My children: What are they like?

I have three children: son Sayan, and daughters Syrga and Dolzatmaa-Syldys. Now the older children are grown up, they have families and children of their own. Sayan is 30. He graduated from Moscow State Pedagogic University specializing in jurisprudence, and he is working in his field.

Syrga is 28. Since finishing Russian State Social university she has been working at the ministry of education in Tuva. The younger daughter Dolzatmaa-Syldys, the favorite of the whole family, is in fifth grade at the No. 5 gymnasium. She is eleven.

In the remote Bai-taiga kozhuun of Tuva in Kyzyl-Dag village, the main epicenter of master craftsmen of the republic (4 artists born in the village have been awarded the Government prize of Russia), there will be a school of arts for teaching the students traditional folk crafts - stone-carving, making of kogeerzhik, the leather vessels of ancient nomads, embossing on leather and metalwork.  This was announced by master craftsmen from Kyzyl-Dag Sergei Kochaa and Saaya Kogel to the participants of discussion group GPK in the project "One village - one product".

The idea of folk craftsmen was supported by the Ministry of education of the republic, which received the Letter by the Head of the region Sholban Kara-ool, ordering the re-establishment of the practice of "apprenticeship with a folk craftsman".

The home of  the journalist Ryszard Badowski in Warsaw is decorated with souvenirs from all the continents - evidence of a life filled with trips and encounters.

"Six continents" - that is the name of Ryszard Badowski's long-running show about various countries and cultures on Polish TV. "Six continents" -  repeat all the cab-drivers, as soon as they recognize the man on the porch of the house.

When I returned from a trip to Poland in early January, I realized that the house in Warsaw with its hospitable owners has become one of my beloved places on Earth.

Airline "Tomsk Avia" is planning to begin performing regular passenger flights from Tomsk to Novosibirsk, Gorno-Altaisk and other Siberian cities with a light  Cessna 208B Grand Caravan airplane in 2013. The flight weight of this airplane is less than 4 tons, and it can take nine to 13 passengers, as the airline's press-service informed NIA Tomsk .

Tomsk airport received the permission to accept airplanes of this type last week, after which the first test flights to Novosibirsk and Gorno-Altaisk took place.  The uninterrupted flight time from Gorno-Altaisk to Tomsk took two hours.

In order to preserve a unique part of nature, Government of Tuva declared the re-establishment of Balgazyn Pine Forest as one of priority activities of Forest Committee activities for the next few years. The forest is located 100 km from the capital of the republic, Kyzyl, at the foot of Tannu-Ola mountain ridge. The area of the forest massif, surrounded by steppes of Central Tuvan Depression, is 28,000 hectares. This is one of the oldest preserves in Tuva, which is the habitat of a large herd of wild roe-deer among other animals.  The Balgazyn pine forest with its pure healing air is also the home of  the tuberculosis sanatorium of the republic.

Tuvans, just like many other oriental nations, welcome the New Year - Shagaa - according to the lunar calendar. The holiday does not have a constant date.  It can fall on any day between the end of January to early March. But most often it takes place in February. Celebrating the Lunar New Year is becoming more and more popular in Tuva with every year. All the time there are fewer people in the republic who are indifferent to Shagaa. This holiday really unites people. The correspondent of this daily found out what there is to expect for people this year, and what the year will be like.

Do not hold on to evil

For those who do not know it yet, this year people of Tuva will be observing Shagaa during the night from 10 to 11 February.

In Tuva, tomorrow, on 6 February at 16:00 at the Headquarters of youth organizations at USK "Subedei", there will be conducted an ethno-training event. It was initiated by Youth administration of the republic. As Syrga Suvakput, the organizer, told "Tuva-Online", the idea was born a long time ago.

"We wanted to teach young people about our traditional rituals, their history and philosophical content. Unfortunately, lectures and excursions are traditional and young people do not always come to them. But such a creative event as this should attract young people, we thought about it and decided to hold ethno-training just before Shagaa."

On 11 February, people of Tuva will welcome Shagaa, the Lunar new year. Daa-Lama of Ulug-Khem kozhuun, Vadim Dagvaldai, head of local Buddhist organization "Ganden", founded in 2002, will tell us what to expect from the Year of Black Snake, which will be the sign of the coming year. Since 2010, construction of a Buddhist temple has been under way in Shagonar.

"It is definitely necessary to be careful near rivers, lakes and seas. Water will be good for harvests, and it promises a rich harvest for farmers involved in agriculture and herding of livestock.