What the Papers Say, Apr. 10, 2014

Kommersant

1. Petr Netreba and Alexei Shapovalov article headlined "Zone of Crimean recognition" says the Economic Development Ministry has suggested that Crimea be turned into a special economic zone providing investors with beneficial taxation. Russia has to shut down a special economic zone in Kaliningrad due to WTO claims, however, the organization will be able to lay claims against the Crimean zone only if it recognizes the peninsula as Russian territory; pp 1, 6 (689 words).

2. Pavel Belavin article headlined "Peninsula outside of game" says the Finance Ministry has doubts about setting up a gambling zone in Crimea. The four Russian gambling zones have not started operating yet five years after they were set up; pp 1, 12 (580 words).

3. Olga Shestopal article headlined "Finance Ministry finds access to FATCA" says Russian banks will be able to reduce the threat of sanctions resulting from the U.S. FATCA law. Amendments to the Russian laws drafted by the Finance Ministry allow banks to inform U.S. tax authorities about the bank transactions of U.S. tax payers; pp 1, 10 (779 words).

4. Andrei Kolesnikov article headlined "Our special deporting" says the author has not been allowed to enter Ukraine and notes that Ukrainian border guards do not allow Russian journalists to visit the country and use illegitimate reasons for deporting them; pp 1, 10 (1,885 words).

5. Irina Nagornykh and Anna Tokareva article headlined "All-Russia People's Front aims at Ryazan governor" says the party is going to send a request to the prosecutor's office asking to check the use of public funds for the construction of a road to an elite residential area in the Ryazan region. The local governor may be affected by the move; p 2 (594 words).

6. Dmitry Butrin article headlined "Russia outside 'new normality'" says the IMF will give a negative economic development forecast for Russia due to its annexation of Crimea; p 6 (569 words).

7. Maria Yefimova article headlined "PACE shows unity in Ukraine" says PACE has passed a resolution supporting Ukrainian territorial integrity and condemning Russia's "aggression" against this country. Moscow called the resolution a manifestation of double standards; p 7 (539 words).

8. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Iranian atom becomes half peaceful" says the talks on the Iranian nuclear program conducted by six plus one group of international mediators in Vienna have laid the foundation for the settlement of the Iranian nuclear problem. A number of issues including Iran's trade deal with Moscow still need to be resolved; p 7 (578 words).

9. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Legionaries deny their involvement" says the U.S. private security company Greystone has denied its involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, although Russia claims that the Ukrainian authorities have hired some 150 employees of the firm to deal with public disturbances in the east of the country; p 8 (482 words).

10. Ilya Barabanov article headlined "Kharkiv starts protecting police" reports on security situation in Kharkiv and notes that local activists are getting ready to protect special police force Berkut from Ukrainian nationalists who may try to take policemen to other parts of the country to arrest them there; p 8 (544 words).

11. Yury Barsukov et al. report headlined "Vladimir Putin changes side in talks" says Gazprom is to discuss the Ukrainian energy problem with the EU, not with Kiev. The Russian gas monopoly is preparing for a crisis in energy cooperation with Ukraine; p 11 (576 words).

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

1. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Moscow's consideration for China does not come true" says Moscow expecting to replace the EU with China for gas is naive as Beijing is not going to accept the high prices charged by Moscow; pp 1-2 (1,099 words).

2. Darya Tsilyurik article headlined "PACE condemns Moscow for Crimea" says the Russian delegation in PACE may be stripped of its voting right as the assembly has condemned Russia's annexation of Crimea; pp 1, 7 (757 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Supporters of 'strong hand' who cannot leave country" says a recent poll has shown that two thirds of Russians do not have international passports and three fourths are not going to leave Russia, however, they are longing for a powerful ruler; pp 1, 3 (651 words)

4. Yury Roks article headlined "Tbilisi mixes up Slovak flag with Russian one" says Georgia has marked the anniversary of the 1989 uprising, in which Soviet troops cracked down on a peaceful demonstration killing 21 people. This year, participants in a memorial ceremony burnt a flag of the white, blue and red colors attached to one of the wreaths mistaking it for a Russian one. It turned out to be a Slovakian flag; pp 1, 6 (600 words).

5. Svetlana Gavrilina article headlined "Strasbourg starts dealing with elections in St. Petersburg" says the European Court of Human Rights is to start considering a complaint over vote rigging at the local elections in St. Petersburg in December 2011; pp 1, 5 (531 words).

6. Editorial headlined "Russian vector cannot cancel Western one" calls on Brussels and Washington to start discussing the Dnestr territorial conflict and the Ukrainian crisis; p 2 (541 words).

7. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Russia loses Voice of America" says the VOA radio station says stopping it from broadcasting in Russia violates the freedom of speech. Meanwhile, Voice of America plans to broadcast more programs in Crimea; p 3 (648 words).

8. Yury Paniyev article headlined "Ukrainian talks accompanied by threats of new sanctions" says NATO plans to triple the number of fighters patrolling the Baltic States' air space. Meanwhile, Washington threatens Moscow with new sanctions if the country does not stop pressuring Ukraine; p 7 (743 words).

9. Vladimir Skosyrev article headlined "Yesterday terrorist, today Queen's guest of honor" reports on Irish President Michael D. Higgins' visit to London and quotes a Russian expert; p 7 (400 words).

Vedomosti

1. Ksenia Boletskaya article headlined "Olympic result of Rossiya 1" says the Sochi Olympics not only affected construction companies but also Rossiya 1 television because it had to make additional investments in the launch of an HD channel; pp 1, 24 (600 words).

2. Editorial headlined "Replacement of test" comments on the changes in the Single State Exam planned by the Education Ministry; pp 1, 6 (400 words).

3. Maxim Tovkaylo article headlined "Government divided over Crimea" says Russia needs to spend on the development of Crimea, however, the Finance Ministry is against increasing expenses; p 4 (600 words).

4. Editorial headlined "Painless GDP increase how-to" comments on the development of the Nigerian economy; p 6 (300 words).

5. Vadim Volkov and Kirill Titayev article headlined "Voluntary popular teams: Reload" comments on the creation of the informal militia in Russia; p 6 (600 words).

6. Alexei Zakharov and Svetlana Khutkaya article headlined "Unitary Ukraine" says after a while, Russia will have to admit that most Ukrainians want their country to be a unitary and independent state; p 7 (800 words).

7. Irina Busygina article headlined "Sovereign democracy" says most Russians think that they live in a democracy. In fact, the elites are trying to appeal to the interests of the majority at the cost of ignoring minorities; p 7 (400 words).

8. Mikhail Serov and Yelena Khodyakova article headlined "Russia threatens with contract" says if Ukraine will not pay back its debt for the Russian gas, Russia will ask it to pay for the future deliveries in advance; p 10 (600 words).

9. Roman Dorokhov and Yelizaveta Sergina article headlined "Smartphone of state importance" says United Russia lawmaker Vladimir Gutenev has suggested that public servants should be banned from using phones that have not been certified by the Federal Security Service, the FSB; p 11 (400 words).

10. Mikhail Serov article headlined "Price of Chinese contract" says Russia urgently needs to sign a contract with China; p 13 (500 words).

Izvestia

1. Yegor Sozayev-Guryev article headlined "President gives Kiev time to think" says President Vladimir Putin has instructed his cabinet not to put energy pressure on Ukraine as he is waiting for the results of the talks with his Western partners; pp 1-2 (1,129 words).

2. Alexei Krivoruchek article headlined "Invisible ships to protect peninsula" says the Navy is to make new ships that are virtually invisible for radars by 2016. These ships are to be mostly used by the Black Sea Fleet; pp 1, 7 (547 words).

3. Anastasia Kashevarova interview with VTB head Andrei Kostin speaking on the bank's plans for working abroad and on prospects for developing the national payment system ; pp 1, 4 (3,607 words).

4. Pavel Panov interview with Education and Science Minister Dmitry Livanov speaking on the development of the single history books for schools and on the future of the Russian Academy of Sciences; p 7 (1,801 words).

5. Konstantin Volkov article headlined "Japanese opposition accuses prime minister of revisionism" says in Japan, opposition politician Banri Kaieda has accused Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of destabilizing the situation in East Asia. The article features a commentary by a Russian expert; p 8 (500 words).

6. Natalya Bashlykova article headlined "PACE calls Ukraine to NATO, accuses Russians of military aggression" features a Russian expert's comment on the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe's draft resolution on the events in Crimea; p 8 (900 words).

7. Dmitry Drobnitsky article headlined "Farewell on two fronts" comments on the decline in the activities of Russian tycoon and politician Mikhail Prokhorov; p 9 (800 words).

8. Kirill Nikitin article headlined "Tax solidarity" suggests that taxes should be increased to finance Crimea, so that in the future citizens know that the absorption of foreign territories has its costs; p 9 (600 words).

Rossiiskaya Gazeta

1. Roman Markelov article headlined "Release" says Russia and India may start using their national currencies to pay for their bilateral deals. Experts say that Russia can insist on using the ruble when Europe buys its hydrocarbons; pp 1, 6 (444 words).

2. Susanna Alperina article headlined "Russia Today wins in America" says a Russian documentary shot by Russia Today television channel won a prestigious award at New York Film Festival 2014; p 3 (492 words).

Moskovsky Komsomolets

1. Leonid Berres and Andrei Yashlavsky article headlined "There was not a single ruble and now there is altyn" says the Eurasian Economic Union may start using single currency in five years. Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have reportedly approved the plans; pp 1-2 (1,293 words).

2. Yelena Yegorova article headlined "On eve of trade war" says the government is looking for ways to replace Ukrainian imports. The goods that Russia used to buy in Ukraine can be manufactured at home; pp 1-2 (540 words).

3. Ignat Kalinin article headlined "Russia to help everyone without asking anybody about it" comments on a draft decree by the government that would allow the Defense Ministry to deploy troops as foreign peacekeeping missions without the official permission of the countries where the troops would be sent; pp 1- 2 (404 words).

RBK Daily

1. Farida Rustamova, Zhanna Ulyanova article headlined "New cultural policy" says the State Duma will draft a new concept aimed at a "unique" system of citizens' upbringing and enlightenment, which will require additional funding from the state budget; pp 1-2 (850 words).

2. Alexander Artemyev article headlined "Washington ruled out of order" says the head of the state-run information agency Rossiya Segodnya Dmitry Kiselyov decided not to prolong his contract with the Voice of America radio station; p 2 (600 words).

3. Ivan Petrov and Maxim Glikin article headlined "Russia did not go east" says that rioting Ukrainian regions Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv were left without Moscow's support as Moscow is now focusing on quadripartite talks with Ukraine, U.S. and the EU; p 2 (500 words).

4. Alexandra Yevdokimova article headlined "Ukraine taking over pipe" says that state-owned oil pipeline operator Transneft fears it may forfeit its ownership of a pipeline's section in Ukraine as Ukrainian legislators disputed the ownership of the pipeline section; p 4 (400 words).

Noviye Izvestia

1. Sergei Putilov article headlined "'Rivers' turn" says Russia is aiming to export gas to China in order to oppose the Western economic sanctions. However, the project will be costly and its implementation will require much time, the author says; p 3 (600 words).

Komsomolskaya Pravda

1. Dmitry Smirnov article headlined "Putin asks to make allowance for Ukrainian troubles" reports on a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and the cabinet of ministers, where the issue of gas deliveries to Ukraine was discussed; p 2 (700 words).

2. Nigina Beroyeva article headlined "Donetsk not returning to Kiev. There is no way back" says that the Ukrainian authorities have issued an ultimatum to Donbass, although the protesters say the authorities have not made any attempts to negotiate with them; p 4 (500 words).

3. Nigina Beroyeva article headlined "Ukrainian night is silent, but I'll hide my camera anyway" says that Russian journalists have to use various tricks to get to Ukraine as the Ukrainian border guards have toughened the rules for letting Russian reporters into the country; p 5 (500 words).

4. Alexander Grishin article headlined "It is Saakashvili who brought snipers to Maidan" quotes a Georgian military official accusing former Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili of organizing the sniper attack on Kiev's main square Maidan; p 6 (600 words).

5. Galina Sapozhnikova interview with political analyst Dmitry Abzalov on the wave of referendums currently taking place in Ukraine; p 9 (900 words).

Trud

1. Sergei Frolov article headlined "Without looking back at local nuances" says Ukraine has turned into an "evil repressive state, where any form of dissent is not welcome"; p 2 (700 words).

Krasnaya Zvezda

1. Dmitry Semenov article headlined "Agreements should be executed" reports on President Putin's meeting with the key ministers and their discussion of prospects of the Russian-Ukrainian economic relations; p 1 (600 words).

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