Chaliapin's birth anniversary marked in St. Petersburg.

ST. PETERSBURG, February 15 (Itar-Tass) - Artists from St. Petersburg
and the Republic of Tatarstan gathered in the Russian northern capital
this past weekend to celebrate the birth anniversary of famous Russian
bass Fyodor Chalyapin.

Chalyapin went down in the musical history of the 20th century both as
the Russian signer and a citizen of the world.
The whole event took place at the Sheremetiev palace where a memorial
exhibition devoted to Chalyapin was put on view.
St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko welcomed the guests. She
said that St. Petersburg and Kazan were expanding their ties from year to
year and that Fyodor Chalyapin who was born in Kazan but was recognized as
a singer in St. Petersburg connected the two cities even stronger.
Chalyapin's performances on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre left a
noticeable mark in the history of St. Petersburg.
The State Chamber Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan gave a
concert on the occasion of the anniversary. It was the first out of two
concerts, which the choir is planning to give in St. Petersburg. The
participants in the concert also included bass Alexey Tikhomirov, a
soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre and the Moscow Gelikon Opera. He was also
born in Kazan. In memory of his great townsman Tikhomirov included arias
from Chaliapin's repertoire, including from opera Boris Godunov, in his
St. Petersburg program.
On Sunday, the choir and soloists from Tatarstan gave a concert in the
hall of the Academic Chapel. The program included music by Russian and
Tatar composers.

.Russian, Estonian skiers barred from Olympic competitions.

VANCOUVER, February 15 (Itar-Tass) - Russian athlete Niyaz Nabeyev who
has high hemoglobin content in his blood, hasn't been disqualified from
the double event. He is just not declared for the next competition, the
first vice-president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Vladimir Vasin,
told Itar-Tass on Sunday.
"Under current regulations the International Ski Federation is taking
blood tests from all the participants. Nabeyev was notified that his
hemoglobin was exceeding the norm, but the athlete didn't tell anybody
about that immediately," Vasin went on to say.
Now, the Russian athlete will have to undergo another test and if his
hemoglobin stabilizes, Nabeyev will be allowed to compete in a race on
February 25 according to the Gundersen system.
Skiing double-event is an Olympic discipline where Russia has low
chances of winning a medal.
An Estonian skier, Kaspar Kokk, has been barred from Olympic
competitions for five days.
A total of 304 athletes have undergone blood tests in the first 4 days
of the Olympic competitions.

.Russian vice-premier begins two-day working visit to India.

NEW DELHI, February 15 (Itar-Tass) - Sergei Sobyanin, the Russian
vice-premier and government chief of staff, is beginning a two-day working
visit to New Delhi to discuss further development of bilateral relations.
Sobyanin is a co-chairman of the Russian-Indian inter-governmental
commission for trade, economic, scientific-technological and cultural
cooperation. During his visit to India he will meet Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, the Russian government staff press service told Itar-Tass.
He will also have talks with Indian Foreign Minister Somanahalli
Mallaiah Krishna, the Indian co-chairman of the Russian-Indian
inter-governmental commission.
On Monday, Sobyanin is expected to attend the opening of the DEFEXPO
India 2010 exhibition of land and naval system in the Indian capital.
This is Sobyanin's second visit to India in the last three months. His
first working visit was in November 2009.

.Orthodox Christians enter the Great Lent.

MOSCOW, February 15 (Itar-Tass) - The Great Lent is beginning for
Orthodox Christians on Monday. All everyday chores should relegate to the
background giving way to spiritual life. Russian clergymen believe that
even the Olympic games shouldn't break the attitude to prayer, though
watching Olympic competitions in minutes of rest is not a sin.
"If a person watches sport events as recreation, even in the first
week of the Great Lent, it's not any great sin. Monks and clergymen should
pray from morning till night. It's their duty," says Father Sergiy (Rybko)
from the Moscow Church of the Descent of St. Luke.
Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, will lead
two daily services in Russian churches and monasteries in the first day of
the Lent, the aim of which is repentance and communication with the God.

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