The Russian city of Kursk will mark the 975th anniversary of its foundation on Sunday. Twenty-six delegations have arrived in Kursk for the celebrations. Eleven have come from foreign countries and the CIS states.
They represent Kursk's twin cities in Bulgaria, Poland, Slovakia, Serbia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and other republics of the former Soviet Union.
An official part of the celebrations will start with a wreath-laying ceremony at the eternal fire and a memorial which is a burial place for more than 3,000 Soviet soldiers and officers who fell while liberating Kursk from the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945).
Live flowers will also be laid to the graves of 12 sailors from the nuclear submarine Kursk, which sank in the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000.
A meeting will be held at the Pushkin Drama Theatre.
Numerous cultural events will add more joy to the celebrations. The residents and guests of the city will have a chance to watch a theatrical show " My Ancient Kursk, You are Ever Young", an impressive folklore festival and a parade of young mothers with baby buggies as symbols of the city’s future.
Peasant fairs and exhibitions of applied art will work. Poets will read their poems. The festivities will end with a laser show and fireworks.
