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Without specifying the reasons, the Mayoralty and the Ministry of Culture of the German city of Kassel cancelled the exhibition "Welcome to Sochi-2014", said Vasily Slonov, the author of the works, a painter from Krasnoyarsk. The opening of the exhibition of satirical posters about the Winter Olympics in Sochi had been scheduled for January 31.

The cruise liner Thomson Spirit has moored at the Imereti Port of Sochi ready to accommodate guests of the Winter Olympics. Floating hotel can house more than 1200 people.

At the session of the Moscow City Court (MCC) that considers the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, an observer of the "Novaya Gazeta", the jurors were shown the pistol that killed her. Besides, the court questioned the journalist's daughter Vera Politkovskaya.

At the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi the Russian national team will consist of 78 athletes from 17 regions, Vitaly Mutko, the Russian Minister of Sports, has announced today; in total, the Russia's delegation will include 195 persons.

As reported by the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), all the events dedicated to welcoming the Olympic Flame in Grozny, the Chechen capital, passed in a calm atmosphere; no accidents or serious incidents have been recorded.

Russia needs no help from the NATO in ensure security of the Sochi Olympics – it is enough to operate the Security Headquarters, where the participating countries of the Olympic Games will be presented, said the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

On Tuesday, in Magas, the capital of Ingushetia, about ten thousand people welcomed the Olympic Torch Relay in the main street. They came from many villages and towns of the republic.

The "Fund for Fighting Corruption" created by the oppositionist Alexei Navalny has launched a new project "Encyclopaedia of Expenses – Price of Olympiad", which tracks the costs of organizing and hosting the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Ilya Djus, the official representative of the Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, has treated the research of the Fund as "incorrect".

Human rights violations, increased pressure on the Salafi community and formation of people's militia – these are the unsatisfactory results of Ramazan Abdulatipov, who is heading the Republic of Dagestan exactly for one year. This is a joint opinion of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", the Human Rights Watch (HRW), the International Crisis Group (ICG) and the human rights organization "Mothers of Dagestan".

The authorities of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) had to shorten – because of bad weather – the route of the Olympic Torch Relay in the territory of the republic. Local mountain climbers fear that severe weather conditions may complicate the scheduled lift of the 2014 Games Flame to Mount Elbrus.

The refugees living in Ingushetia intend to hold, on the opening day of the Olympic Games in Sochi – on February 7 – a flash mob, aiming to draw the authorities' attention to their unresolved housing problems, said Zarema Evloeva, one of the organizers of the action.

Grozny residents argue that civil servants, employees of budget-funded organizations and university students of the republic were forcibly recruited to participate in the celebrations on the arrival of the Olympic Torch Relay in Chechnya.

Thomas Bach, the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has stated that during the Winter Olympics in Sochi members of sexual minorities, whether guests or athletes, will face no discrimination. An LGBT activist Nikolai Alekseev is also sure that the Olympics will pass without any scandals of homosexual nature.

Relatives of the residents of the Khasavyurt District, who had been detained after the explosion in front of the GIBDD (traffic police) building in Pyatigorsk, have filed an application to the HRC "Memorial" in Dagestan for assistance in establishing their whereabouts and admission of advocates to them, said Elena Denisenko, the HRC's lawyer in Dagestan.

The statements of Ramazan Abdulatipov, who has been leading the Republic of Dagestan exactly for one year, were not in line with his practical activities. Major questions arise in relation to his cadre policy; while creating districts in the territory of the republic does not look an optimal management decision, said the experts questioned by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In the Azerbaijani town of Evlakh, a 45-year-old Nizami Kerimov made a self-immolation attempt in front of the district centre of social protection of population in protest against the refusal to pay him the targeted social benefits, said his sister. The victim's condition is grave; he is conscious but cannot speak, doctors report.

Boris Loktionov, the state prosecutor, said at the trial for the journalist's murder at the Moscow City Court (MCC) that the motive behind Anna Politkovskaya's murder was in her publications. The defendants' advocates have reiterated their clients' innocence.

At least 14 people suffered from the armed conflict in Northern Caucasus during the week from January 20 to January 26, 2014; of them, nine persons were lost and five wounded. These are the results of the calculations made by the "Caucasian Knot" based on its own materials and information from other open sources.

In Dagestan, the welcoming ceremony of the Olympic Flame was held at the "Anji Arena" Stadium, in the presence of about 20,000 spectators, the spokesman of the relay organizing committee told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In Dagestan, at the "Anji Arena" Stadium the ceremony of honouring the Olympic Flame was over. Students of the Kaspiysk Medical College were sent to the event as spectators in order to increase the audience, young people report.