7 days region

On October 20-21, the all-Russian forum "Strategic planning in the regions and cities of the Russian Federation" was held in St. Petersburg. It will, in particular, discuss models of unification of regions in the Northwestern Federal District. Currently, three models of a possible unification of the regions of the Northwestern Federal District are being considered. The forum will be held for the sixth time. Heads of federal executive bodies, heads of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, chairmen of legislative bodies, representatives of big business, the scientific and expert community are invited to participate in it. The forum will also discuss the problems of economic growth of Russian regions, issues of strategic planning of the policy of both regions and the country as a whole. Within the framework of the forum, a set of measures will be developed to implement the Russia-2020 concept. Also, a competition on strategies for economic development of the subjects of the Russian Federation will be announced, and applications for the competition will begin in 2009. / PLN

On October 17, the XXXVI Conference of the Parliamentary Association of the North-West of Russia (PASZR) took place in Pskov. Parliamentarians from 11 regions of the Northwestern Federal District gathered in the large assembly hall of the administration of the Pskov region. Also, delegates of the Southern Parliamentary Association, in particular from the Republics of Adygea and Kabardino-Balkaria, representatives of the State Duma and the Federation Council arrived in Pskov. Parliamentarians discussed draft amendments to the federal laws "On the circulation of agricultural land", the Land Code of the Russian Federation, the draft federal law "On cross-border cooperation", considered a legislative initiative on amendments to the Federal Law "On placing orders for the supply of goods, performance of work, provision of services for state and municipal needs", an appeal to the State Duma on the need to amend the federal legislation on interbudgetary relations and to the Government of the Russian Federation on the need to adopt the RF Code "On Education". Chairman of the Pskov Regional Assembly of Deputies Boris Polozov headed the Parliamentary Association of the North-West of Russia. / PAI

On October 16, General Director of IDGC of the North-West Alexander Kukhmai paid a working visit to the Pskov Region. The program of Kukhmay's stay includes meetings with the leadership of regional authorities, the management of Pskovenergo and visits to energy facilities. Alexander Kukhmai had an official meeting with the Governor of the Pskov region Mikhail Kuznetsov. Director of Pskovenergo Alexander Timofeev and First Deputy Governor Igor Maksimov also took part in it. This is the first meeting of the head of the region and the General Director of IDGC of the North-West. The leaders discussed the prospects for economic development and industrial construction in the region, taking into account the capabilities and potential of the network infrastructure. The leaders paid special attention to the formation of electricity tariffs for 2009 and discussed the stages of transition to new principles for calculating tariffs in networks using the return on invested capital (RAB) method. / PLN

On October 17, an off-site meeting of the expert council under the State Duma Committee on Education was held in the administration of the Pskov region. It was devoted to the topic: "On the law enforcement practice of implementing the Law of the Russian Federation "On Education" in terms of conducting a unified state exam." The event was attended by Governor of the region Mikhail Kuznetsov, vice-president of the Russian Academy of Education Viktor Bolotov, head of the education department of the Pskov region Vera Emelyanova, representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, Rosobrnadzor, deputies of the State Duma, heads of regional bodies of the education system. During the meeting, the participants got acquainted with the experience of educational institutions participating in the USE: the Center for Educational Quality Assessment, the Center for Information Technologies, and the Center for Distance Education POIPKRO. / PLN

On October 15, a delegation of healthcare representatives from the Chinese province of Hunan paid a working visit to the Pskov region. The delegation included heads of health committees, chief doctors of hospitals from the PRC visited the Pskov Regional Hospital, where they examined the operating unit, the intensive care unit and the X-ray department, the delegation also visited the regional children's hospital. A meeting was held with Tatyana Shirshova, Chairperson of the Main State Committee of the Pskov Region for Health and Pharmacy. / PLN

On October 23-24, Pskov will host a two-day extended meeting of the Board of the State Committee of the Pskov Region for Culture and Tourism. The meeting was attended by deputy heads of districts in charge of the social sphere, heads of structural divisions of the regional administration, exercising managerial functions in the field of culture, heads of state cultural institutions. The meeting participants will consider the concept of library development in the region until 2015 and the problems of preserving the cultural heritage of the municipality, discuss the main directions for the development of cultural and educational tourism in the region, the results of the implementation of the regional target program "Culture of the Pskov region in 2007-2010" in 2008. / PAI

October 22-24 in Pskov, the Pskov Museum-Reserve will hold a seminar "Project activities of museums at various levels." It is organized in accordance with an agreement with the Committee of the Pskov Region for Culture and Tourism and is funded under the program "Culture of the Pskov Region in 2007-2010". The participants of the seminar are heads and specialists of branches of the Pskov State Museum-Reserve and municipal museums of the region. The program of the seminar consists of three blocks: provision of information and regulatory guidance on the issues of accounting for stock collections, ensuring the safety and labor protection regime in museums; presentation of museum cultural and educational programs; workshops at the Archaeological Center of Pskov and the Izborsk Museum-Reserve. Lectures for the participants of the seminar are conducted by specialists from the Pskov and Izborsk museums, the Archaeological Center, the Department of Rosokhrankultura in the North-Western Federal District. / PLN

Employees of the Pskov Archaeological Center take part in the II All-Russian Congress of Archaeologists, which takes place in Suzdal from October 20 to 25. Director of the center Elena Yakovleva, deputy director Elvira Koroleva and senior researcher Alexei Yakovlev attended the congress. About 500 reports by archaeologists from different regions of Russia will be heard at the congress. Among them, E. Yakovleva will make two reports: "Chamber burials of ancient Pskov of the 10th century" and "Outskirts of Pskov of the 11th-13th centuries: status, boundaries, topography". The tradition of holding All-Russian Archaeological Congresses as the largest forums for discussing the problems of archaeological science was resumed in Russia in 2006. / PAI

On October 21, within the framework of the International Popular Science Film Festival "World of Knowledge" in St. Petersburg, a competitive screening of the film "Geographical Encyclopedia. Pskov region". The competition program includes a series of films created by cinematographers from Austria, Italy, Serbia, Germany, the USA, Russia, Belarus, and Turkmenistan. Within the framework of the festival, round tables with famous scientists and figures of cinema and art, master classes of outstanding filmmakers, meetings with teachers from schools, secondary and higher educational institutions are planned. Thus, the World Environmental Organization Greenpeace will take part in the festival: its employees will hold a round table on the topic "Actual environmental problems of our time and the possibilities of their solution." / PLN