27.06 Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, June 27, 2013
POLITICS
Opposition groupings in the State Duma have said they do not support a bill on economic amnesty that was introduced to the lower chamber of the Russian parliament by President Vladimir Putin. The interior ministry has also voiced its concerns about the proposed legislation, although Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said he supported the initiative.
(Kommersant)
Two days after a bill criminalizing the glorification of Nazism was introduced to the State Duma, an alternative document has been prepared by Konstantin Dobrynin, deputy head of the Federation Councils constitutional legislation committee.
(Izvestia)
A key round of talks about Turkeys accession to the European Union, due to be launched on Wednesday, has been postponed until fall. EU officials said they would watch closely how human rights and freedom of assembly are observed in Turkey, following a crackdown on protests that started earlier this month.
(Kommersant)
Gia Jorjoliani, a lawmaker with Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream coalition, on Wednesday started the impeachment procedure for the countrys president Mikheil Saakashvili. Jorjoliani needs to gather signatures from 50 lawmakers, or one third of parliament. Then the issue will be considered either by the Supreme Court or the Constitutional Court, with their verdict expected within a month. If the possibility of impeachment is approved, the parliament will hold a final vote.
(Izvestia)
OIL & GAS
The Nabucco gas pipeline project, previously seen as a main rival to Russias South Stream project, has lost its battle to be the main transit route for gas from the Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan. The Shah Deniz II consortium has selected the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) as its European transit option.
(Kommersant)
The Russian government has dropped the idea of netback parity between the price of gas exports and domestic sales. Growth in domestic prices in Russia, intended to boost Gazproms incomes, instead had a negative impact on the Russian gas giant, which has started losing its domestic consumers to independent companies.
(Kommersant, Vedomosti)
TELECOMS & IT
The Russian version of the Apple internet store was launched on Wednesday. So far, only residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg can order goods from it.
(Vedomosti)
DEFENSE
The Russian Defense Ministry is preparing its weapons procurement program through 2025. Deputy Defense Minister Yuri Borisov said new regulations will be introduced for the program from next year.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
SOCIETY
The Russian Justice Ministry has suspended the activities of election-monitoring NGO Golos for six months for its refusal to comply with new NGO laws.
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Russias state company Melodiya, which holds a collection of records by Soviet and Russian singers, has launched the online sale of music from its archive.
(Vedomosti)
Lawyers have informed relatives of Boston marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev about the results of a medical examination. According to the document, 20-year-old Dzhokhar, who was injured during detention, had 16 bullet and stab wounds on his body. As a result, he is completely deaf in his left ear and almost blind in his left eye.
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