Early voting on constitutional changes begins in Tuva.

GORNO-ALTAISK, March 27 (Itar-Tass) - Early voting in a referendum
that will bring the constitution of the Altai Republic of Tuva in line
with Russia's Constitution and federal laws has begun in hard-to-reach
settlements across the republic.

The voters are expected to vote on 34
constitutional changes that will abolish the Tuva citizenship and a costly
and unmanageable two-chamber parliament. Instead, a one-chamber People's
Hural will be created. In this case, expenses for the deputies will drop
from 185 million to 70 million roubles, because their number will also
decrease from 162 to 23 and only nine of them will actually work for a
salary.
Another amendment introduces the post of president in Tuva.
Horses and dog sleighs will deliver ballot boxes to Tuva's remote
areas. The referendum will be held on April 11, a source at the republic's
electoral committee told Itar-Tass.
The early voting will cover 172,000 voters out of a total number of
4,000 people. It will last until April 10.
All the voters could get acquainted with the proposed constitutional
amendments at their territorial and district electoral committees in which
members of an initiative group have been working since March 11.

. The Rostropovich Week in Moscow festival to open on Saturday.

MOSCOW, March 27 (Itar-Tass) - An international music festival called
"The Rostropovich Week" will be held in Moscow for the first time. It's
coming as a great gift to Moscow music lovers.
The festival's opening is timed to coincide with a birthday
anniversary of Mstislav Rostropovich, the world famous cellist, conductor
and public figure who was born on March 27, 1927 and died on April 27,
2007.
"I've been dreaming about this festival for a long time. Moscow has
never hosted a musical event devoted to my dear and beloved father. He was
self-rigorous. Music was a holy thing to him. I hope that he would have
liked the festival had he been with us today," the late maestro's daughter
Olga told Itar-Tass.
She said that high professional level of performers would be a
distinct feature of the Rostropovich Week. Many musicians will come to
Russia for the first time.
Rostropovich's wife, singer Galina Vishnevskaya, says that the last
days of March had always been particularly bright for her because
relatives and fellow-musicians celebrated her husband's birthday.
Mstislav Rostropovich received thousands of greetings and telegrams,
friends and pupils held concerts in his honour while he himself made the
audiences happy with brilliant concerts.
"A large-scale festival that will draw together the best musicians is
a worthy gift to Mstislav Rostropovich and a sign of genuine love and
admiration.
The Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic
Society led by conductor Yuri Temirkanov will have the honour to open the
Week. French cellist Xavier Phillips will play a solo. The program
includes pieces by Giacomo Puccin, Robert Schuman and Dmitry Shostakovich.
Other participants in the festival include well-known musicians from
Australia, Britain, Italy, the United States, Switzerland and other
countries.
The festival's concerts will also be held at the Big Hall of the
Moscow Conservatoire and the Moscow International House of Music. The
festival will close on April 2.
A memorial service for Rostropovich will be held in the New Maiden
Convent in Moscow on Saturday afternoon.

.Finnish actors to mark World Theatre Day with strike.

HELSINKI, March 27 (Itar-Tass) - Theatre lovers in Finland will be
deprived of an opportunity to enjoy stage art on the World Theatre Day
because Finnish actors have decided to mark their professional holiday
with a strike. The protest action will affect more than 40 theatres in
various Finnish cities.
The Union of Finnish Actors uniting 1, 750 masters of theatrical art
is about a hundred years old. It announced a protest action after
two-weeks of salary negotiations with employer had ended in a flop. Actors
demand that their salaries be raised. A Finnish actor earns about 2,600
euros a month on average. They also want a surcharge for evening and
Saturday performances. However, the employers consider the demands to be
too high.
"Almost all Union members have cancelled their performances for
Saturday. We are sorry for the inconveniences which the strike is going to
cause to theatre lovers," the Union's representatives said.
The Union of Finnish Actors will resume negotiations with the
employers next week.
Unlike in Finland, the World Theatre Day will be celebrated nationwide
across Russia.


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