'Human' tricolour to be presented on Russia's Flag Day.

ST. PETERSBURG, August 22 (Itar-Tass) -- Participants in the
celebration of Russia's Flag Day will make a 'human' tricolour on Sunday.
Three central streets of St. Petersburg will be filled with people wearing
white, red and blue clothes. At 12:30 the three columns will go to unite
in a tricolour.
At least three thousand citizens will take part in the action. They
will wear T-shirts and carry balloons and flags. A concert will follow the
action.
Youth organisations will bring a big tricolour four by six metres.


.Local authorities to supervise regions where fires are put out.

MOSCOW, August 22 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia's Ministry of Emergency
Situations and Disaster Relief /EMERCOM/ gives back responsibility for the
regions, where fires were put out, to local authorities.
According to Russia's Forests Code, local authorities are responsible
for preventing and extinguishing of fires in forests.
EMERCOM's Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to Russia's President Dmitry
Medvedev about the situation with the wildfires and how they are being put
out. Following the report the emergency was lifted in the Nizhny Novgorod
and Moscow regions and in Mordovia, the Kremlin's press service said.
The unnaturally high temperatures caused seven thousand wildfires,
which occupied over 430,000 hectares in the Central, Volga and Urals
federal districts. President Medvedev announced emergency in the Voronezh,
Vladimir, Moscow, Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod regions and in Mariy El and
Mordovia republics.
Over 200 new fires emerged every day, up to 95 percent of them were
localised or extinguished the same day.
"From July 26, as the situation became worse, and through to August
19, firefighters extinguished almost seven thousand fires, which occupied
almost 250,000 hectares," a source at EMERCOM said. "The fire damaged 134
settlements, eight of those were burned down completely, and over 5,000
individuals were evacuated."
There were over 166,000 firefighters and over 500 vehicles, including
49 planes and helicopters. Over 4,500 settlements were rescued. EMERCOM's
aviation made almost 2,000 flights. Over 73,000 tonnes of extinguishing
liquid were dropped on fires.
As of Sunday, the emergency remains only in the Ryazan Region, where
the situation with peat fires is unstable still.


.Unique Finno-Ugric Ethnic Park in Komi to be opened 2011.

MOSCOW, August 22 (Itar-Tass) -- A unique Finno-Ugric ethnic cultural
part will be constructed over the two coming years.
"The Komi Republic is not only well-developed economy and rich nature,
it is also an integral part of the Finno-Ugric society," Komi's President
Vyacheslav Gaizer said. "The republic has always actively participated in
the development of these connections, and back in 2007 we have organised a
Finno-Ugric centre in Syktyvkar /the republic's capital/."
"We are developing the potential permanently, and have decided to
organise the Finno-Ugric ethnic cultural park in the Yb Village."
The purpose of the project is "to promote the idea."
"The centre will become a platform for official events of the
Finno-Ugric society, promotion of its way of life and ethnography, a venue
to develop tourism, sports, it will be a leisure complex based on the
Finno-Ugric culture," he said.
Gaizer touched upon the investment aspect of the project, saying that
over 2010-2011 the republic's budget would allocate 200 million roubles
for it.
"We hope the Finno-Ugric society and businesses will take part in the
investment programmes," Gaizer said.
The implementation of the project will be a positive example of the
state and private partnership.
"We welcome interregional and international involvement in the
complex" Gaizer said. "International friendship is the basis for economic
development, social wellbeing and stability in the region."
"The Komi Republic is a pioneer in the formation of social activity of
Russia's Finno-Ugric peoples, and it makes a lot to preserve and develop
the traditional culture and languages," he said "The ethnic park's
cultural centre is a good opportunity to capitalise the ethnic and
cultural resources of the Finno-Ugric heritage both in Russia and
internationally."
"The project will be supported both at the regional and the federal
levels," Russia's Minister of Regional Development said.
The Finno-Ugric ethnic cultural park will be constructed at a site 55
kilometres from Syktyvkar in the Yb Village - the republic's oldest
settlement. The surroundings there have not changed with time, and the
place is considered to be sacred. The complex will preserve and use
rationally the cultural and natural heritage of the Komi Republic and all
Finno-Ugric peoples. The complex will include a congress hall, a hotel,
ski routes, hunting and fishery villages, a reindeer breeder station and
leisure infrastructures, which will feature the specific Finno-Ugric
colouring.
There are 23 million people in the world who consider themselves
Finno-Ugric. Most of them live in Russia. Hungarians, Finns and Estonians
belong to this linguistic group.
Syktyvkar is the capital of the Komi Republic. The city is the most
north-easterly capital of Europe, up near the Urals Mountains.

-0-kar


Delete & Prev | Delete & Next