Джульетта Козаева

The South Ossetian leadership has extended the term of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Republic. The decision was taken today at a meeting of the Government of the Republic, which was held under the chairmanship of the President Leonid Tibilov. Deputy Foreign Minister Alan Kochiev noted that the tenure of the ICRC in South Ossetia would end on November 1 and proposed to extend it for one year. After a lengthy discussion, the government voted for the extension for six months. The head of state instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to request the ICRC detailed report on the work done during the last year and the plan for the coming year.
At the meeting, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Government of South Ossetia Tarzan Kokoev introduced a draft law "On the administrative supervision of the persons released from places of imprisonment." He has noted that the abolition of the administrative supervision of the persons has shown that individuals of this category committed crimes both in the Republic and abroad.
"Therefore, I believe that it is necessary to adopt this law for prevention of crimes and other offenses by former prisoners," – stressed Kokoev.
This bill was unanimously approved by the Cabinet.
Minister of Culture of the Republic Makharbeg Kokoev submitted a draft law "On protection and use of immovable monuments of cultural history of South Ossetia."
"This law is essential for our Republic. The law is aimed at implementing the constitutional obligation of every citizen to take care of the preservation of historical and cultural heritage,"- said Kokoev.
This bill was also unanimously approved.
Minister of Economic Development of South Ossetia raised a question to establish a special commission to determine the conditions of cancellation and prolongation of debts of small and medium-sized enterprises of the RSO before the public corporation "Joint-stock Savings Bank of South Ossetia," the National Bank and the state budget of South Ossetia.
During the meeting were also approved the establishment of rules and methods and the size of a one-time annual fee for the use of radio frequency spectrum in the RSO.

South Ossetian Orthodox are celebrating today the feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God. In honor of the feast in the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in Tskhinval took place the solemn liturgy served by priests of the Alan Diocese. As the news agency "Res" was informed by the priest Jacob Khetagurov, the Intercession of the Mother of God is a great feast, instituted by the church in memory of the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God in Vlaherna Church of Constantinople in the 10th century.
"This wonderful event happened in the Byzantine Empire, when Constantinople was surrounded by people of other religions. During the night service, among the believers was of one of the Scythians, the blessed Andrew Fool- for-Christ`s sake. During the prayer, he saw a walking on air the Blessed Virgin Mary, surrounded by angels and saints," - said Father Jacob.
Virgin Mary was praying for the people, and at the end of the prayer she took her headscarf off and spread it over the people.
"Then, the city sank into the thick fog, which signified the whole Christian world protection from visible and invisible enemies," - said Father Jacob.
The priest has underlined that for residents of South Ossetia this holiday is especially precious, because in August 2008 the Virgin Mary covered Tskhinval with her headscarf and saved it from the enemy.
"A few people have even seen the Virgin looking at Tskhinval from the heights, and the city was as if in a fog. Then the Virgin Mary saved us from certain death from enemy bullets, covered us with her headscarf, and we were protected. On this day, we thank the Virgin Mary for the salvation and pray to the Queen of Heaven to protect our country and us from all evil,"- said Father Jacob.
On the feast of the Intercession of the Mother of God the whole family goes to church to implore the intercession of the Mother of God.

A delegation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has arrived in South Ossetia. The delegation included the counselor of the embassy Marco Gil and First Secretary of the Embassy Maria Gabriela Ruiz. The guests have met with teachers and students of the South Ossetian State University. At the beginning of the meeting Marco Gil thanked the students and the South Ossetian State University for the warm welcome and interest in the culture of the fraternal Venezuelan people.
"You must always know that Venezuela is your sister country. We have recognized your independence, and are happy to struggle with you for a bright future. The diplomatic mission of Venezuela is always ready to help you," - said the councilor of the embassy.
During a meeting with South Ossetian students the first secretary of the embassy, director of the Latin American Cultural Center named after Simon Bolivar Maria Gabriela Ruiz delivered a lecture on the theme "Achievements of the Bolivarian revolution in culture. Nation - it is a culture." She told about the basic principles of the country's policy in the sphere of culture and the various cultural associations and organizations in Venezuela. According to Maria Ruiz, the revolutionary government of Venezuela follows exceptional cultural policy aimed at the protection and promotion of cultural diversity.
"There are various cultural communities in Venezuela aimed to help the local cultural figures, as well as to attract people to the distribution and promotion of cultural values of Venezuela," - she said in her report.
Great influence on the development of culture in Venezuela had a national association of children's and youth orchestras, literature, films, etc.
"The results of the cultural policy of Venezuela led to the recovery and study of our history and the memory of the people, to the universal recognition of our cultural diversity, Venezuelan cultural figures, dissemination of our literature , the development and consolidation of the cinematography, the emergence of a new generation of artists, " - summed up the secretary of the embassy.
The lecture aroused great interest among the faculty of South Ossetian State University, and students. The rector of the university Vadim Tedeev thanked the guests for the interesting conversation, and said that such meetings were important for establishing friendly relations between the universities of the two countries.
"We are proud of our friendly relationship with the Venezuelan people. South Ossetia will never forget the courageous decision of your great Comandante Hugo Chavez to recognize the independence of South Ossetia. For us, it is a symbol of justice, courage and patriotism," - said Tedeev.
The rector has also said that at the South Ossetian State University will be created a museum, where the countries that have recognized the independence of South Ossetia will occupy a special place.
Vadim Tedeev and the embassy officials also exchanged gifts. Then the meeting continued in the office of the rector. The parties discussed the prospects of distance learning of the Ossetian language at the institutes of higher education of Venezuela and the Spanish language at the South Ossetian State University, as well as the organization in the short term, an online conference for the Venezuelan and South Ossetian students.

Representatives of the Serbian delegation, arrived in Tskhinval to participate in the celebration of the Republic Day, have met with lecturers and students of the South Ossetia State University. The delegation included members of the football team "Dynamic -Trade" - the reigning champion of the Serbian annual indoor soccer tournament, named after Dmitry Popovich, the priest Father Rodevoy, as well as the head of the Charitable Foundation of the Russian - Serbian friendship Roman Ilyushkin.
At the beginning of the meeting Roman Ilyushkin told the South Ossetian students about social, political and cultural life of Serbia, the war imposed on the Serbian people in 1999 by the U.S. and Western countries.
"Within three months, the southern part of the independent Serbia – Kosovo- was being bombed and shelled. Kosovo is the cradle of the Serbian ethnos, here is the first capital of medieval Serbia – Prizran. Now only Albanians live in Kosovo, they expelled all the Serb population, the indigenous Orthodox Serbs "- said Ilyushkin.
He has also noted that South Ossetia and Serbia share common goals and objectives.
"We came here open-hearted; we have played a friendly football match in the name of unity between the Ossetian and the Serbian people. Serbian people are very fond of you; the common pain and sufferings have united South Ossetian and Serbian peoples", - he added.
South Ossetian students were addressed by Father Rodevoy, who noted the importance of establishing friendly relations between the youth of South Ossetia and Serbia.
"You are the future and the hope of the people of South Ossetia. We must strengthen our unity, development of friendly contacts at the level of universities, colleges, schools, at the level of the Orthodox Church," - he stressed.
The guests presented gifts to the South Ossetian University.
In turn, pro-rector of the South Ossetian State University Natalie Gassieva thanked the guests for the desire to establish friendly relations with the youth of South Ossetia.

Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy of the South Ossetian State University Konstantin Dzugaev won the all-Russian contest "The best book on Transcaucasia."
As Dzugaev noted in an interview with the correspondent of IA "Res," he had participated in the contest on the invitation of the Administration of the Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the North Caucasus Federal District and the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Service.

In South Ossetia are taken measures to strengthen the border regime. As the news agency "Res" has been informed at the press service of the KGB of South Ossetia, these steps are regulated by the law on the state border of South Ossetia adopted in 2010.
"The law details the concept of a border zone and the rules of entry into this area, its regime. In accordance with these rules, persons residing in the frontier zone, move freely through it, without any special permit. They must only be registered in one of the border settlements," - said the KGB official.
What about other persons, including tourists and foreign citizens, they need to obtain a pass before entering the border area.
"The pass, depending on the circumstances, may be issued for a few days, and up to one year. To obtain the pass one should contact the border service of the KGB of South Ossetia, having an identification document, "- said the press service.
In case of non-compliance with these rules, the person detained without a permit in the border zone, will incur an administrative penalty.
"People must understand that the frontier regime implies the presence of a border zone with certain rules of its crossing ", - was explained at the KGB.
These rules are aimed at ensuring of the state`s security.
"The enemy is watchful; the southern border is still vulnerable. Penetration of the armed terrorist groups into our territory is still possible. So we have to strengthen the border regime, "- said the KGB official.
The above measures are taken, considering the opinion of residents of the border area. A special commission interviewed the residents of the border area in Dzau district.
"The residents’ responses were positive. They said that after setting up the frontier check-point, the number of uncontrolled entries in this area had been reduced significantly. It has also been significantly reduced the incidents of livestock loss, poaching of animals in mountain regions", - said the official.
These measures promoted normalizing the situation in the border areas as a whole, as well as strengthening of security.

Flash-poll: Today South Ossetia is celebrating the fifth anniversary of the recognition of its statehood by the Russian Federation. What role, in your opinion this event played in the modern history of South Ossetia?

Vyacheslav Gobozov, Chairman of the State Committee for Information and Press of the RSO:

The Day of recognition of the independence of South Ossetia by the Russian Federation is definitely a landmark date for us. For me, this day means a lot, considering that I was the one who started the movement for the state-building.

The Delegation of South Ossetia headed by Deputy Prime Minister Guram Melkoev, will participate in the celebrations of the Day of the recognition of the independence of Abkhazia by the Russian Federation. The delegation will also include the rector of the South Ossetian State University Vadim Tedeev and Member of Parliament of South Ossetia Sergei Lipin.

The rector of the South Ossetian State University Vadim Tedeev met with representatives of the North Caucasian Federal University, arrived in South Ossetia on a working visit. The delegation has included the Director of the Institute of Law of the North Caucasian Federal University Dmitry Smirnov and the Deputy Director Maxim Trofimov. The meeting was also attended by the South Ossetian State University pro-rector for academic affairs Stanislav Gobozov, lectures of the faculty of jurisprudence Anatoly Pliev and Madina Alborova.

The cross procession from the capital of South Ossetia Tskhinval to the ancient temple of St. George, attended by the Orthodox Christians of the Republic, is under way.
As IA "Res" has been informed by the Priest of the Cathedral of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Jacob Khetagurov, the cross procession is taking place with the icon of Our Lady – the Comforter of Tskhinval.