Millions on Earth watched in amazement as astronaut Stafford, opened the entry hatch of the Soyuz 19 spacecraft and shook hands with cosmonaut Alexei Leonov. For space travelers themselves, the flight turned out to be something more than successful scientific collaboration or means to a political rapprochement.

Brent Scowcroft is truly a legend of American foreign politics. National Security Advisor to two U.S. Presidents, Gerald Ford and George Bush Sr., military assistant to President Richard Nixon - this list of titles constitutes a very brief summary of General Scowcroft's career.

Yuriy Sidorenko serves as the Chairman of the Council of Judges of the Russian Federation. A Distinguished Jurist of Russia, Mr. Sidorenko has been a member of Russia's Supreme Court since 1993. Justice Sidorenko worked in the Russian federal judiciary for 27 years.

Sakha, a remote Russian region five times the size of Texas, holds strong business opportunities. This northern region is already one of the world’s leading producers of diamonds and potentially one of Russia’s leading producers of gold, oil, and gas.

I recently got a call from one of my university classmates that I haven’t talked to for many years. I vaguely recalled that Andrei was still living and working in Yekaterinburg. I also remembered that he used to be a member of the famous Urals State University choir.

As a custom, with the holiday season approaching, people assess the events of the past year and strive to look into the dangers that lie ahead. Whether we want to or not, we must do this in order to open our eyes to reality.

During the month of November 2007, The Ronald Reagan Building Trade Center hosted an exhibition of the works of the renowned Belarusian artist Kastus Kachan. The Belarusian Embassy and the organization Global Arts Network conducted the exhibit.