President Medvedev to pay working visit to Buryatia.

ULAN-UDE, the Republic of Buryatia, August 24 (Itar-Tass) - Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev will pay a working visit to Buryatia on Monday
to discuss social and economic development of the Siberian Federal
District. He will also visit an aviation plant and the spiritual centre of
Russian Buddhists - the Ivolginsky datsan (Buddhist monastery).

The preservation of the energy balance in Siberia in connection with
the recent accident at the Sayano-Sushenskaya hydropower station will
dominate a conference, which Medvedev is planning to hold in Ulan-Ude.
Prior to the meeting with local officials President Medvedev plans to
visit an Ulan-Ude aviation plant, which produces Mi-171 helicopters and
Su-25 planes. The enterprise is one of the leading aviation and defense
enterprises in Russia. It has a powerful production potential and can
launch the production of new types of aircraft in a short period of time.
During his trip to Buryatia President Medvedev will visit the
Ivolginsky datsan (Buddhist monastery). It is located at the foot of the
Khambar-Daban mountain range 30 kilometers away from Ulan-Ude.
The Ivolginsky datsan opened in 1945. It's the residence of Pandito
Hambo Lama, the head of the Buddhists of Russia. The monastery's main
relic is the body of Pandito Hambo Lama the 12th, which is considered to
be incorruptible and lies in a glass sarcophagus. The Buddhist monastery
has a Buddhist University for the novices.
On Monday evening President Medvedev will visit the State Russian
Drama Theatre named after N. Bestuzhev. The theatre moved to a new
building just a month ago and is now preparing for its 81st season.
Experts say the theatre in Ulan-Ude is the best equipped in Siberia.

.Russian president to pay official visit to Mongolia on Aug 25-26.

MOSCOW, August 24 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will
pay an official visit to Mongolia on August 25-26 at the invitation of the
Mongolian President Tsahiagiyn Elbegdorzh.
The Russian president will take part in celebrations of the 70th
anniversary of victory in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, named after a river
of the same name, the Russian president's aide Sergei Prikhodko told
reporters.
"This event fits well into the framework of a big job which is being
carried out in our country and in other allied states in connection with
the approaching 65th anniversary of Victory in WWII," Prikhodko went on to
say.
"This visit will not only emphasizes the Red Army's role but will also
underline the contribution of our Mongolian colleagues in the joint
victory," the Kremlin representative said.
Mongolian war veterans will receive commemorative medals and orders as
part of the celebrations of the Khalkhin Gol victory. Wreaths will be laid
to a monument to Soviet military leader Marshall Georgy Zhukov.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Mongolian counterpart will
deliver speeches at a special meeting devoted to the 70th anniversary of
victory in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol.

.Thousands gather for religious service led by Patriarch Kirill.

ARKHANGELSK, August 24 (Itar-Tass) - More than 12,000 residents of the
northern city of Arkhangelsk gathered on its central square on Sunday to
attend an outdoor religious service led by Patriarch of Moscow and All
Russia Kirill. The Church of St. Trinity used to stand on the square in
pre-revolutionary Russia. It was destroyed under the Soviet rule in 1929.
A drama theatre was built in its place.
Patriarch Kirill called on the people of Arkhangelsk to remember
lessons of the past. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church had arrived
in Arkhangelsk from the Solovki Islands where a labor camp was located in
the years of Stalin's rule. He emphasized that only faith could help
people survive in extreme and harsh circumstances.
"That is why today our prayer which is being held on the square where
a cathedral once stood should be about our people who should be helped to
return to their faith after decades of being alienated from it and who
should start living in conformity with this faith. Then we are going to be
a happy nation," the patriarch emphasized.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church expressed the hope that the
construction of a new cathedral of Archangel Michael that will replace the
one destroyed under the Soviet rule would be completed soon. He paid
special attention to children.
"I am glad to see children for whom we are building these churches.
Churches don't work for the past, they just help preserving it, but they
give strength to a people to move forward," Patriarch Kirill went on to
say.
"A city named in honor of Archangel Michael should have the face of an
archangel. The (new) cathedral should be a magnificent face of this
wonderful city that has preserved the name of Archangel Michael despite
all the twists and turns of the 20th century," the patriarch emphasized.
He also called for building a strong, free and economically developed
Russia that will at the same time preserve its spiritual values and
national identity.