The Russian Orthodox Church insists on dividing Christians along geographical lines One of the largest hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, planned to dedicate yesterday’s press conference to the fifth anniversary of the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church. But he quickly moved from virtual to real problems. As a result, his meeting with journalists turned into yet another criticism of the Vatican.

Only those who pass the police exam will receive a Russian passport The term “citizen” will continue to remain a purely professional police concept in Russia. This was recognized yesterday by the Duma, which approved an updated version of the citizenship law in the second reading.

The Minister of Justice is concerned about the consequences of the amnesty Justice Minister Yuri Chaika expressed his ambivalent attitude towards the upcoming amnesty for women and teenagers yesterday. If previously 300 thousand people were released from prison annually, the minister said, this year, thanks to the amnesty, it is planned to release 330 thousand. Mr.

Czech Prime Minister shocked Europeans If you believe the statements of senior German politicians, relations between Germany and the Czech Republic are experiencing a “hopeless” crisis. Yesterday, the head of the Berlin Foreign Ministry, Joschka Fischer, went to Prague.

The incident with a Belarusian athlete who allegedly refused to return to his homeland from Salt Lake City turned out to be a curiosity. Ski jumper Andrei Lyskovets took one of the last places at the competition, after which he did not show up for the plane on which he was supposed to leave for his homeland. According to Deputy Minister of Sports of Belarus Alexander Grigorov, there is no political motive in the actions of the “defector”.

Judging continues The results of the singles figure skating performance did not come as a surprise to anyone. At the European Championships in Lausanne, talking about the upcoming Olympics, one German journalist sadly joked: “Even if American Michelle Kwan goes on the ice and sits at the side for two programs, she will still become first.” It looks like this prediction is coming true. But did Irina Slutskaya understand this when she went to Salt Lake City? Of course I understood.

A law on the constitutional right to hot water has lain in the State Duma Sensing the approaching season of spring-summer hot water outages, State Duma deputy and television journalist Valery Komissarov once again recalled his bill, which should protect every Russian family from a long-familiar scourge. Mr.

The precious icon of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was recently stolen from the St. Nicholas Cossack Cathedral in the center of Omsk, considered the main temple of the Siberian Cossack army. This icon was painted at the end of the 19th century and, according to experts, was of great historical value. It is an image of the saint in silver coinage measuring approximately 50 by 30 centimeters. An anonymous person gave it to the cathedral. Its market value exceeds a million rubles.

Kim Jong Il must prove he has a good heart George Bush did not break the tradition established by his predecessors as president, and upon arrival in South Korea, the first thing he did was go to the demilitarized zone. This is a four-kilometer strip with a length of 248 kilometers, with minefields, barbed wire, a million soldiers on the northern side and 600 thousand on the southern side.

Not every airline can afford it “Of the 1,600 long-haul aircraft available in Russia, only 35% meet the requirements of the so-called third chapter of Annex 16 of the Chicago Convention of Civil Aviation,” Yuri Koptev, Director General of the Russian Aviation and Space Agency, said yesterday. From April 1, 2002, this document, which regulates maximum permissible noise levels for aircraft, comes into force in the airspace of the European Union. The State Civil Aviation Service (SCSA), unlike Mr.

RTR CEO left the channel Alexander Akopov will no longer head the RTR channel from March 4. He is leaving the post of deputy chairman of the VGTRK holding and general director of the RTR television channel, which he has held since August 1998. This was stated by the chairman of the VGTRK Oleg Dobrodeev. According to him, Mr. Akopov will begin implementing his own non-political, entertainment television project, although no longer connected with RTR.

But it is not yet known when and to what extent Residents of Chechnya will receive compensation for the troubles they experienced during the counter-terrorism operation. This was discussed yesterday at a meeting of the government commission for the restoration of the republic. True, the desire to compensate for lost housing and property is still more like a good intention.

Our athletes unexpectedly, without meaning to, found themselves in the center of unpleasant events. The incomprehensible doping tests of biathlete Rostovtsev, the forced sharing of first place by figure skaters Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze, the protest against the judges' decisions in the final of the women's freestyle tournament, where Olga Koroleva was left without medals.

Kabaeva and Chashchina were disqualified for two years Yesterday, at a meeting of the executive committee of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), the case of Russian “artists” Alina Kabaeva and Irina Chashchina was considered. Back in September, after the Goodwill Games, the banned drug furosemide was found in doping tests of athletes. Having considered all the circumstances and details, FIG rendered its verdict.

American speed skater Derek Parra became the author of another, already third, world record set at the Olympic skating rink in Utah, bringing his team the third gold medal in this type of the Olympic program. Meanwhile, the traditional trendsetters in speed skating, the Dutch, were able to take only two. By the way, Derek Parra was among those athletes who carried the American flag found in the ruins of the World Trade Center during the opening ceremony.