February 23 morning preview

* Russia celebrates Defender of the Fatherland Day

CHISINAU

* Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will pay a visit (until February 24)

MOSCOW

* Members of the Moscow city government, lawmakers of the Moscow City Duma and representatives of public organizations will lay wreaths to mark Defender of the Fatherland Day

* Russia's nationalist LDPR party will hold a rally, "For the Russian soldier, defender of peace" (2.00 p.m., Pushkinskaya Ploshchad, tel. 692-18-30, 692-80-12)

* Maslenitsa, a Russian religious and folk holiday celebrated during the last week before Great Lent, will officially begin at the Vasilyevsky Slope near Red Square (6.00 p.m.)

YALTA, Ukraine

* The Artek International Children's Center in the Crimea, which closed this winter due to financial problems, will resume its work

BANGALORE, India

* 18th International Engineering & Technology Fair (IETF' 09, until January 26)

(c) RIA Novosti. All rights reserved. Reference to RIA Novosti is obligatory upon any republication of RIA Novosti materials