeroflot staff". Article also features comments of opposition State Duma member Ilya Ponomaryov and an Aeroflot employee on the incident; pp 1, 3-4 (2,300 words).

2. Alexander Mineyev report "Why they undermined immunity of diplomat Borodin" looks at the incident with Russian diplomat Dmitry Borodin, whose flat in The Hague has been stormed by police; pp 1-2 (1,100 words).

3. Newspaper publishes comments headlined "Continuous sluggish schizophrenia of judicial system" by Soviet dissident Viktor Faynberg and psychiatry expert Lyubov Vinogradova on the verdict to Mikhail Kosenko, a defendant in the criminal case of riots on Bolotnaya Square in Moscow in May 2012; pp 1, 6 (900 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Alexander Gamov interview with State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin who speaks about the parliament; pp 1, 12-13 (1,900 words).

2. Valeria Pozychanyuk report "Lithuanian products to return to our shops" says that the trade conflict between Russia and Lithuania seems to be over; p 2 (150 words).

3. Yelena Krivyakina report "Russia to harvest more grain" says that this year Russia will harvest 90 million tons of grain against 70.9 million tons in 2012; p 2 (350 words).

4. Alexander Milkus report "Country's new 'chief cosmonaut'" says that former Deputy Defense Minister Oleg Ostapenko has been appointed head of the Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos); p 2 (300 words).

5. Andrei Vasin report "Former convicts allowed to stand in elections" says that the Constitutional Court has ruled that people with prior convictions can stand in elections; p 3 (350 words).

6. Yelena Arakelyan report "Woman may be entrusted to print dollars" says that Janet Yellen is expected to replace Ben Bernanke as head of the Federal Reserve, and features a Russian analyst's comment; p 5 (500 words).

Trud

1. Vitaly Golovachev report "High-profile resignation" says that Vladimir Popovkin has resigned as Federal Space Agency head; p 1 (450 words).

Tvoy Den

1. Anton Stepanov report "Snowden's father arrives in Moscow to visit son" looks at the arrival in Russia of Lon Snowden, the father of Edward Snowden, fugitive National Security Agency contractor; pp 1-2 (400 words).

Krasnaya Zvezda weekly

1. Alexander Alexanderov report "In the grip of anarchy" says that Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zaydan has been abducted and later released, and says that head of the State Duma International Affairs Committee Alexei Pushkov has commented on the situation in his blog; p 5 (800 words).