January 28 morning preview

MOSCOW

* Cuban leader Raul Castro will begin weeklong visit to Russia (until February 4)

* A council of electors, which includes clergy, political figures and businessmen, will continue its meeting to choose a new Russian Orthodox Church leader (until January 29)

* Federation Council Speaker Sergei Mironov will meet with Mongolian Foreign Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold (9.15 a.m., ul. Bolshaya Dmitrovka, 26, tel. 692-18-77, 692-56-04) п

* The State Duma will hold a session (10.00 a.m., ul. Okhotny Ryad, 1, tel. (495) 692-80-00)

* RIA Novosti will host a briefing by a top official with the Olympstroi Russian state corporation, Alexei Bereznitsky (Noon, Zubovsky Bulvar, 4, tel. (495) 637-50-19, 645-64-72)

* Deputy Federation Council Speaker Yury Vorobyov will give a news conference on anti-corruption legislation (2.00 p.m., Nikitsky Bulvar, 8а, tel. 697-98-43, 697-72-17)

* The Russian Public Chamber will host an international conference to discuss the role of public institutions in the electoral process (11.00 a.m., Miusskaya Ploshchad, 7, build.1, tel. (495) 221-83-61)

* A briefing by Valery Orlovsky, a vice president of Russia's largest savings bank, Sberbank, "Sberbank development strategies up to 2014" (Noon, ul. Vavilova, 19, tel. (495) 957-57-21, (495) 957-51-87)

* A Russian-Ukrainian roundtable, The global financial crisis and Russian-Ukrainian relations

(11.00 a.m., ul. Novy Arbat, 36)

* An international aviation forum, "Russia and the CIS. New investment opportunities and strategies of success" (Marriott Grand Hotel, ul. Tverskaya, 26)

* Moscow's Basmanny court will consider a motion to arrest in absentia Yevgeny Chichvarkin, a former co-owner Russia's top cell phone retailer Euroset

SUKHUMI, Abkhazia

* The ambassadors to Georgia of Germany and Czech Republic will meet with Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh and Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba

TBILISI

* An International Monetary Fund delegation will pay a visit

MINSK

* Russian and Belarusian economics ministers, Elvra Nabiullina and Sergei Zaichenko will attend a joint session of Russian and Belarusian finance ministries

VILNIUS

* OSCE Parliamentary Assembly President Joao Soares and Secretary General Oliver Spencer will pay a visit

DAVOS, Switzerland

* World Economic Forum in Davos will begin (until February 1)

OSLO

* Russian Culture Minister Alexander Avdeyev will pay a working visit

BRUSSELS

* Lithuanian National Defense Minister Rasa Jukneviciene will pay a visit (unitl January 29)

PRAGUE

* Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg will meet with EU Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighborhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Afghani Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta

THE HAGUE

* The UN criminal tribunal for the former Yugoslavia will begin the trial of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic

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