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What the Papers Say, Apr. 18, 2013

Kommersant


1. Ruslan Karmanov article headlined "Main hockey law enforcers" says that the Dynamo hockey team has won the Gagarin Cup second time in a row; pp 1, 16 (1,077 words).

2. Maxim Ivanov et al. report headlined "Premier's conduct" looks at Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's report to the State Duma amid a leak from a closed meeting chaired by President Putin where he hinted at possible dismissals of top governmental officials; pp 1-2 (1,847 words).

3. Svetlana Dementyeva article headlined "Central Bank exposing bank secrets" says that the Central Bank has issued an instruction on closer supervision of banx aimed at ensuring total transparency of their financial state; pp 1, 9 (890 words).

4. Pavel Belavin and Yevgenia Pertseva article headlined "Merger out of consumer considerations" says that the M-Video company, which accounts for 12 percent of the Russian consumer electronics market, is going to buy its rival, the Eldorado chain (8.6 percent of the market), from the PPF Group; pp 1, 13 (680 words).

5. Article features comments of State Duma deputies and entrepreneurs on Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's report to the State Duma; p 2 (498 words).

6. Grigory Tumanov and Olga Shkurenko article headlined "Discussion flower beds" says that the areas designated for rallies and protests for under 2,000 people will soon begin to function in two Moscow parks. The city authorities count that a new culture of protests will emerge whereas the opposition fears that the discussion areas will turn into "reservations for protests"; p 4 (1,150 words).

7. Grigory Tumanov interview with one of the organizers of several major rallies Sergei Davidis headlined "'It is attempt to isolate public activity'" where he explains why the appearance of Moscow "Hyde parks" is a bad sign for the opposition and how it is going to turn the authorities' initiative to its advantage; p 4 (655 words).

8. Article by Yury Saprykon, journalist and organizer of several For Fair Elections rallies, published in the opinion column "Price of issue," comments on the idea to set up grounds in Moscow parks for rallies without the approval of the city administration; p 4 (469 words).

9. Khalil Aminov and Oleg Rubnikovich article headlined "Former head of KSK [North Caucasus Resorts] reimburses damage in full" says that, although former head of board of the Resorts of North Caucasus company Akhmed Bilalov suspected of abuse of power has reimbursed the company's expenditures on his oversees trips, the criminal case against him will not be closed; p 5 (557 words).

10. Ilya Barabanov article headlined "Trial does not justify interest in Alexei Navalny" says that the embezzlement trial of opposition activist Alexei Navalny has been postponed until April 24 at the request of defense lawyers; p 5 (657 words).

11. Grigory Tumanov article headlined "Prosecutor's office seeking agent data at Soldiers' Mothers" says that in line with mass checks of NGOs the prosecutor's office wants to make the Kostroma branch of the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers register as a foreign agent; p 5 (540 words).

12. Taisiya Bulatova article headlined "'There were separate acts of self-defense'" says that, according to a report drawn up as a result of a public probe into clashes at the May 6, 2012, rally in Moscow, there were instances of "self-defense" by people against violent police actions, rather than "mass disturbances" as stated by the authorities; p 5 (800 words).

13. Kirill Belianinov article headlined "Taivanchik flunks game in New York" says that U.S. law enforcers have brought charges against Russian businessman Alimzhan Tokhtakhunov aka Taivanchik. He is suspected of heading two international criminal groups engaged in illegal gambling business in the U.S. and money laundering via Cypriot offshores; p 6 (604 words).

14. Nikolai Sergeyev article headlined "Yury Chayka makes note of FSB's investigative service" looks at Prosecutor General Yury Chayka's report on the law and order in Russia in 2012 to be presented at the Federation Council; p 6 (586 words).

15. Vladislav Trifonov article headlined "Court issues subpoena for William Browder" say that Moscow's Tverskoi District Court has refused to consider the investigation's petition on arresting in absentia head of the Hermitage Capital Fund William Browder and ordered the Interior Ministry's investigative department to notify Browder properly prior to April 22; p 6 (449 words).

16. Timur Samedov article headlined "Defense lawyers go on strike against police" says that some 300 defense lawyers in Kabardino-Balkaria are going on a week-long strike in order to draw attention to numerous violations of rights of defense lawyers and their clients by law enforcers; p 6 (500 words).

17. Yelena Chernenko article headlined "Russian, Turkish words disagree with statements" says that following the meeting of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with his Turkish counterpart the sides adopted a statement saying that the sides have no differences whatsoever. Meanwhile, during the news conference it turned out that the ministers differ drastically on Syria; p 7 (597 words).

18. Maria Yefimova article headlined "Eilat shelled" says that the Israeli resort Eilat has been shelled and the Iron Dome missile defense system has not failed; p 7 (447 words).

19. Kirill Belyaninov article headlined "Terrorists deny blasts" says that no radical group has claimed responsibility for the blasts at Boston Marathon; p 7 (834 words).

20. Oleg Sapozhkov article headlined "Russia may put up bad show" says that the "budget rule" and social obligations make the White House face a complicated choice: either lower the standards of holding the world football championship on 2018 and lose face or increase financing from the federal budget at the expense of other obligations; p 8 (425 words).


Nezavisimaya Gazeta


1. Alexei Gorbachev article headlined "Radioactive billion for NGOs" says that the head of the Civil Initiatives Committee and a former finance minister, Alexei Kudrin, is going to ask the president to make public the sources of financing of NGOs. The committee suspects that some $300 million out of the notorious $1 billion allocated, according to Putin, for Russian NGOs this year, will be spent on the recycling of radioactive wastes controlled by the Russian government; pp 1,2 (523 words).

2. Ivan Nekrasov article headlined "Kholmanskikh to take proletariat to squares" says that Igor Kholmanskikh appointed by Putin as the presidential envoy to the Urals Federal District 11 months ago has given a news conference where he outlined the prospects of his movement In Defense of Man of Labor; pp 1,2 (501 words).

3. Ivan Rodin article headlined "Main thing is that Medvedev should suit Putin" says that Prime Minister Medvedev's report to the State Duma was more like a statement about the Cabinet's current and future plans and looks at a leak from President Putin's meeting in Kalmykia where he severely criticized the government work and threatened with dismissals; pp 1,3 (1,244 words).

4. Anastasia Bashkatova and Igor Naumov article headlined "Individuals to be saved from poverty" says that the authorities plan to reduce insurance payments for individual entrepreneurs in July already, but it is unlikely to make some 40 percent of the 400,000 entrepreneurs who shut down their businesses resume legal business; pp 1,4 (723 words).

5. Alexandra Samarina article headlined "Social democracy in fog" says that over 30 percent of the registered 64 parties proclaim social-democratic values; pp 1,4 (910 words).

6. Tatyana Ivzhenko article headlined "Crimea to make money on tourists" says that the Crimean authorities consider introducing a new tourist fee. The move may put tourists off, experts warn; pp 1,6 (935 words).

7. Editorial headlined "All hopes pinned on Kudrin" looks at former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin's interview with Rossia-24 TV channel where he criticized the government for the inefficient policy and emphasized the need for new people with positive management experience in kei financial posts. Editorial looks at Kudrin's achievements during his work in the government and expresses doubts that his return to the government will lead to some breakthroughs in the economic policy; p 2 (483 words).

8. Oleg Vladykin article headlined "Surprise drill for Pskov troopers" says that surprise drills for the Russian troops are becoming regular and looks at yet another surprise drill in the town of Pskov; p 2 (545 words).

9. Sergei Kulikov article headlined "Premier reports to State Duma" looks at Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's report to the parliament and says that although the State Duma refrained from harsh criticism of the government the cabinet's position is shaky as the president hints at its dismissal; p 3 (757 words).

10. Gleb Postnov article headlined "Carte blanche. Tatarstan's mufti ready for truce with radicals" says that Kamil Samigullin has been approved as new mufti of Tatarstan and, unlike his predecessor, Samigullin is not going to struggle against Islamist extremists in the republic; p 3 (654 words).

11. Anastasia Bashkatova article headlined "Regions cannot afford world football championship" says that as the economic situation in most regions that will host the world football championship in 2018 is deteriorating and the federal center is going to finance preparations only partially, the quality of the competition is at risk; p 4 (896 words).

12. Svetlana Gavrilina article headlined "Petersburg residents not aware they are being defended" looks at a report of St Petersburg ombudsman Alexander Shishlov to the St Petersburg legislative assembly; p 5 (577 words).

13. Anton Khodasevich article headlined "Those who get on well to be offered to share" says that Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko is stepping up control over banks with foreign capital; p 6 (565 words).

14. Yury Rox article headlined "Saakashvili accuses Russia of August war again" looks at Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's interview with the Rustavi-2 TV channel where he blamed Russia for unleashing the war in August 2008 and the reaction of the society to the revelations; p 6 (815 words).

15. Darya Tsiryulik article headlined "EU smothers bonus voice" say that the European parliament has set single rules for all banks in the European Union, including the restriction on the size of bonuses; p 7 (615 words).


Vedomosti


1. Roman Dorokhov et al. report headlined "VKontakte bought without warning" says that Ilya Shcherbovich's United Capital Partners has bought 48 percent of shares of the VKontakte social network; pp 1, 22 (863 words).

2. Dmitry Kazmin article headlined "Without answer, without account" looks at the draft bill aimed at counteracting illegal financial operations; pp 1, 5 (463 words).

3. Editorial headlined "Mechanism of evil" says that the first cases against "foreign agents" as well as mass checks of Russian NGOs show that a repressive mechanism has begun to function in Russia and one should not seek any legal logic or common sense in its actions; pp 1, 6 (400 words).

4. Anastasia Kornia article headlined "Navalny may be tried until autumn" says that the trial of opposition activist Alexei Navalny has been postponed until April 24; p 2 (355 words).

5. Olga Kuvshinova and Maxim Tovkaylo article headlined "Some 1.3 trillion rubles for reputation" says that the federal budget does not have the money the regions are asking for creating infrastructure for the world football championship in 2018. In its attempt to save money Russia risks its reputation, the Standard & Poor's agency warns; p 4 (593 words).

6. Anton Trifonov et al. report headlined "Growth from Sechin" looks at head of Rosneft Igor Sechin's meeting with investors which resulted in a 6 percent growth of TNK-BP holding's shares; pp 11, 13(486 words).

7. Editorial headlined "Stick-based checks" says that the system of state supervision over business in Russia is inefficient though repression-oriented; p 6 (355 words).

8. Maria Zheleznova and Polina Khimshiashvili article headlined "What happened on May 6" says that on April 22 the commission on a public probe into developments on Bolotnaya Ploshchad on May 6, 2012, will present its report saying that the clashes were provoked by the actions of the police and their unreasonable brutality; p 3 (467 words).

9. Anton Osipov article headlined "'I am here not to defend mafia'" says that tomorrow Nicolas Maduro will be sworn in as new Venezuelan president; p (1,973 words).

10. Irina Novikova and Maxim Glikin article headlined "One for all" looks at Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's report to the State Duma where the lawmakers did not miss the opportunity to criticize the Cabinet, especially after an intentional leak from a meeting chaired by the president in Kalmykia where he hinted at dismissals of those who do not fulfill the president's decrees; p 2 (565 words).

11. Vasily Kashin article headlined "Second world: Hostile western forces" comments on the white paper published by China recently blaming the U.S. for causing tension in the Asia-Pacific region and naming Japan as a troublemaker; p 6 (722 words).


Rossiiskaya Gazeta


1. Yelena Kukol article loox ahead at the meeting of G20's finance ministers and heads of central banks in Washington today; pp 1-2 (400 words).

2. Mikhail Gusman interview with Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi headlined "Egypt urges EBRICS" ahead of his meeting with President Putin; pp 1, 9 (2,800 words).

3.Yulia Krivoshapko article headlined "Ball to cost fortune" looks at the Standard & Poor's study which estimates the cost of holding the world football championship in 2018 at 1.3 trillion rubles ($43 billion) and says that only four Russian regions will be able to finance the preparations without the federal financing; p 3 (200 words).

4. Olga Dmitryeva article headlined "This is Maggie" looks at former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's funeral in London; p 7 (450 words).

5. Vladimir Fedosenko article headlined "Main figure does not rush to court" says that Moscow's Tverskoi District Court has asked the law enforcement agencies to notify properly head of the Hermitage Capital Fund William Browder of the charges against him; p 7 (300 words).

6. Igor Dunayevsky article headlined "Photos as evidence" looks at the latest developments in the probe into the Boston blasts; p 8 (400 words).

7. Vladislav Vorobyev article headlined "Istanbul does not help" looks at the meeting of Russian and Turkish foreign ministers in Istanbul; p 8 (350 words).


Izvestia


1. Margarita Kazantseva and Yegor Sozayev-Guryev article headlined "Regional Development Ministry draws up efficiency rating of governors" says the most efficient governors will receive additional funding to develop their regions; pp 1, 4 (650 words).

2. Marina Davydova article "New criminal case launched against Navalny brothers" looks at yet another criminal case opened against opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his brother; pp 1, 3 (700 words).

3. Alexander Grigoryev article headlined "FSB changes all identity cards" says the Russian Federal Security Service has started issuing new identity cards for its employees in a bid to fight forgery; pp 1, 4 (800 words).


Moskovsky Komsomolets


1. Natalya Rozhkova article headlined "Navalny allowed to study case" looks at the first day of embezzlement trial over opposition activist Alexei Navalny; pp 1, 3 (916 words).

2. Lina Panchenko article headlined "All thieves visiting us?" says that, according to the Moscow police, half of all the crimes in Moscow in the first quarter of 2013 was committed by labor migrants; pp 1, 7 (521 words).

3. Melor Sturua article headlined "Martin's walk for peace" looks at the aftermath of the Boston blasts; pp 1, 3 (1,625 words).

4. Alexander Minkin article headlined "This is hell of a country!" comments on the "accidental" leak from the president's meeting in Kalmykia ahead of Prime Minister Medvedev's report to the State Duma where the president slammed the cabinet's poor work and hinted at dismissals; pp 1-2 (896 words).

5. Marina Ozerova and Alexandr Rostarchuk article headlined "Medvedev relaxes in State Duma" says that judging by the State Duma's reaction to Prime Minister Medvedev's report the government's position is rather stable; p 2 (1,204 words).

6. Ilia Baranikas article headlined "Bombs were made of pressure cookers" looks at the latest developments in the probe into the terror attack in Boston; p 3 (516 words).

7. Viktor Gordeyev article headlined "Banal Navalny" says that the embezzlement Navalny is charged with is a commonplace offense in Russia and the fact that Navalny is considered an opposition politician should not be an act of grace for him; p 4 (320 words).

8.Igor Subbotin article headlined "Riots in Venezuela after election claim seven lives" looks at the disorders in Venezuela; p 4 (382 words).

9. Yelena Svetlova article features a brief telephone interview with Russian businessman Alimzhan Tokhtakhuov aka Taivanchik where he speaks about the charges brought against him by U.S. law enforcers; p 4 (268 words).


Komsomolskaya Pravda


1.Tatyana Reut's short telephone interview with Russian businessman Alimzhan Tokhtakhuov aka Taivanchik; he speaks about charges brought against him in the U.S.; p 7 (250 words)

2. Mikhail Ozerov article "Parting with Margaret Thatcher in military style" looks at the funeral of the former British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher; p 7 (400 words)

3. Chairman of the National Anti-corruption Committee Kirill Kabanov comments on President Putin's efforts at fighting corruption in an interview headlined "Putin treading minefield in his fight against corruption"; p 15 (500 words).


RBK daily


1. Anastasia Novikova and Svetlana Makunina article titled "Medvedev turns up the heat" said that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev made quite a lot of last-minute changes to his parliamentary report after Vladimir Putin harshly criticized regional governors and ministers at a meeting the day before; pp 1-2 (450 words).

2. Yevgenia Sergyenko and Alexei Kuzmenko article headlined "VKontakte newbie" says the United Capital Partners Fund has acquired a 48 percent stake in the social network VKontakte, a Russian analogy of Facebook; pp 1, 9 (450 words).

3. Polina Stroganova article headlined "Gazpom losing Ukraine" says Ukraine has dramatically reduced Russian gas imports, however experts say that there will be a gradual return to previous volumes from the second quarter; p 5 (500 words).

4. Katerina Kitayeva article titled "[Channel] One gets rained on" says that Dozhd TV, a privately-owned internet and satellite broadcaster, was quoted more often in March 2013 than the three main federal TV channels -— Channel One, Rossia 1 and NTV; p 9 (350 words).

5. Yevgenia Sergyenko article titled "Internet being taken to rural areas" says the Communications Ministry is planning to allocate 28 billion rubles (almost $1 billion) to the development of broadband internet in remote parts of Russia; p 9 (350 words).


Noviye Izvestia


1. Diana Yevdokimova interview with the chairman of the Union of Russian Journalists, Vsevolod Bogdanov, titled "'No one needs journalism that doesn't tell people the truth'"; pp 1, 5 (300 words).

2. Vera Moslakova article titled "'A minister is not a ruble, to be liked by everyone'" takes stock of Prime Minister Medvedev's report to parliament yesterday; p 2 (500 words).

3. Yulia Savina article headlined "A week for now" says the embezzlement trial of opposition leader Alexei Navalny was adjourned for one week; p 2 (450 words).

4. Gennady Savchenko article titled "Iron lady's farewell" reports on yesterday's funeral of Margaret Thatcher; p 2 (250 words)

5. Anatoly Stepovoi article titled "Special purpose 'bomb'" wonders why the controversial video of Vladimir Putin criticizing the government was published on the LifeNews website, on the day that Prime Minister Medvedev reported to parliament; p 2 (350 words).

6. Veronika Kogan article headlined "In contact with police" says the police searched the home of the founder of the VKontakte social network, Pavel Durov, in connection with a road accident case; p 5 (450 words).


Zavtra


1. Nikolay Konkov article titled "Turnaround in Beijing" contemplates the outcomes of the China visit by U.S. State Secretary John Kerry; p 1 (450 words).

2. Alexei Gordeyev article titled "After Chavez" takes stock of the presidential election in Venezuela; p 1 (400 words).


Krasnaya Zvezda


1. Viktor Khudoleiev piece titled "Time for new approaches" takes stock of what has been accomplished in the three years since the DOSAAF (Volunteer Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Fleet) was given its historical name back; pp 1-2 (2,400 words).


Tvoi Den


1. Alexander Yunashev article titled "Quality of your work is deplorable!" says a video was posted on the LifeNews website yesterday in which President Vladimir Putin purportedly lashes out at the Cabinet; p 2 (250 words)


Apr. 18, 2013/BBC Monitoring/©BBC

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