Russia 110601 Basic Political Developments

PRESS DIGEST - Russia - June 1

http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFLDE7500CJ20110601
Wed Jun 1, 2011 7:18am GMT

MOSCOW, June 1 (Reuters) - The following are some of the leading stories in Russia's newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

KOMMERSANT

www.kommersant.ru

- The European Court of Human Rights does not consider the case of former oil major Yukos's CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky politically motivated, the paper writes.

- The alleged murderer of a journalist Anna Politkovskaya was arrested in the North Caucasus region of Chechnya on Tuesday.

- Police in Moscow detained 26 opposition activists on Tuesday who demanded Prime Minister Vladimir Putin resign.

VEDOMOSTI

www.vedomosti.ru

- Russia has abandoned participation a joint military exercises with India.

- The daily runs an interview with the Kremlin's envoy to the restive North Caucasus Alexander Khloponin who says a new brand of ecologically pure food from the region will be popular amongst big city dwellers.

- Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom (GAZP.MM) has doubled charity spending 12.3 billion roubles ($440.4 million) in 2010 compared to 2009, the daily reports.

- Moscow mayor has banned putting advertising banners on facades of buildings, which make up to 40 percent of the city's outdoor advertising market, the daily says.

- Russian internet firm and Facebook investor Mail.ru refused to accept payments for online games made by Yandex (YNDX.O) electronic money, the paper writes.

- The salaries of top managers in Russian industrial companies rose 33 percent in 2010, the daily cites recent study of 23 enterprises.

NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA

www.ng.ru

- The Kremlin administration has postponed amendments to the mass media legislation until mid-June to consult with journalists, the paper says.

Russian Press at a Glance, Wednesday, June 1, 2011

http://en.rian.ru/papers/20110601/164359151.html
09:45 01/06/2011

POLITICS

Al Jazeera reporters said they obtained the first evidence that foreign special services were present on the Libyan soil - they spotted Western special forces officers near the rebel stronghold of Misrata

(Moskovskie Novosti)

ECONOMY

The United Russia has proposed four prominent party members to replace top-ranking officials at the posts of heads of four major state companies

(Vedomosti)

Russia must announce in June how it will end a raft of protectionist measures if it wants to join the World Trade Organization this year

(The Moscow Times)

OIL & GAS

Russian fuel crisis deeply affected Mongolia, the country's president said during his visit to Russia

(Kommersant)

The energy dialog between Russia and China took place this week, despite Beijing's warnings that the delegation may not arrive. China's CNPC started paying its debts to Russia's Rosneft and Transneft shortly before the talks

(Izvestia)

BANKING & FINANCE

State and private sector finance executives are divided on how to realize President Dmitry Medvedev's ambition to transform Moscow into a leading international financial center. While some participants at the Association of European Businesses' annual investors' conference argued that the drive would stand or fall on the successful implementation of the finer points of financial legislation, others said the key was to create an environment in which business felt comfortable.

(The Moscow Times)

CONSUMER

Belarus is solving its economic problems by "Soviet" means - instead of market reforms, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko proposed freezing food prices, "a 50-hour working day" and patrolling streets in search of those not working. Meanwhile, an IMF mission headed to Minsk to assess the economic situation

(The Moscow Times, Moskovskie Novosti, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)

The outbreak of stomach infection in Europe may fuel food prices in Russia, though Spanish and German cucumbers are extremely rare in Russian shops.

(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

DEFENCE

Russia canceled joint military maneuvers with India. Though there were rumors that political reasons were behind the move, organizational problems are seen as the most likely reason

(Vedomosti)

SOCIETY

The Chechen man suspected of killing journalist Anna Politkovskaya in her apartment building is in Moscow custody after evading authorities for nearly five years.

(The Moscow Times, Kommersant, Moskovskie Novosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)

The European Court of Human Rights rejected former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky's claim that his 2003 arrest was politically motivated but granted him 24,000 euros ($35,000) in damages for violations linked to the detention.

(The Moscow Times, Kommersant, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)

The Russian Economic Development Ministry has published a draft amendment to the law on state tenders. The announcement coincided with reports that government officials misspent more than 2 billion rubles ($71 million) in state tenders between November and March, according to the Audit Chamber's findings.

(The Moscow Times, Moskovskie Novosti)

SPORT

FIFA President Sepp Blatter, 75, is expected to win his fourth term as he stands unopposed in Wednesday's election.

11:09 01/06/2011ALL NEWS

Itar-Tass news digest for Wednesday, June 1.

http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c154/155167.html

1/6 Tass 158

MOSCOW— Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had a telephone conversation with President Jacob Zuma of the Republic of South Africa late on Tuesday night.

Zuma, just as had been agreed between the leaders of Russia and South Africa during their previous telephone talk on May 28, this year, the Kremlin press service reports, told Medvedev about the course and results of his just-ended mission to Libya by a decision of the special summit of the African Union (AU) (in Addis Ababa from May 25 to 26) and his meeting with Muammar Gaddafi during the trip.

TVER — Seven people died in a road accident in Russia’s Tver region after a passenger bus collided with a car, the region’s law enforcement agencies told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. According to preliminary information, the bus was thrown onto an oncoming lane after a driver exceeded the speed limit and crashed with a Volvo car. The bus caught fire after the crash.

MOSCOW — Another girl who got poisoning during a yacht tour in Turkey has died in a Moscow hospital, the RF capital’s law enforcement bodies told Itar-Tass. Thus, the total number of Russians who died of poisoning has reached three people. “The girl has returned from Turkey to Moscow on her own, but died in hospital from poisoning,” the source said.

MOSCOW — Post-graduate students of state higher education establishments will not be called up for military service, a spokesman for the Russian Defence Ministry said on Wednesday. Following Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s instructions, Minister of Defence Anatoly Serdyukov issued recommendations to call-up commissions in Russian regions not to conscript this category of young men, the spokesman said.

VLADIVOSTOK — Six petrol trucks are involved in eliminating an oilpsill after three oil tank-cars swerved off the rails. The trucks are to pump the spilt petroleum products out on Wednesday. Following that, the 20-tonne tank-cars by means of heavy-duty machinery will be put back on track, the press service of the Russian Ministry for Emergencies (RME) center for Sakhalin Region announced. The derailment incident occurred on Tuesday at the 40th kilometre of the Pobedino- Pervomaiskoye railway leg in Smirkhykh District (central Sakhalin).

MOSCOW — A minimum monthly wage in Russia has been brought up to 4,611 roubles from June 1, the Ministry of Health and Social Development reported on Wednesday. The latest adjustment of the minimum monthly wage was in January 1, 2009 and until today it was 4,330 roubles, the ministry said. Minimum wage law is the body of law, which prohibits employers from hiring employees or workers for less than a given hourly, daily or monthly minimum wage.

PYONGYANG — The missions of the All-Korean Committee (AKC) for the Implementation of the Declaration, dated June 15, 2000, in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), South Korea, and abroad have decided to hold a joint meeting, considering the complex situation on the Korean Peninsula, said an AKC press release circulated on Wednesday.

PYONGYANG— Increasing the rolled steel output volume, the successful completion of planting rice seedlings and the expansion of plantations of young trees have been identified as priority economic tasks for North Korea by Prime Minister of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) Choe Yong Rim the.

SEOUL — South Korea again invites DPRK leader Kim Jong Il to take part in an international nuclear summit scheduled in Seoul for March, 2012, South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Kim Sung-hwan said here on Wednesday. “We’re ready to help gladly,” Seoul’s foreign minister said. “I urge the North not to waste a precious chance like this but to respond to our proposal actively.”

MOSCOW — Russia-Italy cross-cultural year helps to strengthen bilateral relations, Russian ambassador to Italy Alexei Meshkov said in an interview with a special supplement of the Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily on Wednesday. “Italy is one of Russia’s priority trade and economic partners,” he said. “In 2010 the two countries’ reached 36.8 billion dollars, up by 11.5 percent as against the previous year. Italy continues to remain our fourth trade partner in the world and one of the most important partners in Europe.”

MOSCOW — The chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Nikolai Makarov, will meet with his Serbian counterpart Miloje Miletic on Wednesday to discuss military and technical cooperation. “The chiefs of the two countries’ army general staffs will discuss the state of and prospects for military and technical cooperation, will exchange experience of reforming the national armed forces and consider issues of mutual interest,” the press service of Russia’s Defence Ministry told Itar-Tass.

TVER — There has been an outbreak of African swine fever in a penal colony in the Tver region, the regional law enforcement agencies told Itar-Tass on Wednesday. “A total of 53 pigs died in the territory of a penal colony in Torzhok in the period from May 19 to 31,” the source said. “An expert examination conducted by the Research Institute of Virology and Microbiology of the Russian Academy of Agriculture on May 31 showed that the animals died of African swine fever.”

TBILISI — The Georgian parliament banned the use of Nazi and Communist symbols in the country, and approved a package of legal restrictions for former personnel of Soviet secret services and Communist Party organizations of the USSR. The amendments were part of the Freedom Charter. The parliament approved its third reading on Tuesday evening. The author of the document, lawmaker and head of the "Strong Georgia" faction Giya Tortladze said "the public has been waiting for the adoption of this law for two decades, and I'm proud of the parliament's approval of the document."

ASTANA — Kazakhstan's Interior Ministry identified the second victim, killed in a car explosion near a pre-trial detention center of the National Security Committee in Astana as a 34-year-resident of the Pavlodar region with four criminal convictions on record. "His latest conviction was for robbery. He has spent much time in prison," deputy head of the Interior Ministry’s department for state language and information Kalamkas Temirova told a briefing on Wednesday. The identity was ascertained thanks to a DNA test.