Russian leaders attend Christmas services.

MOSCOW, January 7 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is
attending an Orthodox Christmas night service at the Cathedral of Christ
the Saviour in Moscow, Russia's main church, together with his wife
Svetlana.

The Russian president pays visits to the church on days of big
religious holidays. Medvedev used to visit the Cathedral of Christ the
Saviour, Russia's main church, for Christmas and the Easter when he was
the first deputy prime minister and the Kremlin administration chief.
Medvedev was present at the Christmas service at the Cathedral of
Christ the Saviour last year.
Members of the Russian government, deputies of the Russian State Duma,
members of the Federation Council and prominent public figures are also
attending the service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is celebrating Christmas in
Kostroma, a historic city in central Russia, located on the banks of the
Volga River.
He is attending a Christmas night service at the Church of Holy
Martyrs Alexander and Antonina of Rome together with its parishioners in
the village of Selishche in the outskirts of Kostroma.
The village that was first mentioned in the 16th century is located on
the right bank of the Volga River. Two wooden churches used to stand there
early in the 17th century. In the 18th century the local landlords
allocated funds for the construction of a stone church that replaced the
two wooden ones. The stone church has survived until today.
The church has a Sunday school for children. In summer, it organizes
an Orthodox children's camp.


. A bomb thrower shot sets gas filling station ablaze in Ingushetia.

NAZRAN, Ingushetia, January 7 (Itar-Tass) - A gas filling station
located between the Pliyevo village and the town of Karabulak in
Ingushetia was attacked from a grenade launcher late on Wednesday.
One of the gas pumps went on fire but the blaze was contained and
localized. No one was hurt, the Interior Ministry of Ingushetia reports.


.Food kiosk attacked in Inrush capital, saleswoman killed.

NAZRAN, Ingushetia, January 7 (Itar-Tass) - A food kiosk has been
attacked in Nazran, the capital of Ingushetia, a republic in the North
Caucasus. The saleswoman is dead.
"Unidentified gunmen opened fire from automatic weapons at a food
kiosk located on Gairbek-Khadzhi street in Nazran at around 19:40 Moscow
time on Wednesday. The saleswoman was wounded and died in hospital later,"
a spokesperson for the Ingush Interior Ministry told Itar-Tass.
A search operation has been launched to detain the attackers.

. Two more regiments to be equipped with Topol-M missiles.

MOSCOW, January 7 (Itar-Tass) - Another two regiments equipped with
the Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles will be put on combat duty
in the Russian Strategic Purpose Rocket Troops in 2010, Colonel Vadim
Koval, a spokesman for the Strategic Purpose Rocket Troops, told Itar-Tass
on Wednesday.
He said that the total number of regiments equipped with the Topol-M
missiles would increase from seven to nine.


.Christmas service ends, Medvedev & patriarch Kirill swap gifts.

MOSCOW, January 7 (Itar-Tass) - A night Christmas service ended at the
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour at 2 o'clock in the morning on Thursday.
It was attended by more than 5,000 people. Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev and his wife Svetlana were among those present.
After the liturgy the president and the head of the Russian Orthodox
Church, Patriarch Kirill, exchanged Christmas gifts in the altar. Dmitry
Medvedev presented a modern hand-written New Testament with miniatures to
Patriarch Kirill, while the head of the Russian Orthodox Church gave a
four-volume edition of the works of Russian writers and poets of the
14th-20th centuries to President Medvedev.
Sixteen television channels and dozens of photo reporters, including
correspondents from Germany, the United States, France and Turkey,
broadcast the Christmas night service live. The Russian television channel
"Russia Today" delivered live broadcasts to the Arab and Spanish-speaking
countries.
Archbishop Antonio Mennini, Vatican's representative in Russia, was
present at the service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
Patriarch Kirill extended Christmas greetings to all those who
gathered in the cathedral. He thanked the country's leadership and all
Russians for their firmness demonstrated in the 2009 crisis year. The past
year was vital for the establishment of national identity.

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