Murmansk welcomes re-appearance of Sun after the polar night

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MURMANSK, January 31 (Itar-Tass) - A Sun welcoming ceremonty will be
held in Russia's northern city of Murmansk to celebrate the end of the
polar night.
The tradition of welcoming the Sun comes from the indigenous people of
the Kola Peninsula.
The holiday that will be held in Murmansk on Sunday hasn't changed its
name in a hundred years. It's still called 'Hello, the Sun!' The best
local collective and folk groups will give concerts on Murmansk's central
Square of Five Corners and on the embankment of Semyonov Lake, a favourite
place of recreation for the local residents.
Everybody will have a chance to taste fish patties and drink a cup of
hot tea, a source at the Murmansk city administration told Itar-Tass.

. Belgrade streets may get back historical names by May 9.

BELGRADE, January 31 (Itar-Tass) - The city authorities in Belgrade
have promised to return historical names to a number of streets in the
Serbian capital by May 9. Some streets named after Soviet military
leaders (Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin and General Vladimir Biryuzov) and the
Red Army but were renamed in the 1990s.
"A solution that will be acceptable both for Belgrade residents and
the Russian side will be found by the time the 65th anniversary of Victory
is going to be celebrated," Belgrade's deputy mayor, Milan Krkobabic, said
at a meeting with Russian Ambassador Alexander Konuzin earlier this week.
The Russian leadership has been raising this issue since last October
when the 65th anniversary of Belgrade's liberation from fascists was
celebrated.
The Soviet troops began its liberation mission in Serbia on September
28, 1944. A battle for Belgrade ended on October 20. The fourth
mechanized corps of General Zhdanov and units assigned to him, including
those from the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia, drove the Nazis out
of the Serb capital. On October 20, the last bastion of fascist resistance
- the Kalemegdan fortress - fell after long and blood-spilling battles.
General Zhdanov ordered not to use heavy weapons, if possible, in order to
save the Serbian capital from great destruction.
The Russian ambassador and Belgrade's deputy mayor also discussed the
participation of veterans of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia in
the celebrations of the 65th anniversary of Victory in Moscow; they also
set dates for a visit by representatives of Belgrade business circles to
the Russian capital and Russia's participation in the International Book
Fair in Belgrade in 2011 where Russia may be granted a status of the main
guest.

. Days of Scottish culture marked by WWII memories.

ST. PETERSBURG, January 31 (Itar-Tass) - WWII memories mark Days of
Scottish Culture that are currently under way in St. Petersburg. This
year their beginning was timed to coincide with the 66th anniversary of
lifting a Nazi siege of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War of
1941-1945.
The Scottish delegation laid a wreath at the Piskaryovskoye memorial
cemetery in memory of the siege victims on Saturday.
The 900-day siege was, in fact, the main reason for establishing
friendly ties between Leningrad (that was the name the city had in Soviet
days) and Scotland back in the war years. A woman from a small Scottish
town called on her compatriots to support the besieged city. Almost five
thousand Scottish women responded to her initiative. Together, they
collected signatures that made up a whole album. It was sent to Leningrad.
"At the time of hardships our hearts are with you," the Scottish women
wrote in the album.
After the siege was lifted, the women of Leningrad sent to their
Scottish friends an album telling about the heroism and courage of the
city's defenders. Both albums are now kept in museums in Glasgow and St.
Petersburg.
The Scottish guests said that events devoted to the celebrations of
the 65th anniversary of Victory in WWII are being held in Scotland.
Special attention is paid to explaining the role of the peoples of the
USSR in the defeat of fascism.

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