POLITICS

* The row between the management of Russia’s second most-read daily Moskovsky Komsomolets and the Russian parliament is gaining momentum as Russian lawmakers demand an apology from editor-in-chief Pavel Gusev for an article accusing several female pro-Kremlin activists and United Russia lawmakers of sacrificing their convictions for the sake of their political careers.

(Kommersant)

* Russian President Vladimir Putin called for visa-free travel for foreign athletes competing in major sports events scheduled to take place between now and 2018, including next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2018 soccer World Cup.

(Kommersant)

* Russia raised serious concerns about a US decision not to prosecute the adoptive parents of a Russian boy whose death sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries.

(Kommersant)

* The Kremlin has announced a new campaign against "clans" or nepostism in power - the Presidential Executive Office expressed its concern about new dynasties emerging in Russian politics.

(Izvestia)

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

* Cyprus may be forced to sell off some of its state-owned assets to foreign investors if the country fails to agree a bailout deal with the Eurogroup. Russia is expecting lucrative offers from the country that is facing an economic collapse.

(Vedomosti)

* Russia’s Renova Group is planning to invest up to $200 mln in the expansion of manganese ore extraction and production of manganese-based alloys at its facilities in South Africa.

(Kommersant)

* Large foreign investment funds are showing interest in investing money in the Russian economy as the economic situation in Europe continues to deteriorate. The foreign funds are interested, in particular, in Russian debt instruments.

(Vedomosti)

DEFENSE

* Russia's Rubin Central Design Bureau said it has started work on the design of fifth-generation nuclear-powered and diesel submarines.

(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

SOCIETY

* Moscow authorities will open “Speakers’ Corners” in downtown Gorky Park and Sokolniki Park in Moscow’s northeast on May 1. The first area will have capacity for 2,000 people and the second for 1,500 people.

(Moscow News)

* Over 59 percent of working Russians approve of anonymous charity and believe that big companies must spend part of their profits on helping society, according to a recent public opinion poll.

(Rossiiskaya Gazeta)

CRIME

* Russia’s Supreme Court has ordered two Moscow district courts to submit materials related to criminal cases against former Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his business partner Platon Lebedev for revision as their lawyers have accused the Moscow judges of forgery and said they should be prosecuted.

(Kommersant)

* Russian investigators said they were ending a criminal probe into the 2009 death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a Moscow jail because they had determined that no crime had taken place – an assertion the late lawyer’s family swiftly rejected.

(Kommersant, Vedomosti, Izvestia)

* Golos has been accused of breaking the law on foreign agents, experts from the Central Electoral Committee claim that the association received $3 million from Americans and recruits politicians and memebrs of the electoral committee. The December 2012 law applies to NGOs that receive grants from foreign donors and actively try to participate in the political process.

(Izvestia)

* Russia's Liberal Democrat party has suggested a new approach to Russia's ongoing problem of bad driving - "stickers of shame" for drivers - displaying details of the fines they've paid for driving offenses on their sun-guards.

(Izvestia)

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