The Media Mirror – Today's Russian press review

Tuesday's Russian newspapers give most column inches to the latest developments in the Politkovskaya case. They also cover MAKS-2007 and take a closer look at the toys Russian kids are playing with.

All papers report on developments in the murder case of NOVAYA GAZETA journalist, Anna Politkovskaya.

ROSSIYSKAYA GAZETA announces in a front-page headline: “The Politkovskaya murder case is solved”. The paper reports that 10 suspects have been arrested, including the actual murderer.

KOMMERSANT writes that the Chechen link in the investigation unexpectedly brought into focus a group of police officers. The paper elaborates stating that two retired policemen and one serving police major, plus a Federal security officer are involved.

VREMYA NOVOSTEI, like other papers, quotes the official statement of the General Prosecutor that the mastermind of the killing is most probably a Russian citizen living abroad, who is interested in destabilizing the political situation in Russia. The paper goes on to say that the police officers implicated in the case were involved only in the surveillance of the target. They were known to be selling their services commercially when off duty. According to the paper, the Internal Affairs Bureau had been investigating their activities for a while before it became known that they were involved with the Politkovskaya murder. Among the suspects arrested are three Chechens living in Moscow, continues the paper. One of them is charged with the actual murder.

Many newspapers analyze the results of MAKS-2007, the Moscow Air Show.

NEZAVISIMAYA GAZETA has an article titled “What MAKS lacks to become a Maximum”. It points out the main shortcomings of the air show and identifies the lack of space as the number one problem. There are 36,000 square metres here compared to 128,000 in Le Bourget, France. The services and the infrastructure also need considerable adjustment to meet modern requirements.

KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA asks, “Who is teaching our children to give shoe-shines to the Fascists?” The paper reports that in Moscow toy shops there is a certain set of plastic soldiers on sale. The soldiers have to be assembled, parts glued together, and then painted. The result looks like the picture on the box – a small Russian boy shining the boots of a German patrol soldier, a scene from the first days of the German occupation of the Western regions of Russia.

The producer of the toy, a Ukrainian firm according to the paper, denies any responsibility saying that the picture is a copy of an archive photograph.

What next, asks the paper? A working scale-model of Dachau?