Russian national speed skating team may invite foreign coaches.

MOSCOW, March 11 (Itar-Tass) - Russia's national speed-skating team
may hire foreign coaches to train it for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

"The example of Ivan Skobrev shows that work with foreign experts
produces good results. Skobrev who won "silver" and "bronze" in Vancouver
had trained together with the Italian national team," Alexei Kravtsov, the
president of the Russian Speed Skating Union, told a news conference at
Itar-Tass on Wednesday.
Kravtsov believes that a junior world speed skating championship to be
held at the Krylatskoye sport complex in Moscow on March 12-14 will help
him find foreign trainers for the Russian national team.
"We will be able to see the most promising juniors of Russia who will,
most likely, compete for a place in the national Olympic team in 2014.
This is making the Moscow tournament particularly significant," Kravtsov
said.
An Olympic skating rink in Sochi will be ready by 2012. Test
competitions prior to the 2014 games will be held there in 2013.

.Spring book fair opens in Moscow.

MOSCOW, March 11 (Itar-Tass) - The annual spring "Book of Russia"
fair opened its doors to book lovers for the 13th time on Wednesday. The
57th pavilion of the All-Russian Exhibition Centre will traditionally
serve as the venue.
This year the book show is devoted to the 65th anniversary of Victory
in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Publishers will present plenty
of books devoted to WWII and the memoirs of its veterans. Other events
include a roundtable meeting devoted to the great date, special book
expositions, an exhibition titled "The Great Patriotic War in Posters" and
a contest of wartime songs "The Songs that Helped Us Win the War."
The 150th birth anniversary of Russian classical writer Anton Chekhov
will certainly be another highlight. A special display will feature
illustrations by Russian painters to Chekhov's literary works.
A photo exhibition will be devoted to the 70th birth anniversary of
Joseph Brodsky.
Dozens of prose writers and poets will participate in the book fair
this year.
The Astrakhan region that will present more than 200 publishers is the
fair's honorary guest this year.
Orthodox literature, including rare manuscripts, will occupy a special
place at the fair this year. It will feature more than 150,000 books that
will be put on view in a territory of 10,000 square meters.
The fair's exhibition space has increased by 1,000 square meters and
the number of publishers that participate in the fair will increase by 37.
The price of tickets will remain the same: 50 roubles for adults and
25 roubles for children.
The book fair will be open until March 15.

. Russian alpinists conquer the highest peak in South America.

VLADIKAVKAZ, March 11 (Itar-Tass) -- Alpinists from the Russian
Republic of North Ossetia have conquered the highest peak in South America
- the Aconcagua. They devoted their ascent to the 2014 Olympic games in
Sochi.
The alpinists are planning to climb on the highest peaks in each
continent.
The Aconcagua Mountain is 6, 962 metres high. 16 mountain climbers
conquered it. On top, they planted a flag with a symbol of the Olympic
games in Sochi as well as the flags of Russia and North Ossetia.
The team consists of experienced alpinists as well as employees of the
Federal Security Service branch for North Ossetia and the North Ossetian
search and rescue department of the Russian Ministry for Emergency
Situations.
The group's leader is Kazbek Khamitsayev, the ambassador of the 2014
Olympic games. He has conquered the Everest, the highest mountain on Earth.

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