What the Papers Say, Feb. 20, 2014

Kommersant

1. Maxim Yusin article headlined "Square of European-style renovation" says both the authorities and the opposition leaders are losing control over the situation in Ukraine, as protesters seize arms depots. The West is speaking about the need for international mediators to resolve the crisis; p 1 (588 words).

2. Dmitry Butrin article headlined "Academicians suggest money be invested in growth" says a group of researchers belonging to the Russian Academy of Sciences have handed over their proposals for the country's economic development to President Vladimir Putin. The government is to study the proposal; pp 1, 3 (616 words).

3. Yury Barsukov article headlined "Gazprom finds money in group" says Gazprombank is to become the first investor in Gazprom's projects to build LNG plants on the Baltic Sea coast and in the Maritime region; pp 1, 7 (564 words).

4. Roman Rozhkov article headlined "Two years for illegal [content provider]" says the owner of the Ironclub.tv website from Naberezhnyye Chelny has received a two-year suspended sentence over internet piracy; pp 1, 8 (521 words).

5. Article attributed to the paper's political section headlined "Alexander Volkov stays with his people" says Udmurtia governor Alexander Volkov has been replaced by the republic's senator, Alexander Solovyev. Experts believe the reshuffle will not help the region get rid of economic stagnation; p 2 (606 words).

6. Ilya Barabanov article headlined "Emergency continuation regime" reports on the situation in Kiev "on both sides of barricades" and notes that Ukrainian politicians are incapable of restoring order; p 5 (827 words).

7. Sergei Strokan interview with Ukrainian lawmaker representing the opposition Fatherland parliamentary faction Sergei Sobolyev speaking on the situation in the country and calling on UN peacekeepers to get involved in the situation; p 5 (467 words).

8. Sergei Strokan interview with Ukrainian lawmaker from the ruling Party of Regions Volodymyr Oliynyk accusing the opposition of pressing for the use of force by the authorities and claiming that the majority of Ukrainians oppose an armed conflict; p 5 (430 words).

9. Vladimir Barinov article headlined "Sergei Pugachev taken off wanted list" says the lawyers of Sergei Pugachev, former influential banker and senator, have appealed against the decision to put their client on the international wanted list and won the case; p 4 (600 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Svetlana Gamova article headlined "Third Ukrainian front" says while opposition protesters are clashing with the police in Kiev, a new pro-government movement is being formed in the southeast of the country. Ukraine becomes divided into the west and the east; pp 1, 6 (767 words).

2. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Central Bank enters currency uncertainty" says the Russian financial authorities no longer forecast the future rate of the ruble, which means that the value of the currency may continue to fall; pp 1, 4 (923 words).

3. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Opposition to respond to Bolotnaya case verdict with protests" says opposition activists are getting ready to stage protests in Moscow if the verdict for their colleagues tried as part of Bolotnaya case turns out to be too harsh; pp 1, 3 (610 words).

4. Yekaterina Trifonova article headlined "New window to Russia opened for migrants" says the state funding for the program to return compatriots to Russia has been increased in 2014. Residents of Central Asian countries are the ones willing to move to Russia; pp 1, 3 (883 words).

5. Yury Roks article headlined "Abkhazian independence recognized in Latvian schools" says Tbilisi and Baku may find an unpleasant surprise in Latvian history books, as breakaway regions of South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Nagorny-Karabakh are described there as independent states; pp 1-2 (470 words).

6. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Spying on allies not forbidden" says students in Glasgow have expressed support for U.S. whistleblower Edward Snowden in an attempt to show that the Western community is indignant with the U.S. secret services' spying; pp 1, 7 (557 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Abundance of military plans" says ambitious plans recently announced by the Defense Ministry are not backed by budget funding; p 2 (517 words).

8. Alena Terekhova article headlined "Moscow ready to build pipe up to South Korea" says South Korea has expressed a readiness to import Russian gas; Gazprom is considering the possibility of building a new gas pipeline in the Far East; p 4 (830 words).

9. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Maidan takes paving stone" says a state of emergency has de facto been imposed in Kiev, as the metro is not working, many companies allow their personnel not to come to work and there is a disruption in telephone and internet communications; p 6 (1,782 words).

10. Darya Tsilyurik and Yevgeny Grigoryev article headlined "West shields opposition and blames Yanukovych for everything" says the West blames only President Viktor Yanukovych for the political conflict in Ukraine. The EU will consider sanctions against the Ukrainian authorities; p 6 (875 words).

11. Yevgenia Novikova article headlined "Syrian friends prepare militants to attack Damascus" says Jordan has turned into the main base for armed groups fighting against the Syrian regime. Moscow speaks out against a military solution to the Syrian conflict; p 7 (767 words).

12. Gleb Postnov article headlined "Islamists spotted at presidential level" says that Tatarstan president Rustam Minnikhanov has criticized the Nizhnekamsk authorities for losing control over local Islamists; p 5 (600 words).

Vedomosti

1. Olga Kuvshinova and Margarita Papchenkova article headlined "Economy in the red" says the reduction of economic growth in Russia may be followed by a sharp decline in the country's economy, experts warn; pp 1, 5 (800 words).

2. Editorial headlined "Ukraine at edge" says the Ukrainian authorities are to blame for the clashes in Kiev, as Yanukovych is losing legitimacy and still demands that opposition activists leave the streets of Kiev, despite the fact that opposition leaders cannot implement order. As the West is considering sanctions against Kiev, Russia is turning into the only ally of the Ukrainian regime and Russian taxpayers will have to pay for the problem; pp 1, 6 (400 words).

3. Polina Khimshiashvili and Alexei Nikolsky article headlined "Mournful Ukraine" says the authorities and the opposition cannot find a way out of the political crisis in Ukraine. Only the involvement of external forces can help resolve the crisis, experts believe; p 2 (800 words).

4. Another editorial headlined "President and academicians" comments on Putin's meeting with experts from the Academy of Sciences and notes that scientists cannot express any weighty opinion as their own legal and financial status has not been fully determined yet; p 6 (300 words).

5. Vasily Kashin article headlined "Republics-sisters" gives the author's opinion on how the Ukrainian protest will affect Russian internal policy and change its place in the international arena; p 7 (550 words).

Izvestia

1. Svetlana Subbotina article headlined "Labor Ministry designs punishment scale for officials" says the Labor Ministry has drafted a document detailing anti-corruption violations that Russian officials commit; pp 1, 4 (507 words).

2. Vladimir Zykov article headlined "Passport to be required to access torrents" says film producer Oleg Teterin has asked the Culture Ministry to adopt regulations requiring people to provide their IDs when downloading internet content. The move is seen as a measure against online piracy; pp 1, 4 (521 words).

3. Dmitry Runkevich article headlined "Alexander Shokhin to head new council under president" says head of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin is to become a head of the newly set up council for professional qualifications under the Russian president; pp 1, 4 (698 words).

4. Yury Matsarsky article headlined "If ordered, I will kill, if required, I will die" gives a detailed report on the situation in the centre of Kiev following clashes between the riot police and opposition protesters; pp 1, 7 (681 words).

5. Konstantin Volkov interview with Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the Russian State Duma's International Affairs Committee, who gives a negative forecast for the political future of Ukraine; p 7 (393 words).

6. Dmitry Yevstifeyev and Konstantin Volkov article headlined "FSKN wants to conduct special operations abroad" says the Federal Drug Control Service has proposed the creation of an anti-drug secret service to fight against international cartels; p 4 (1,000 words).

7. Konstantin Zatulin expert opinion headlined "In and around Ukraine: Days of deceived" speculates on the reasons behind the Ukrainian crisis; p 9 (1,200 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Marina Aleshina and Pavel Dulman article headlined "Ukrainian night: End of silence" reports on clashes between the police and opposition protesters in Kiev and notes that the Interior Ministry blames protesters for killing policemen; pp 1, 9 (1,800 words).

2. Yury Gavrilov article headlined "By three, count off" says the Defense Ministry plans to halve the number of conscripts in the Armed Forces by 2020; pp 1, 8 (500 words).

3. Yulia Krivoshapko and Roman Markelov article headlined "Ruble becomes agitated" comments on ruble losing its value against the dollar and the euro and notes that the Russian Central Bank is losing optimism about the devaluating ruble; pp 1-2 (1,000 words).

4. Yelena Novoselova interview with a Ukrainian political analyst headlined "Darkness covers great city" who speaks on the Ukrainian future; p 9 (1,200 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Marina Perevozkina article headlined "Kiev turns into Grozny" reports on recent developments in Kiev and notes that the Ukrainian opposition does not allow Russian journalists to cover the events; pp 1-2 (698 words).

2. Mikhail Rostovsky article headlined "Do people have right to armed revolt?" says Ukraine is going through its most tragic days and approves the actions of the Ukrainian authorities; pp 1, 3 (722 words).

3. Nikolay Makeyev article headlined "Ruble condemned: Euro costs 49 rubles already" blamed the Finance Ministry for the falling ruble and says that the devaluating ruble does no good for the economy; pp 1-2 (555 words).

4. Stanislav Belkovsky expert opinion headlined "Cursed Ukraine" says Russia perceives Ukraine as a little sister that has grown older, with which Moscow does not want to put up; p 3 (700 words).

5. Mikhail Zubov and Igor Karamzin article headlined "Can Maidan go nuclear" gives three scenarios for the Ukrainian future based on interviews with Ukrainian political analysts; p 3 (450 words).

6. Yekaterina Petukhova and Oleg Bazak article headlined "Country split in two" gives a brief description of events taking place in various Ukrainian regions, showing that the country is literally split in two, with the western part supporting opposition protests and the eastern part being against Maidan; p 3 (1,200 words)

RBK Daily

1. Ivan Petrov report "Anatomy of protest" says that Ukraine is on the verge of a civil war. Experts say the split of the country is possible; pp 1-2 (1,300 words).

2. Stepan Opalev report "Navalny will tear open districts" says that the opposition is setting up a "network of district newspapers" with the circulation of million copies preparing for the City Duma election; pp 1-2 (650 words).

3. Andrei Kotov report "Russia's aid gets stuck at stock exchange" says that Moscow is ready to buy Ukrainian bonds, but due to technical problems there may be a delay; p 2 (400 words).

4. Katerina Kitayeva report "Double audit at Vkontakte" says that Ernst and Young is auditing the financial activities of the social network Vkontakte at the request of two shareholders; p 9 (800 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Yana Sergeieva report "Ukraine on fire" says that not only the opposition, but also the authorities are losing control of the situation in Ukraine; pp 1-2 (1,200 words).

2. Vladimir Frolov report "They spoiled the Olympics" looks at the defeat of Russia's ice hockey team at the Olympic Games in Sochi; pp 1, 6 (1,000 words).

3. Yekaterina Dyatlovskaya report "Police do not want conflict and side with people" says that many regions in Ukraine are hit by mass unrest; p 2 (600 words).

4. Elya Grigoryeva report "Nosedive" says that the Russian ruble has hit a record low against the euro and the dollar; p 3 (650 words).

5. Arina Raksina report "Generous soul" says that Russia continues writing off debts of former allies hoping to strengthen its political influence; p 3 (600 words).

6. Margarita Alekhina interview "'We still understand nothing"' with Alexei Venediktov, editor-in-chief of the radio station Ekho Moskvy, who speaks about the recent sacking of Yury Fedutinov, Ekho Moskvy's general director; p 5 (700 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Dmitry Smirnov report "Putin and Yanukovych discuss situation in Kiev" says that Russian and Ukrainian presidents have discussed the situation in Ukraine on the phone. Putin believes that extremists are to blame for what has happened there; p 2 (300 words).

2. Alexander Grishin report "They are scared! It means that everything is right" says that the Western mass media's information attack against the Sochi Olympics is aimed at Putin personally; p 2 (450 words).

3. Dmitry Yegorov report "Ukrainian fans leave Sochi" says that rumor has it that the Ukrainian delegation may leave the Olympics in Sochi ahead of time; p 3 (350 words).

4. Yevgenia Suprycheva report "Storming of Maidan: Fire, grenades, borshch and prayers" looks in detail at the situation in Kiev; p 4 (1,400 words).

5. Alexander Gamov interview with the aide to the Ukrainian president and pro-presidential Party of Regions lawmaker Hanna Herman, who comments on the situation in Ukraine; p 5 (1,000 words).

6. Political analyst Vitaly Tretyakov report "Outcome nears" looks at the situation in Ukraine and at a possible way out of the crisis; p 6 (600 words).

7. Political analyst Fedor Lukyanov report "Is February 2014 in Kiev a copy of October 1993 in Russia?" compares the current situation in Ukraine with the crisis in Russia in 1993; p 7 (400 words).

8. Political analyst Sergei Markov report "Blood on hands of Erinyes of Ukrainian revolution" comments on the crisis in Ukraine; p 7 (450 words).

9. Yelena Chinkova report "Lead security forces away and be patient!" looks at the West's reaction to the events in Ukraine and at Joe Biden's conversation with President Viktor Yanukovych, in particular; p 8 (200 words).

10. Alexander Grishin report "Beaten with whip, poured with gas" says that Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, members of the Pussy Riot punk band, are staging "one act of provocation after another in Sochi"; p 12 (450 words).

Tvoi Den

1. Anton Stepanov "Blood and tears" says that the Ukrainian security service has begun a counterterrorism operation in the country; pp 1, 6-7 (550 words).

Zavtra

1. Andrei Fefelov brief interview headlined "Straightforward question to Kim Yong Jae" with the North Korean Ambassador to Russia; p 1 (250 words).

2. Unattributed interview headlined "Iran: Epoch of deeds" with Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Mehdi Sanaei ; p 3 (1,100 words).

Feb. 20, 2014 / BBC Monitoring / ©BBC