CROATIA TO TAKE PART IN MARKING 200TH ANNIVERSARY OF PUSHKIN'S BIRTH

ZAGREB, July 6 (Hina) - On the occasion of celebrating the 200th anniversary of the birth of a Russian poet, Alexander Pushkin, the President of the Croatian National Sabor, Vlatko Pavletic, on Tuesday received a delegation of the Co-ordination of the Croatian Friendship Societies and the Croatian-Russian Society. The Co-ordination's Secretary-General Andrija Karafilipovic said the Croatia-Russian Society would prepare many events in Pula, Novigrad, Porec, Umag and Varazdin and the central celebration in the Zagreb National and University Library to mark this anniversary. The celebrations will be held under the auspices of UNESCO that proclaimed 1999 as Pushkin's year. Pavletic suggested that the cultural institution 'Matica hrvatska' and the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences (HAZU), which published translated works of this great Russian writer, be included into organising celebrations in Croatia. The celebrations will strengthen the Croatian-Russian cultural cooperation which was always fruitful for Croatia, Pavletic said. Fikret Cacan, an expert in Russian studies, announced new translations of Pushkin's works by the end of this year. Present at the meeting was the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Croatia, Eduard Leonidovich Kuzmin. (hina) ms