Russian press review, 22.01.07

The Russian press covers US anti-missile defense plans; it also focuses on the murder of the Turkish editor, Hrant Dink, and looks at a new website that helps Muscovites avoid exhausting traffic jams.

Vremya Novostey looks at US plans to deploy anti-missile defense bases on the territories of its NATO partners – the Czech Republic and Poland. The newspaper quotes Vladimir Belous, an expert on international security, who says that radars and anti-missile systems deployed in those countries could cover all of Russia. Though, he says, Russia will have at least 10 years before the systems start operating, to prepare an appropriate response to Washington.  Notably, he adds, by upgrading the existing ballistic missiles with the capability to penetrate a complex missile defense. 

Vedomosti believes that the murder of the Turkish editor, Hrant Dink, brings into question Turkey’s admission into the EU. It adds that the murder showed to the Turkish authorities the flaws of internal policy that must urgently be addressed. This event is also likely to influence the results of the presidential and parliamentary elections due in Turkey this year, says the paper. 

Rossiyskaya Gazeta suggests a new way to save Muscovites from spending time equivalent to months of their life in exhausting traffic jams. A new website will help them find a similar job closer to their homes, and make people walk more and drive less. For about $US 5 anyone can become the website’s subscriber and will be able not only to find a new job option, but also to trade in their own one, adds the paper.

Finally, if the Russians were given a chance to choose a time to live in, 52 percent of them would prefer to stay in modern Russia, says Novye Izvestia, quoting the results of a recent survey. However, 4 percent of respondents miss Stalin’s rule whereas only 1 percent of them long for President Boris Yeltsin’s times, adds the paper.