What the Russian papers say

MOSCOW, March 16 (RIA Novosti) International Criminal Court should replace special tribunals - expert / United Russia may be able to nominate its presidential candidate / Rodina makes concession to Kremlin / General Motors looks to Russia / Kremlin searches for ideal buyer for Svyazinvest

(RIA Novosti does not accept responsibility for the articles in the press)

Izvestia

International Criminal Court should replace special tribunals - expert

The State Duma, parliament's lower house, insists that the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia be closed as soon as possible. In a statement on the death of the tribunal's main defendant, Yugoslav former president Slobodan Milosevic, MPs blamed Hague judges for being "extremely politicized and biased." The Duma also accused the tribunal of double standards and gross violations of human rights. Sergei Kovalev, a prominent Russian human rights activist, said the International Criminal Court could provide a more reliable means of justice than special tribunals.
The Hague Tribunal was a step ahead of the Nuremberg court, the expert said; the countries that won WWII used backdated laws that had retrospective action against Nazi criminals. The legal instruments used by the Hague Tribunal were adopted long before it was established, and NATO representatives are not its sole members.
At the same time, the well-known human rights activist is irritated by NATO's stand on the Yugoslav conflict: "It is reprehensible that interfering in the situation, NATO issued ultimatums to just one party in the conflict, without making it clear that the others' crimes were no better. It whipped one side, and wagged its finger at the other."
Sergei Kovalev said special tribunals were just "the beginning of law." The International Criminal Court should be an alternative. "Until the United States and Russia recognize its jurisdiction, it will not be able to operate," the human rights expert said. "International law cannot be valid without justice and punishment."

Gazeta

United Russia may be able to nominate its presidential candidate

Gennady Semigin, leader of the Patriots of Russia party, and independent MP, yesterday hinted that the pro-Kremlin ruling party, United Russia, may receive the right to nominate its presidential candidate. Since some political experts consider Semigin, 42, to be an unofficial Kremlin spokesman, this may mean that very soon the Russian parliament will be discussing a corresponding amendment to two federal laws, on parliamentary and presidential elections.
The opposition believes that such amendments would be a logical extension to the abolition of direct governor elections. "Regional governors are already 'elected' by a party that has a majority of seats in the legislature," said Sergei Mitrokhin, deputy chairman of the liberal Yabloko party and a deputy of the Moscow City parliament. The idea voiced by Semigin seeks to ensure "self-reproduction of the ruling elite," he said.
Yelena Dubrovina, a member of the Central Election Commission, believes that the new procedure for nominating presidential candidates will leave only two candidates on the ballot paper - one from the ruling party, and a technical self-nominee, to provide a theoretical alternative. "After such a step, it only remains to scrap elections altogether!" she said.
"Won't the passive or active rights of the electorate be damaged by this?" Pavel Krasheninnikov, head of the State Duma legislation committee and member of United Russia, earlier member of the liberal Union of Right Forces, or SPS. "In any case, the issue is debatable."
Only the president can prevent the new procedure from being established. At a February meeting with journalists in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin made it clear that he was not ready to trust United Russia with everything: he turned down the initiative to form a party-based government, which it had been promoting for several years, aiming for dominance in all areas.

Gazeta.ru

Rodina makes concession to Kremlin

Dmitry Rogozin, leader of the patriotic Rodina party, will soon cede his post to create a new public movement. A congress on March 25 is likely to appoint Alexander Babakov, a former businessman and member of the State Duma, parliament's lower house, who is considered the party's major sponsor, as the new leader. The dismissal of Rogozin, who actively uses nationalist rhetoric, will be a tactical concession to the Kremlin.
A source close to the party's leaders said Rogozin, who had never wanted to leave his post until now, will do so for the sake of his party.
The banning of Rodina, traditionally considered "a Kremlin project" from the December elections to the Moscow Duma, put a black mark on the party. After this, Rogozin's party could only take part in a campaign in the Republic of Altai, in southwest Siberia, where it came second to pro-Kremlin United Russia. Rodina was denied access to elections in the other seven regions on March 12.
Rogozin's colleagues from the Rodina faction admitted that the leader may be replaced. "Under current conditions, with such an attack [on the party], I would favor hiding Rogozin temporarily in a sort of bomb shelter," said Sergei Chaplinsky, a State Duma member and leader of the Rodina branch in Voronezh, in southern European Russia.
Rogozin announced that he plans to start forming a new public organization designed to arrange protests in the regions after the congress. Earlier, chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov of the United Civil Front and ex-premier Mikhail Kasyanov, who recently introduced his new People's Democratic Union, also pledged to create similar structures.
Rogozin said his project differed from those of the democrats, yet he echoed the words of his rivals: "In a country whose democracy is being attacked, the authorities are seeking a regime similar to that of the GDR [the German Democratic Republic], with a large permanently ruling party."

Vedomosti

General Motors looks to Russia

General Motors, the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, whose net losses in 2005 amounted to $8.6 billion, is willing to invest in a plant in Russia.
Vladimir Blank, chairman of the St. Petersburg administration's committee for economic development, industrial policy and trade, announced yesterday that four large carmakers were in talks on building plants in the city. GM is one of these companies, according to several regional and federal officials.
In 2005, GM sold 76,578 cars in Russia, of which 51,806 were sold through the GM-AvtoVAZ joint venture.
To cover last year's huge losses and the restructuring of its loss-making business in North America, the company is now selling assets. However, sources familiar with its business say that a GM plant in Russia is quite feasible. As the concern scales down production across the world, it has significant spare capacity, and this equipment can be moved to Russia, a GM former manager said. This could cut the project's costs by about $200 million, according to Yelena Sakhnova, analyst with Deutsche UFG.
"Chevrolet is a very successful car for Russia, and clearly many more can be sold here," said Alexander Agibalov, managing director of AG Capital. This will be all the more true if subsidies make Chevrolets even cheaper.
If GM builds its own plant in Russia, it will put an end to its cooperation with AvtoVAZ, Sakhnova said, suggesting that the U.S. producer might be considering the move because it was reluctant to share its technology; it has not passed its new models over to the joint venture. Also, relations between GM and AvtoVAZ deteriorated after state-owned defense company Rosoboronexport became involved in the running of AvtoVAZ. In February, GM-AvtoVAZ froze operations when AvtoVAZ stopped supplying parts.

Biznes

Kremlin searches for ideal buyer for Svyazinvest

The auction to sell the state-owned stake (75% minus one share) in telecommunications company Svyazinvest will not be held before July-September 2006. Initially, the Kremlin planned to sell the company before the new millennium, but it is still looking for an ideal buyer, according to experts.
On March 15, the Troika Dialog brokerage published a survey on Svyazinvest's privatization prepared by Yevgeny Golossny. He wrote that the sale of the state holding to private investors looked strange at a time when the regime was trying to assume control of major companies.
The brokerage experts said the Ministry of Communications and Svyazinvest's management were opposed to the sale. Another reason for postponing the auction is the excess of petrodollars (the federal budget can do without an additional $4.5 billion). But a liberally minded group in the Economic Development and Trade Ministry has said that private business is a much more effective owner than the government. Some ranking officials in the telecom holding may want to sell the company to boost their careers.
After analyzing the balance of forces, Troika Dialog concluded that the holding would be sold in either 2006 or 2007.
Golossny said the Kremlin was possibly looking for a Russian buyer because foreigners will be denied the opportunity to take over the biggest company in a strategic sector that controls over 70% of the Russian telecom infrastructure.
Yelena Bazhenova, an analyst with investment company Aton, said Russian companies did not have available funds for the purchase. "The cost of Svyazinvest's stake has soared to $4.5 billion in the past year," she said. "Telecominvest and AFK Sistema wanted to buy it in 2005, but now they will be unable to do this single-handedly."