Russia patriarch hopes for constructive future of Ukrainian people.

MOSCOW, February 22 (Itar-Tass) -- The diplomats from the Orthodox
Christian countries attended a patriarchal service at the Christ the
Savior Cathedral on the occasion of the Feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy
celebrated on the first Sunday on the Lent. Eight ambassadors and the
hierarchs of several Orthodox Christian Churches were attending the
service at an honorary place near the altar of the cathedral.
At a ceremonial reception Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill
noted that the attendance of clergymen from various Local Orthodox
Christian Churches and the ambassadors from the Orthodox Christian nations
shows graphically the Orthodox unity. In a speech to the diplomats the
Russian supreme hierarch called for shaping a system of solidarity between
the countries, in which the Orthodox Christians constitute a majority in
the population. The feeling of a deep spiritual unity inspires the peoples
of these countries to stay together in joy and mischief, the patriarch
said.
Addressing to the Ukrainian ambassador Patriarch Kirill stated about
his forthcoming visit in Kiev to attend a presidential inauguration
ceremony at the invitation of President-Elect Viktor Yanukovich. The
patriarch expressed confidence that the current major task of the
Ukrainian people is to overcome splits and build up the national unity.
"The time for unification and creation is high for Ukraine," Patriarch
Kirill said, quoted by the press service of the External Church Affairs
Department of the Moscow Patriarchate on Sunday.

.UNESCO headquarters to hold Yaroslavl millennium presentation.

PARIS, February 22 (Itar-Tass) -- The Paris headquarters of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will
hold a presentation of the Russian city of Yaroslavl on the occasion of
the millennium anniversary of the city included in the UNESCO World
Heritage List. An exhibition will be held at the hall of the UNESCO
headquarters. The exhibition will be devoted to the ancient history and
the current life of Yaroslavl and its residents.
Chairperson of the UNESCO Executive Council and Russia's permanent
representative at UNESCO Eleonora Mitrofanova and Governor of the
Yaroslavl region Sergei Vakhrukov will deliver speeches at an opening
ceremony of the exhibition. First spacewoman Valentina Tereshkova, who is
also the deputy chairperson of the Yaroslavl regional legislature, is also
expected to attend the ceremony.
The events dedicated to the Yaroslavl millennium anniversary are timed
to the Year of Russia in France and the Year of France in Russia that both
countries celebrate this year.

.RF plays better with Czech Republic than in previous games-Bykov.

VANCOUVER, February 22 (Itar-Tass) -- In the final match of the Group
B preliminary round at the Vancouver Olympics with the Czech Republic
Russia was playing better than in the previous games, Russian head coach
Vyacheslav Bykov said after that the match, in which Russia beat 4-2 the
Czech Republic.
"The first period was very intensive, the teams were worthy of the
score after the first period (1-1 - Itar-Tass). In the second period
tensions and activities showed at the start of the match subsided. The
most important thing was not to make mistakes, because the Czech team has
good professional players. It is good that we had not made any mistakes in
this situation, and moreover scored a goal. This gave us a chance to
control the game. I believe that the match was very interesting.
Alongside, we were playing much better than in the previous two matches,"
Bykov gave his comments on the match.
At the end of the second period Russian forward Sergei Zinovyev
injured his leg in the clash with a Czech player and could continue the
match. "I cannot say anything in concrete about Sergei yet. He will take a
medical examination and then we will learn the final diagnosis. After that
we will determine the roster for play-off matches," Bykov said.
After the victory over the Czech team Russia occupied the first place
in Group B and qualified for the quarterfinals at the Vancouver Olympics.
The quarterfinals will be played on February 24.

.Russia bobsledders win bronze in two-man event at Olympics.

WHISTLER, February 22 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian bobsledders Alexander
Zubkov and Alexei Voevoda won bronze in a two-man event at the Vancouver
Olympics.
The German bobsledders won gold and silver medals.
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