PRESS DIGEST - RUSSIA - April 17
MOSCOW, April 17 (Reuters) - The following are some of the stories in Russia's newspapers on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
VEDOMOSTI
www.vedomosti.ru
- President Vladimir Putin played the role of a kind Father Frost on Thursday during his annual live call-in show broadcast to the nation. More than 3 million questions were sent in, proving Russians see him alone as capable of solving problems, the daily quotes analysts as saying.
- Russia's decision to lift a ban delivering S-300 anti-aircraft missile defence systems to Iran could be used in bargaining with the West over arms supplies to Ukraine, the daily says.
KOMMERSANT
www.kommersant.ru
- President Vladimir Putin has for the first time supported in public the idea of raising the retirement age but said it should be done step by step.
- Police have disclosed a group of cyber hackers who succeeded in stealing at least 160 million roubles ($3.14 million) through Russia's Rapida system of online money transfers in Russia and in Europe.
IZVESTIA
www.izvestia.ru
- Putin is showing continuity in his policy: he has an ideology and a programme which is a guarantee of stability in the country and explains the high level of trust he enjoys among the Russian people, the daily says, citing analysts.
- Putin said on Thursday that reforms should be carried out only with consideration being given to their impact on the population, and this could be the only guarantee of their success. He said a heart was needed as well as a head.
NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA
www.ng.ru
- Putin acted on Thursday as a guidance counsellor (psychologist) assuring Russians that there was no threat or danger and the government was making progress, the daily quoted Igor Bunin, the head of the Centre of Political Technologies, as saying.
($1 = 50.9170 roubles) (Reporting By Tatiana Ustinova)
