IN FOCUS OF THE RUSSIAN PRESS
Gazeta.ru, GZT.RU: Russia working to resolve problems with Poland; Izvestia: U.S.-Russian arms cuts treaty leads to breakthrough in relations with Ukraine; Vedomosti, Vremya Novostei: No to Stalin's portraits in Moscow on VE-Day; Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Can Russia emulate Iran in overcoming commodities dependence?; Kommersant: LUKoil asks for tax breaks for developing Caspian shelf.
Gazeta.ru, GZT.RU: Russia working to resolve problems with Poland
Russia's Federal Archives Agency has published documents proving Soviet responsibility for the execution of Polish officers at Katyn in 1940. The documents were published on the Archives Agency's website from records which were declassified in 1992.
President Dmitry Medvedev has said that it is Russia's duty to ensure open access to these documents, but human rights organizations think his intent is hindered by Russia's inadequate archive policy.
The Archives Agency has published an official note from Lavrenty Beria, head of the NKVD secret police, proposing that all imprisoned Polish officers be executed, the Politburo resolution approving the execution, and the 1959 report by KGB Director Alexander Shelepin on the destruction of records on the execution of the Poles.
These documents are nothing new to researchers, but will enlighten Russian society, say scientists and human rights organizations.
"Nationalist and revisionist sentiments are growing stronger, and many proponents of these views publish pseudo-historical books that distort history," Natalia Lebedeva, a researcher at the General History Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told GZT.RU. "It is very important to make public indisputable proof of NKVD involvement in the Katyn killings."
"All these documents have been published before," Arseny Roginsky, head of the human rights organization Memorial, told Gazeta.ru. "What is important is that they have now been posted on the website of a government agency."
This should help change Russians' belief that the Polish officers were executed by the Nazis.
The publication of the documents on a government website is a small step toward historical truth, but it is unlikely to change the tendency to classify documents that were declassified in the early 1990s, Roginsky said. Access to archive materials, in particular regarding the Katyn execution, was limited in the mid-1990s.
The current regulations on the procedure for gaining access to classified Soviet materials stipulate a 75-year moratorium for information that concerns "personal and family secrets of citizens and their private lives, as well as information that could endanger their safety."
Unfortunately, these regulations are used to classify everything because the publication of some information could affect the inviolability of criminals or those who execute their orders, human rights organizations say.
In March 2005, Russia's Main Military Prosecution Office disavowed the agreements under which Poland was to receive documents on the investigation of the Katyn case, which was closed in September 2004.
The ruling reads that the case was closed over the "absence of evidence of a criminal event because there was no genocide against the Polish people." The crime was described as "abuse of power" and none of the relatives of the executed Polish officers were recognized as victims.
Izvestia: U.S.-Russian arms cuts treaty leads to breakthrough in relations with Ukraine
The Russian-Ukrainian "gas-for-fleet" agreement was completely unexpected. Until recently, it appeared that an extension of the Sevastopol base lease would be the subject of long and protracted negotiations. Suddenly, a 25-year extension is granted with an additional 5 years as an option. The easiest way would be to look for an explanation in the dire economic situation in Ukraine. However, it is clear that this event cannot be considered in isolation from the rest of the achievements of President Dmitry Medvedev on the international arena.
The fundamental basis for the agreement was the conclusion of the U.S.-Russian treaty on reducing strategic offensive arms. This treaty is probably the most equitable agreement of this kind signed by the two countries' leaders. It has demonstrated the changing nature of relations between Russia and the United States and the growth of trust between them.
This agreement sends a clear signal to Russia's neighbors in Eastern Europe that it is futile to place the stakes on increasing contradictions between Russia and the United States.
Instead, they should build their policies of friendly relations with Russia. It is significant that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych also used the nuclear issue to strengthen Kiev's ties with Washington. By announcing at the nuclear security summit that Ukraine will give up its highly enriched uranium stockpiles, the Ukrainian president strongly played up to his American counterpart, and to a large extent secured his backing for building relations with Moscow.
Some analysts have described Barack Obama's policy as a betrayal of America's loyal Eastern European allies. But in reality it only indicates that Russia and the United States have no conflicting interests in Eastern Europe. Washington's focus has shifted to other regions which are critical and more important in terms of maintaining strategic stability in the world and where it needs Russia's support. In Ukraine's case, Russia has demonstrated not so much the desire to increase the notorious sphere of influence, as a willingness to bear responsibility for maintaining stability in the regions where it is capable of doing so.
Moscow is increasingly feeling responsible not just for the stability of the post-Soviet space, but also for its development. Without development, a real stability in this difficult region is impossible. The agreement with Ukraine should be viewed in the same context. Russia's discount on gas will certainly contribute to the stabilization of the Ukrainian economy. It could have waited maliciously for Ukraine's economy to collapse but socio-political chaos in this large neighboring country is definitely not in Russia's interests. Moscow needs a prosperous and friendly Ukraine.
Vedomosti, Vremya Novostei: No to Stalin's portraits in Moscow on VE-Day
It seems the Kremlin has persuaded Moscow City Hall not to place the posters of Soviet leader, Generalissimo Josef Stalin, in the Russian capital.
Previously, City Hall officials said the posters of Stalin and other famous Soviet military leaders would be placed in traditional areas where World War II veterans get together on the 65th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day.
Moscow municipal officials paid no attention to the emotional response of liberals and human rights activists, who called their initiative an "insult to the families of the people killed in Stalin's camps." The officials responded that the situation should not be over-exaggerated and tried to calm opponents with statements that such posters would appear only where veterans usually meet, rather than all over city.
As usual, Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov opted for an aggressive stance and said the scandal around Stalin's posters was a "bacchanalia artificially incited by the media," and that the idea of reinstating Stalin's images in local streets and squares merely implied the restoration of historical justice.
However, the places that have already been decorated for the celebrations do not have any portraits of Stalin. A source close to top officials at the organizing committee for Victory Day celebrations said 75% of posters have already been installed in their positions and they do not contain any images of Stalin; nor would the remaining 25%.
The source said such displays would run counter to Russian leaders' statements about the crimes of the Stalinist regime and the latest practical steps, including the posting of documents about the April-May 1940 Katyn forest massacre of Polish nationals by the Soviet secret police NKVD on the website of the Federal Archives Agency (Rosarkhiv).
Two high-placed officials of the pro-government United Russia party said Luzhkov had renounced his plans under pressure from the Kremlin. Previously, Vladimir Kozhin, head of the Presidential Business Management Department, said the organizing committee was against promoting Stalin's image, and that there would be no federal allocations for this project.
The organizing committee's stance remains unchanged, said Kozhin's spokesman Viktor Khrekov, adding that Luzhkov was the committee's deputy chairman.
Political analyst Mikhail Vinogradov said Luzhkov's wish to place these posters in Moscow was linked with his own image-related problems that had shaped up in the past 18 months due to a string of scandals, including the latest Rechnik neighborhood demolition scandal in northwest Moscow.
Luzhkov wanted to boost his popularity among senior citizens, the most active electorate segment, the analyst said.
Russian leaders, who advocate reconciliation with the West and who have invited NATO-country leaders to the May 9 Victory Day parade, did not need a scandal on VE-Day because the entire foreign press would write about nothing but Stalin's posters, Vinogradov said.
Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Can Russia emulate Iran in overcoming commodities dependence?
Science-Metrix, a data-analysis company in Montreal, Canada, has concluded that Iran is the fastest developing scientific power in the world. This conclusion is based on an analysis of the relationship between geopolitical factors and scientific activity based on published data over a 30-year period (1980 to 2009).
While Moscow is holding political and philosophic debates on the ability of a commodities-rich country such as Russia to overcome its natural resource dependence, Iran has proved that it is possible.
Iran is the world's fourth largest oil exporter (second largest among OPEC countries) and the largest exporter of oil to China. But according to Science-Metrix, growth rates in science and technology in Iran and Turkey have increased 11 and 5.5 times faster, respectively, than world average during the survey period.
It is not clear exactly what Iran and Turkey have created, but it is a fact that the bulk of Iranian scientific publications have focused on inorganic and nuclear chemistry, nuclear and particle physics and nuclear technology (engineering). The number of Iranian nuclear energy related publications grew 250 times faster than world average during the past 30 years.
Russia, on the other hand, has decided to invest huge funds to attract foreign scientists. In mid-April, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed a government resolution to allocate 12 billion rubles ($408.4 million) in 2010-2012 to invite foreign scientists to teach at Russian universities.
But does Russia need science and high technology when it does not have a modern industrial base? It has a vast territory but it is unable to resettle 5 million people from dilapidated housing into modern housing and it has managed to complete few modern highway projects.
High technology, offshore programming, "Silicon Valleys" and supercomputer centers require an infrastructure that should rest on a solid industrial foundation. But Russia does spend three times more on the construction of power plants than China.
Is this why Russia's contribution to the global budget on financing research is only 1% while China's is 5%?
Kommersant: LUKoil asks for tax breaks for developing Caspian shelf
LUKoil, Russia's largest oil company and its largest producer of oil, has launched production at the Yury Korchagin field, the first corporate project on the Caspian shelf.
The company plans to produce 2.5 million metric tons of oil there next year. This will make it possible to compensate for the current production slump in other regions.
LUKoil will be able to produce 15 million metric tons of oil annually on the Caspian shelf by 2015, provided that it receives tax benefits similar to those stipulated for Eastern Siberia. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin promised to think about granting the company such benefits.
An ice-resistant fixed platform is expected to produce 343,000 metric tons of oil at the Korchagin field by the end of the year. In 2011, oil and gas output is to reach 2.5 million metric tons and 1 billion cubic meters, respectively. LUKoil has invested an estimated 34.4 billion rubles ($1.17 billion) in the project over the past five years.
Troika Dialog analyst Valery Nesterov said the development of the new deposit would enable the company to cope with a production slump in other regions, including Western Siberia (a 5.7% decline in 2009) and the Volga Federal District (a 6.3% decline). Since 1999, LUKoil has discovered six deposits containing over 4.7 billion barrels of crude oil (640 million metric tons) on the Caspian shelf.
Shelf projects are expensive and extremely unprofitable under current tax legislation, LUKoil CEO Vagit Alekperov told Vladimir Putin, who attended the ceremony of commissioning the deposit on Wednesday.
"The development of shelf deposits should be equated with the Eastern Siberian formula," Alekperov said.
No export duties are charged on Eastern Siberian oil. The Ministry of Finance estimates that the federal budget will lose about 120 billion rubles ($4.08 billion) in 2010.
LUKoil, which does not operate in Eastern Siberia, can only expand production in the Timan-Pechora Basin in northern Russia and on the Caspian shelf.
Putin made no firm reply but promised to think about it and to assess the project's profitability. He said Caspian deposits were currently exempt from severance tax. LUKoil will be able to save $33 million this year, plus another $243 million in 2011. A total of $710 million would be saved next year if export duties were abolished.
Oil companies find it unprofitable to operate on the sea shelf under the current tax legislation. Considering LUKoil's investment in prospecting operations on the North Caspian shelf and its development, the Korchagin field's internal rate of return would fall below 10% without additional privileges.
Deputy Minister of Energy Sergei Kudryashov said the Caspian shelf's intensive development would require $27 billion worth of investment over an unspecified time period, but that the scenario seemed far-fetched due to the low investment attractiveness of the projects.
The second scenario envisages the development of the Korchagin and Vladimir Filonovsky fields, which would require $6.7 billion in investment.
A source close to LUKoil said annual production at these deposits could reach 14 million metric tons of equivalent fuel in 2016-2017 under an optimistic scenario.
April 29, 2010
RIA Novosti
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