31.10 Russian Press at a Glance, Thursday, October 31, 2013
POLITICS
Heads of Russian state institutions should bear personal responsibility for employing bribe-takers, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a session of the Anti-Corruption Council. He also criticized the existing statutes Russian penal regarding those found guilty of corruption, introduced in 2011, that introduced hefty fines instead of prison terms.
(Izvestia, Kommersant, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Vedomosti)
Forbes magazine named President Vladimir Putin as the most powerful man on earth, in part due to his handling of the Syria crisis.
(Izvestia, Komsomolskaya Pravda)
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited Greece on Wednesday. That country is of particular significance to Russia in January it will assume the rotating chairmanship of the EU, with which Russia is currently negotiating a visa-free regime.
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault will visit Moscow on Thursday, accompanied by five cabinet ministers.
(Kommersant)
The pro-presidential Peoples Front movement is about to complete a series of founding meetings. On Thursday the movement is to elect heads of all its regional offices.
(Kommersant, Vedomosti, Izvestia)
The Georgian authorities have refused to include outgoing President Mikheil Saakashvili in a delegation to initial an EU association agreement at the Eastern Partnership summit.
(Kommersant)
Syria has revealed information about its chemical weapons stockpile. According to documents received by the UN Security Council, the country possesses about 1.3 metric tons of toxic substances.
(Kommersant)
OIL & GAS
The Russian government has approved amendments to legislation on imports of natural gas, allowing leading independent natural gas producer Novatek and state oil giant Rosneft to import liquefied natural gas independently from gas giant Gazprom.
(Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Vedomosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
VEHICLES & ENGINEERING
Joint ventures by the Moscow authorities and foreign companies have won their first tenders for Moscow subway projects.
(Vedomosti)
Russian truck maker Kamaz will sell its stock in an international joint venture to produce agricultural equipment to its partner Case New Holland Global (CNH).
(Kommersant)
POWER GENERATION
A temporary shutdown of plants owned by Russian aluminum producer UC Rusal might lead to a fall in electricity prices, Russian power generating company RusHydro said.
(Vedomosti)
Russias Energy Ministry said electricity consumers in the remote Far Eastern region of Chukotka will not be able to pay for planned electricity price rises to be introduced next year. The move will increase electricity costs by 40 percent.
(Kommersant)
TELECOMS & IT
MegaFon, one of Russias top three mobile operators, said it was ready to provide Internet access to customers of other companies during the Olympic Games in Sochi. The company, which is one of general partners to the Games, is the only telecoms firm authorized to build communications facilities at Olympic objects.
(Kommersant)
CONSUMER
Cigarette production in Russia dropped five percent in the first nine months of 2013. The Russian economics ministry attributes the trend to the recently adopted anti-tobacco law, while tobacco companies say the decline is due to the growth in illegal sales.
(Vedomosti)
SOCIETY
On Thursday the Russian historical society will hand over its final variant of its draft outline for a line of unified history textbooks to the Russian president. President Putin told historians to compile the outline earlier this year.
(Kommersant, Rossiiskaya Gazeta)
Russians are preparing to celebrate Halloween in increasing numbers. Not everyone sees the celebration as a bit of fun however, with the authorities in Omsk warning it could lead to extremism among young people.
(Moskovsky Komsomolets, The Moscow Times)
The Russian Prosecutor Generals Office says it has uncovered more financial violations on behalf of Skolkovo Foundation management.
(Kommersant, Vedomosti, Rossiiskaya Gazeta, Izvestia)
CRIME
The US financial authorities suspect Russian crooner Grigory Leps of having connections to an organized crime gang called the Brothers Circle. He denies any involvement with Russian gangsters.
(Izvestia, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Moskovsky Komsomolets, Nezavisimaya Gazeta)
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