IN AFTERMATH OF PLANE CRASH, GRIEF AND SPECULATION ABOUND
Compiled By Rachel Thorner
New York Times
May 4 2006
A summary of the top stories in the Russian newspapers appears Monday
through Friday.
The crash of an Armenian airliner in southern Russia, which killed
all 113 aboard, led the newspapers. The airliner, an Airbus 320
belonging to Armavia airline, crashed into the Black Sea as it flew
to the resort city of Sochi from Armenia’s capital of Yerevan.
Vremya Novostei reported that by Wednesday night, rescue workers had
found 47 bodies and continued to search for the others as relatives
waited anxiously for news.
A team of experts has been assigned to investigate the the crash. “We
are considering two versions-technical problems and a mistake by
the pilot,” Izvestia quoted the prosecutor general in Krasnodar, the
region’s capital, Sergei Yeremin, as saying. A colleague of the crew,
whom it did not name, said that they could not “imagine that these
people who knew the route like the back of their hands could make
a mistake.”
Kommersant reported that investigators suggested that the crewmembers’
“moral state” had been affected by the fact that they had to turn
back to Yerevan because of a storm, and that this might have caused
them to falter. Vremya Novostei reported that reason for the crash
would likely never be established conclusively.
Vremya Novostei led with a photograph of distraught relatives. Many
sat around an airport television, with their heads in their hands,
consoling one another. The airports in Sochi and Yerevan have provided
medical and emotional support to family members and friends.
“Many of them needed our help,” an airport nurse told Izvestia after
being called to work at 4 A.M. “But I understand that it is impossible
to console them right now.”
IZVESTIA
GEORGIA TO WITHDRAW FROM ALLIANCE: President Mikheil Saakashvili of
Georgia announced his intention to resign from the Commonwealth of
Independent States, a loose political and economic alliance of former
Soviet republics. “Georgia does not get anything from the C.I.S.
except humiliation,” he said, in the latest manifestation of a
deepening rift between Russia and Georgia.
KADYROV GIVES INTERVIEW: Ramzan Kadyrov, the prime minister of
Chechnya, said in an interview that it was his duty either to “jail
or destroy” Shamil Basayev, the notorious Chechen rebel leader who
has carried out some of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Russia.
VREMYA NOVOSTEI
RICE URGES CHANGES BY RUSSIA: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
said at a news conference that although Russian-American relations
were mutually beneficial, Russia needed to shift its stance on several
issues. Ms. Rice cited Russia’s position on Iran and the Middle East,
and its reaction to former Soviet republics that form alliances with
the United States, among other things. Her comments were followed up
today in a speech given by Vice President Dick Cheney, who sharply
criticized Russia for what he said was backsliding on human rights;
Mr Cheney also suggested that Moscow is interfering with democratic
movements among its neighbors.
KOMMERSANT
RUSSIAN ROLE IN SERBIA DISPUTE: The European Union ended talks with
Serbia on normalizing relations after the country refused to turn
over the former commander of the Bosnian Serb Army, Ratko Mladic
– its leading war crimes suspect – to the International Criminal
Tribunal. The paper suggested the conflict could entangle Russia
because it is harboring another Bosnian Serb, Dragan Zelenovich,
who is also wanted by the Tribunal for war crimes.
MEETING WITH JAPAN COAST GUARD: The head of Japan’s Coast Guard,
Hiroki Ishikawa, is to meet with Russian security service officials to
discuss environmental-protection projects, the preservation of marine
biological resources, and joint efforts against contraband goods.
ROSSIISKAYA GAZETA
CLAIMS OF PROGRESS ON PIRACY: The paper reported that Russia is
clamping down on the pirating of intellectual property, one of the
major impediments to its entry into the World Trade Organization.
“America refuses to also recognize the positive changes in our
country,” the paper said.
MOSKOVSKAYA PRAVDA
INSIDE THE KREMLIN: A new television film, to be shown on May 10,
explores the mysteries of the Kremlin, showing chambers that, the
article says, some politicians do not have access to. The film is
named after the garden just outside the Kremlin, Alexander Garden.