The state premium has ceased to be an instrument of state policy The State Prize for Literature and Art in its current form is not meaningful. A child of totalitarianism, in an era when the state ceased to have its own goals in the field of artistic creativity, it turned into a convenient way of distributing material assistance, awarded according to the totality of merit.

Two Spanish travel agencies, whose services are used by a significant portion of Russian tourists visiting the Iberian Peninsula, have merged. Their Russian partners are now forced to deny rumors that they too will soon unite. In November last year, the financial and trading group Grupo Serhs, SA (owning, in particular, a chain of hotels in Spain) agreed to exchange shares with the travel agency Tropikal Tours SA.

The Russian Foreign Ministry warned America about the danger that threatens it On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov spoke at a meeting of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. The head of Russian diplomacy outlined in his speech Moscow’s current priorities in the field of international security. Mr. Ivanov's speech was intended to convince the leading world powers that Russia was adjusting the tactics of its foreign policy actions.

Senators hope for the president's help A real war between the government and some senators broke out over a new system for distributing fishing quotas introduced by the Cabinet of Ministers. According to the government decree, part of the quotas will be sold at special auctions.

Admiral Kuroyedov defends the Navy The Arbitration Court yesterday extended for two months the monitoring procedure at the Kronstadt Marine Plant (KMZ), which was introduced at the end of November 2000 at the request of one of the instrument-making companies in St. Petersburg. The Federal Service for Financial Recovery (FSFR) is confident that a two-month deferment will enable creditors to sign a settlement agreement with the debtor.

He became 48-year-old Nazir Khapsirokov. The scope of his responsibilities will be determined in the near future. Until recently, Mr. Hapsirokov headed the affairs department of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office. In this post, which he has held since 1994, he managed to outlive several prosecutors general. "TIME FOR NEWS"

The head of the financial department of Media-Most, Anton Titov, was transferred yesterday from the Butyrsky detention center to the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention center. He was transferred due to Titov’s complaints about deteriorating health and due to the exacerbation of chronic diseases. This was announced by the head of the investigative group in the criminal case of Media-Most, Valery Nikolaev.

The British are against the single currency, but consider it inevitable British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, in an interview with the BBC yesterday, confirmed the government's long-standing promise to hold a referendum on London's accession to the single European currency "when the conditions are ripe for this." “Yes to sex, drugs and rock and roll, no to the euro!” - this is how, it seems, the slogan of progressive British youth has changed.

Human rights activists insist on extending the deadline for re-registration of religious associations Thirty percent of religious organizations in Russia did not have time to re-register with the Ministry of Justice before December 31, 2000, as required by the current version of the law “On Freedom of Conscience.” This was reported yesterday by human rights activists who gathered at a round table dedicated to the state of freedom of conscience in the country.

The world is facing another flu pandemic The flu has already covered the eastern territories of our country, Siberia, and the Urals. The epidemic is developing most powerfully in Chelyabinsk and the Chelyabinsk region, in Yekaterinburg. In Moscow, the epidemic threshold is considered crossed when the number of flu patients reaches 30 thousand per week.

The banker invites SBS depositors to become his partners Yesterday, the “hotline” of the former owner of SBS-Agro, Alexander Smolensky, began operating, promising “20 thousand desperate depositors” to the best of his ability “on an individual basis to find a mutually acceptable solution” to repay the bank’s debts. As the newspaper Vremya Novostey managed to find out, investors are invited to join the non-profit partnership “First Share Company”, established by Mr.

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Jascha Heifetz By some supernatural coincidence, or perhaps by some pattern, almost all the great violinists of the 20th century were born in Russia. Even those who were formally born outside the vast and mysterious country had Russian roots.

Former employee of the National Security Committee of Kazakhstan, 40-year-old Viktor Gurin, who was on the international wanted list for two years, was recently detained in Krasnoyarsk. Gurin fled Kazakhstan, where he was accused of illegal arms trafficking. Now the detainee is in the Krasnoyarsk pre-trial detention center. Gurin denies his guilt, claiming that the case brought against him is completely fabricated. He also said that he intended to seek political asylum in Russia.

On February 4, the capital of Colorado will host one of the most significant events of the season in the National Hockey League. Namely, the 51st All Stars match, in which irreconcilable opponents will once again meet: the teams of North America and the world (Europe). They will “cross clubs” for the 4th time in a row. Their first fundamental rivalry took place in 1998 in Vancouver.

Boris Fedorov asks questions Private shareholders of Gazprom, owning 10.008% of its shares, yesterday notified the chairman of the board of the concern, Rem Vyakhirev, in writing about the involvement of Deloitte & Touche CIS for an independent audit of the gas corporation. This was announced yesterday at a press conference by member of the board of directors of Gazprom Boris Fedorov and general director of Deloitte & Touche CIS Dan Koch.