Wreath-laying ceremony held at Liberation memorial.

PYONGYANG, February 23 (Itar-Tass) - A wreath-laying ceremony at the
Liberation memorial to Soviet servicemen was held here on Wednesday on
the occasion of the Fatherland Defenders' Day. The monument bears the
following inscription: "Eternal glory to the Great Soviet Atmy that
liberated the Korean people from the yoke of Japanese militarists and
opened up the road for it to freedom and independence".
The ceremony was headed by Valery Sukhinin, the Ambassador of Russia
in Pyongyang, and military attache Alexei Bartusov.
The memory of Soviet servicemen was honoured by Korean military
leaders, by officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic
People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), by the heads of diplomatic missions and
military attaches of foreign countries. A guard of honour was lined up
near the monument. A brass band played martial music.
Following that, participants in the ceremony laid wreaths at the
cemetery where the Soviet Army servicemen and citizens of the USSR lie
buried. In all, there are 13 monuments to Soviet servicemen and burial
places in the DPRK.
Speaking at a reception given in Pyongyang on the occasion of the
festive date, General of the Army Pak Chae Kyong, Vice-Minister of the
People's Armed Forces of the DPRK, wished the Russian people and the army
"new successes in the strengthening of the country's defence capacity
and in economic development". He emphasized, "It remains an invariable
position of the DPRK to develop all-round and traditionally friendly
cooperation with Russia, the cooperation which accords with the basic
interests of the two countries".

.Int'l TV contest participants to take Caspian cruise in Sept.

VOLGOGRAD, February 23 (Itar-Tass) - Participants in the Caspian Dream
international TV contest among TV companies and journalists of the Caspian
counties are to take a cruise in the Caspian Sea in September.
An official in the press service of the Astrakhan Region Governor
has told Itar-Tass, "This is already a second international contest
dedicated to the Caspian. The first one was held last year, with
journalists of Russia and Azerbaijan taking part."
This year the Caspian Dream contest expands its geography. Officially
registered media of all Caspian countries -- Russia, Kazakhstan,
Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkmenistan -- are invited to participate.
The cruise will be the second phase of the contest. Participants in
the first phase, which will continue until June 30, are to refer
television materials with a duration of five to fifteen minutes to the
organizing committee in the following nominations: Caspian History, Man
and Sea, Sea of Friendship, Caspian Travels, and Caspian Ecology.
The TV contest will end in Baku where the results are to be summed up
and and a ceremony will be held to award winners. In each nomination,
winners will get prizes of 2,000 euros.
The contest has been organized by the Astrakhan Region Governor
adminsitration, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Ecology, the Caspian press
center, the Nariman District of Baku, and the All-Russia Azerbaijani
Congress.

.Putin to visit Kaliningrad to discuss housing for military.

MOSCOW, February 23 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin will visit Kaliningrad on Wednesday for a working tour. He will
chair a conference on the provision of housing for the servicemen of the
RF Armed Forces.
During the conference Putin in a videoconference mode will familiarize
himself with the process of the construction of housing for the military
in the cities of Balashikha and Podolsk in Moscow Region, in St
Petersburg, Krasnodar, Stavropol, and Yekaterinburg.
Requirements of the RF Defence Ministry and other security-related
agencies for the provision of servicemen with housing are about 223,900
apartments. Federal budget resources that are earmarked for the solution
of this task in 2011 amount to 149,600 million roubles.
The working tour programme provides for Putin's visit to the Severny
(northern) residential neighbourhood where the Head of Government will
inspect the construction of new buidings for servicemen's permanent
residence. Over there, on an area of 3.5 hectares, the construction of six
permanent-residence buildings with 720 apartments is nearing completion.
Putin will also receive citizens at the regional public reception
office of the Chairman of the United Russia party.
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