PRESS DIGEST - RUSSIA - Feb 17
MOSCOW, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The following are some stories in Russia's newspapers on Monday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
VEDOMOSTI
www.vedomosti.ru
- Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Federal Taxation Agency have launched checks on the local alcohol market to uncover illegal schemes of tax evasion by alcohol producers.
- President Vladimir Putin has proposed setting up a working group in the Kremlin which will monitor relations between businessmen and law enforcers and courts.
- Gazprom's board of directors has voted to re-elect Alexei Miller as the company's CEO for another five years. The contract will be extended from May 31, the daily writes.
KOMMERSANT
www.kommersant.ru
- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is challenging Russia's diplomatic efforts to reach ceasefire, the daily reports referring to the Syrian government's determination to fight till it wins.
- The government has agreed to consider lifting export fees on railway shipments of metal products.
- Russia's central bank is toughening measures aimed to prevent banks from using cyberattacks as a cover for the withdrawal of assets.
- Russia's presidential chief of staff Sergei Ivanov has been appointed to head a Kremlin group overseeing possible conflicts between businessmen and law enforcers.
IZVESTIA
www.izvestia.ru
- Nearly 25 percent of students in Russian universities bribe their teachers to pass exams, according to independent surveys.
- Russian lawmakers are planning to ban marriages for those younger than 16, the daily reports adding that in 17 regions marriages are allowed from 14 years.
NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA
www.ng.ru
- Iran will receive as much Russian weapons as it can afford itself paying for, the daily writes, commenting on the visit of Iranian Defence Minister Hossein Dehghan to Moscow and his talks with senior Russian officials. The arms deals could be worth $8 billion, the daily adds.
- Russia is launching a ferry boat from Kaliningrad's Baltiisk to Germany's Zassnits to help Russian trucks reach Europe after Poland closed its territory for transits of Russian trucks. (Reporting By Tatiana Ustinova)
