07.08 Russian Press at a Glance, Wednesday, August 7, 2013
A brief look at what is in the Russian papers today
POLITICS
TV debates involving the candidates for the elections for the post of Moscow mayor will be held live, although officials had previously claimed it was technically impossible. Acting Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has not yet announced whether he will take part. Some media claim he will not.
(Kommersant, Moskovsky Komsomolets)
Tensions continue to run high on the yet to be demarcated maritime border between Ukraine and Russia in the Azov Sea, with incidents occuring regularly over fishing rights.
(Novaya Gazeta)
ECONOMICS & BUSINESS
The city-owned construction firm Mosinzhproyekt appears to be the most likely winner of a record 573 billion ruble ($17.3 billion) construction contract from the Moscow Metro subway system. The call for bids, published Tuesday on the federal government's website for procuring contractors, is looking for a company to build over 100 kilometers (60 miles) of new metro lines.
(The Moscow Times)
Many Russian mining companies are suffering from a sharp drop in prices for coal, metals and other raw materials. They have been forced to fire employees, sell assets and close factories as a result.
(Vedomosti)
TheIzvestianewspaper one ofthe oldest brands inRussia's media industry is facing its second significant reshuffle intwo years following anannouncement that it will transfer most ofits news content toa new television channel set todebut later this year.
(The Moscow Times)
RUSSIA
Federation Council Senator Ruslan Gattarov has opened a bank account for fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who was granted temporary asylum to stay in Russia last week, in order that he can have some means of getting financial support.
(Izvestia)
State prosecutors have asked for prison terms of 3 1/2 to 6 years for three municipal officials in the southern Russian town of Krymsk who had failed to notify local residents of the danger posed by an upcoming flood last summer, which, according to official data, killed 153 people.
(Kommersant)
SOCIETY
The Investigative Committee vowed to keep fighting corruption in police ranks and rooting out corrupt connections at Russian marketplaces.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Russia's Supreme Court ruled to cut the jail sentence of former oil tycoon and Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev by just two months, but their supporters called the move a pathetic gesture and their lawyers promised to appeal the courts decision.
(Kommersant, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, The Moscow Times)
Russians welcome the toughening of immigration laws. Most Russian nationals have a negative attitude toward visitors and support tougher legislation aimed against them, a poll by VTsIOM showed. Migrant workers representatives say workers are ready to pay tax and work in the legal economy.
(Kommersant, Moskovsky Komsomolets)
Video recorders have been installed in traffic police vehicle registration and examination units so that police bosses can now control the work of their subordinates right from their screens.
(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
DEFENSE
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said at a defense meeting in Italy that Moscow will not fulfil all pledges made by his predecessor Anatoly Serdyukov. Military and technical cooperation between the two nations will therefore likely be reduced, although Moscow and Rome still have many areas of common interest.
(Kommersant)
The Defense Ministry has sued the Chkalov Avia company for 587 million rubles (around $18 million) for construction work that was not completed at the Chkalovskaya airfield near Moscow. The contract for the work was placed during the tenure of former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who resigned in the wake of a series of scandals.
(Izvestia)
For more details on all the news in Russia today, visit our website at http://en.ria.ru.
