.St Petersburg-Kiev motor rally participants arrive in Ukrainian capital.

KIEV, September 18 (Itar-Tass) -- St. Petersburg-Kiev motor rally
participants arrived in the Ukrainian capital on Saturday. The cars ran
more than 2,000 kilometres in six days. Among the drivers were well-known
actors, musicians and sportsmen.
The names of the winners were announced late on Saturday at
Independence Square in Kiev, where a stage was installed to hold a
ceremony and a concert.
The Ukrainian and Russian crews competed not to be the fastest, but to
accurately carry out tasks and go the route. They were refereed by a team
of 28 specialists. The final results were summed by chairman of the rally
committee of the Russian Automobile Federation Alexei Yershov.
The participants formed a column on the Ukrainian capital's outskirts
and accompanied by traffic police cars, rescue vehicles and ambulances
went to the centre of the city. Kiev met the drivers with rain, but it did
not spoil their good mood. "Nature has no bad weather," famous boxer
Konstantin Tszyu recalled the words from a song.


.St Petersburg-Kiev motor rally finishes successfully.



KIEV, September 18 (Itar-Tass) -- The St. Petersburg-Kiev motor rally
that started in Russia on September 13 and finished in the Ukrainian
capital on September 18 was successful, said Gazprom press secretary
Sergei Kupriyanov, a representative of the rally organisers.
The main result is that all have reached the finish, he noted. The
Ukrainian-Russian team worked well and was successful, he added.
The organisers have an idea to record a disk of songs of some
participants as a remembrance of the event.
Automobile historian Stanislav Kirilets proposed to organise a rally
in 2011 from St. Petersburg to Sevastopol to mark the 100th anniversary
since the rally for the prize of Emperor Nikolai II.
Deputy Ukrainian Transport and Communication Minister Alexei Baranov
emphasised the importance of such events. In his words, it is necessary
for development of good-neighbour relations between the two nations.
Actors, sportsmen and culture figures are ambassadors of good will, he
noted. The deputy minister in this connection noted that the regulations
for border crossing and customs control should be simplified.



.Putin visits Mariinsky Theatre during its jubilee celebration.


ST. PETERSBURG, September 18 (Itar-Tass) -- Vladimir Putin has
congratulated the Mariinsky Theatre's performers and trustees on the
theatre jubilee.
The Russian prime minister arrived at the theatre on Saturday evening.
He was a spectator of the Swan Lake ballet and met with members of the
Mariinsky board of trustees. Present at the meeting were Culture Minister
Alexander Avdeyev, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, St. Petersburg Governor
Valentina Matviyenko, Sberbank head Gherman Gref and noted culture figures
Maya Plisetskaya, Denis Matsuyev and others.
"I congratulate all friends, trustees and partners of the Mariinsky
Theatre on the 150th anniversary. I thank you for the attention and
support for the theater," Putin said. The premier noted that their
attention underscored at least its Europe-wide importance. There is a
really very good company with brilliant traditions. The theatre with its
director Valery Gergiyev has been developing successfully, Putin said.
The participants in the meeting discussed the theatre development,
construction of a new stage and other related issues.
The theater celebrates the 150th anniversary of its building. It was
built in 1860 at the site of the burnt theatre. The new one was named in
honour of Empress Maria, the wife of Alexander II. The first season in the
new building was opened on October 2, 1860, with the performance "the Life
for the Tsar" (by Glinka).
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