1. Opening of IBSC Managing Board Meeting: Opening Speech of Mr. Konstantinos Simitsis, IBSC President.
2. Adoption of the IBSC Managing Board Meeting Agenda.
3. Activity Reports of Managing Board, the Executive Directorate, Secretariat and the Controlling Commission since the last assembly.
4. Consideration of the issues related to financial, organizational and membership status of IBSC.
5. Amendments to the IBSC Statute
6. Adoption of the Agenda of 21^st Assembly of IBSC.
7. Accession of new members to the IBSC.
8. Other issues.

AGENDA OF 21^st ASSEMBLY OF IBSC

1. Confirmation of the names of the delegates present to the 21^st Assembly of IBSC.
2. Opening of the Assembly: Opening Speech of Mayor of Kavala, Mr. Konstantinos Simitsis, IBSC President.
3. Election for “the chair of Assembly” and “the minutes’ secretaries”.
4. Adoption of the Agenda of 21^st Assembly of IBSC.
5. Presentation and Approval of Activity Reports of Managing Board, the Executive Directorate, Secretariat and the Controlling Commission since the last Assembly.
6. Consideration and Decisions of the issues related to financial, organizational and membership status of IBSC.
7. Amendments to the IBSC Statute. Discussion about the necessary changes to the Statute of the Club, according to the report of the Κ. Simitsis, R. Kovachev, R. Amerkhanov commission which was comprised by decision of the board in Kavala (04/07/2009).
8. Approval of IBSC budget for the economic year 2010.
9. Voting for Controller
10. Free speech of delegates on general IBSC issues.
11. Specifying the date and place of the 22^nd Assembly.
12. Accession of new members to the IBSC.
13. Other issues.

Within the framework of the visit, the delegation discussed with Mr. Simitsis issues related to the reinforcement of the cooperation between BSEC and the City of Kavala and also between BSEC and IBSC.

Besides, they discussed the exchange of experiences between coastal and inland cities - members of the IBSC, on cultural, social and ecological matters. They also talked about the perspectives in the sector of tourism between the countries of Russia and Greece.

The meeting ended in a friendly atmosphere and both parts confirmed that their cooperation and relations will be strengthened.

AGENDA OF THE IBSC BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

1. Opening of IBSC Managing Board Meeting: Opening Speech of Mr. Konstantinos Simitsis IBSC President
2. Adoption of the IBSC Managing Board Meeting Agenda
3. Activity Reports of Managing Board, the Executive Directorate, Secretariat and the Controlling Commission during last time period
4. Consideration of the Issues related to financial, organizational and membership situation of IBSC
5. Discussion and decision on the renewal of the postponed XX Assembly of the IBSC.
6. Presentation of new IBSC website
7. Presentation and discussion about proposed project “European Union and its neighbors”
8. Other issues

Taganrog is one of the most attractive cities in the Southern part of Russia. In spite of its location on the Cossack land, the culture of Don Cossacks has never been prevalent here. For decades of the Cold War it enjoyed the status of a ‘closed city’ due to its defense significance. But since the Iron Curtain fell, all its invaluable treasures are easily accessible to the visitors.

 Taganrog was founded by Peter the Great in 1698 and sometimes is called ‘St. Petersburg of the Don’. Indeed, the tzar intended to establish his new capital on the Sea of Azov. This was not to be, however, so we can see another direction of city development with all the losses and gains.

During its 310-year history Taganrog has witnessed the beginning of Peter the Great’s glorious reforms, the revival under Catherine the Great, the unexpected death (or mysterious disappearance) of the emperor Alexander I, industrial growth and economic flourishing in the XIX c., the influx and influence of Greeks and Italians, the tragedies of the revolution and WWII, the post-war rebirth and emergence from the shadow of communism.

All these pages of the past are traced in the straight streets, beautiful mansions, picturesque alleys and parks forming the unique architectural image of the city. One can find pieces of classicism, empire, baroque and moderne styles in the streets of Taganrog.  The city possesses a number of museums that can spellbind any traveler. The local museum of art exhibits the works by the best masters of Russian realistic painting. 

History can be found around almost every bend in Taganrog. The memorial theater, Chekhov library, several museums, such as Chekhov House, Literary Museum, Durov Museum, Museum of Art and other stand as hallmarks of the Russian culture. Taganrog is the native city of Anton Chekhov, Faina Ranevskaya and Dmitri Sinodi-Popov; names of Alexander Pushkin, Alexander I, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Konstantin Paustovsky, Ivan Vasilenko, Victor Bregeda, Nestor Kukolnik, Achilles Alferaki, Arkhip Kuindzhi, Konstantin Savitsky and many other famous people are brought in mind when Taganrog is named.

Alferakis Palace (The Taganrog Museum of Local Lore and History)

St.Nicholas Church

The Birth House of Anton Chekhov (Museum)

Weathercock on top of the House of Tchaikovsky

Taganrog Drama Theater (1866) named after Anton Chekhov

On May 14, 2009 at the initiative of Taganrog Interregional Chamber of Commerce and Industry the 5-th Meeting of the Non-commercial partnership «International Black Sea Club Business Council» (IBSC BC) took place.

During the meeting the issues of economic cooperation, business connections development, organization of different forums and conferences on foreign-economic activity and entrepreneurship and CCI’s measures on organizations support under the conditions of hard world economic situation were discussed.

The cooperation agreement between Taganrog Interregional Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Pridnestrovie was signed.

]]> http://www.i-bsc.org/en/?feed=rss2&p=126 http://www.i-bsc.org/en/?p=83 http://www.i-bsc.org/en/?p=83#comments Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:39:27 +0000 Rostov-on-Don http://www.i-bsc.org/en/?p=83 Rostov-on-Don  is the city and the administrative center of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia, located on the Don River, just 46 km from the Sea of Azov. Population: 1,068,267 (2002 Census);1,019,305 (1989 Census)

History

The mouth of the Don River has been of great commercial and cultural importance since the ancient times. It was the site of the Greek colony Tanais, of the Genoese fort Tana, and of the Turkish fortress Azak. (See the article on Azov for detailed information on those settlements.)

Rostov-on-Don was in essence established in 1749, as a customs house was built on the Temernik (a tributary of the Don), and soon a large fortress followed. It was named after Saint Dimitry of Rostov, a newly-glorified bishop from the old Northern town Rostov the Great. As Azov gradually declined, a settlement near the new fortress superseded it in importance as a chief commercial centre of the region. In 1756 the “Russian commercial and trading company of Constantinople” set up there, establishing a settlement on the high bank of the Don known as the “Kupecheskaya Sloboda” (the merchant’s fortress). In 1796 this settlement received town rights and was renamed Rostov-on-Don, in order to distinguish it from its ancient namesake.

The Don River that the city is named for is a major shipping lane connecting southwestern Russia with regions to the north, and Rostov-on-Don is an important river port in both passenger-oriented and industrial shipping. With such a good geographical position, the city grew rapidly. As the most heavily industrialized city of South Russia, it was a bone of contention between the Whites and the Bolsheviks during the Civil War. By 1928, the regional government was moved from the old Cossack capital Novocherkassk to Rostov, which also engulfed the nearby Armenian town of Nor Nakhijevan (Nakhijevan, Proletarskiy district now).

In the Soviet years, the Bolsheviks demolished two of Rostov’s principal landmarks - St Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (1908) and St George Cathedral in Nakhichevan (1783-1807). Much of the city was reduced to rubble by the German forces who occupied it twice - in 1941 and 1942. Nowadays, the most conspicuous feature of the downtown is the enormous Cathedral of Virgin’s Nativity (1860-87), designed by Konstantin Thon.

Rostov-on-Don has experienced considerable economic growth in recent years, as the Russian economy recovers nationwide. Numerous start-up companies have established headquarters in the city, the median income is increasing, and the city is being transformed from a place thrown back in time by the collapse of USSR into a modern, industrial and technology-rich hub.

Brief history

Plynius, Xenofonte and Apoloniusof Rodes give us the first information about the city built on the site of Batumi. They claim this city to be well-known in the Antique world and one of the significant sea-port. The name is originated from Greek. In early times it was mentioned with its Greek name “Batius Liman” meaning “deep bay”. Scholars believe that it was here that two ancient cultures Antique and Colchic used to merge.
During the Ottoman yoke the geopolitical importance of Batumi was diminished. As a result, information about medieval Batumi preserved in historical sources is rather poor.
At the end of XIX c. Batumi became the regional center of Adjara and accordingly, it took the central place in economic, political and cultural life of adjara. In 1990-es it became a large center of oil export and industry as well as an important sea-port. The period, when the city was announced “Porto-Franco”, is of great importance too. The turnover of Batumi sea-port had largely increased by that time. Batumi port became the greatest transit point for transporting oil extracted in Baku.
During the Soviet period Batumi still functioned as an important industrial and tourist city.

Batumi today

Nowadays Batumi is one of the very important cities of Georgia. During last three years many things have been and are being done to make Batumi one of best the seaside cities.
In Batumi infrastructure is changing, borders of the city are widening, tourism is under development, number of population is increasing…It is supposed that number of inhabitants will grow from 124 000 to 180 000 in the nearest future. This is confirmed by the fast pace of constructing in our city.
In the nearest 5 – 10 years 120 new buildings will be built in Batumi. New hotels, resting houses, restaurants, bars are being built and new working places are being created. During the last three years several textile, citrus’and chemical pharmaceutical plants were opened.
In Batumi increasing of incomes, attracting investors and developing of tourism were encouraged by working out a new tax code that set profitable conditions for entrepreneurship.
All conditions are being created to make Batumi one of the best modern seaside resorts.
5400 campers visited Batumi in 2000. In the year 2006 this number grew to 10 000. Further growth is anticipated. Supposedly more than 1 000 000 tourists will visit Batumi by the year 2015. Consequently, adjacent fields of tourism industry will be developed: new buildings, roads, and communications in particular.
Sights

The sights of modern Batumi and its outskirts are the oldest historic-architectural monuments, parks and squares decorated with exotic plants, delphinium, aquarium, museums, art galleries, recreational, cultural and rest zones. The Orthodox, the Catholic and the Gregorian churches, a mosque and a synagogue stand side by side in Batumi. That is why yet at the beginning of XX century Batumi was considered as one of the most tolerant and multinational towns.

The name of the city consists of two words: «Tiras» - so ancient Greeks named the river Dnestr, and “polis” - city.

Since Ekaterina’s II times the city executed administrative functions, being the center of the most extensive district Tiraspol which was a part of the Novorossiysk province, then Nikolaev and, at last, of the Kherson province, in 1920-1940 the city was capital of the MASSR in structure of Ukraine.

Tiraspol by right is considered as a large industrial city which basis was founded in XIX century when there were the first industrial enterprises appeared. Today the city is a powerful industrial centre and the centre of science with the developed social infrastructure including nearby 180 thousand persons where more than 70 % of volume of export are delivered in cities and regions of Russia, the CIS countries and the far abroad. The industrial potential of the city includes 42 industrial factories and about 70 municipal factories and establishments. Manufactured products are departed to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Vietnam, Romania Bulgaria, Poland, Czechia, Germany, Israel, the USA and to other countries.

The pride of Tiraspol, the original card of city, are the products of the wine-cognac factory KVINT (it is founded in 1897), that produces more than 40 brands of the products and wines, 15 names of cognacs with extract from 3 till 50 years.

The leading urban factory is also the Joint-Stock Company “Tirotex” which produces more than 100 million sq.m. of the various cotton cloths exported to many countries of the world.

The Kirov factory of casting machines (it is founded in 1924) - the basic development engineer and the manufacturer of the equipment for pressure casting, today continue to work the joint establishments with the Italian and Swiss companies.

The modern electrotechnical factory of Joint-Stock Company ” Electromash ” makes the extensive spectrum of electrical machines, apparatuses, transforming systems for coal, petroleum, gas, mining, chemical and other industries.

Among the significant factories for the city it is possible to name also the Tiraspoltransgas, Joint-Stock Company ” Moldavisolit”, a thermal power station - Joint-Stock Company « Moldavian hydro-electric power station», the Electroapparatus factory, many factories of the alimentary and processing industries, the building industry and of some other branches. More and more powerful role in economy of the city is played by the factories of small business, today each the fifth citizen works on this sphere and more than half of urban budget is formed by the factories of not state patterns of ownership.

For the successes reached in building and overgrowth of industrial potential the city Tiraspol was decorated in 1970 with the Order of the Labour Red Banner.

Tiraspol is not only an economic, but also a scientific, cultural center. In our city operate 10 universities, the main from which is the Transnistrian State University where more than 10 thousand students study on 55 specialties. Amongst teachers are 46 doctors and 226 candidates of sciences, there are made the conditions for the qualitative education, life and leisure of students.

The educational institutions of the system of the national education of the city constitutes 75 municipal institutions of education where nearby 2,6 thousand pedagogical workers and more than 18 thousand pupils are occupied.

The Today’s potential of sphere of the culture constitutes 29 institutions, including 6 institutions of culture of club type, 5 museums, 4 libraries, 3 cultural centers, 118 club formings work. Annually there are 3 thousand cultural provisions for the townspeople.

In the city the big attention is given to the evolution of public health services. Now in sphere of public health services work on three thousand doctors and average medical staff. At present serve the Republican clinical hospital, 2 polyclinics, infants hospital and 3 polyclinics, Republican and urban stomatologic polyclinics, a physiotherapeutic polyclinic, the Maternity hospital, a shop polyclinic, military hospital, hospital of invalids of war, station of first aid, a lot of dispensaries and the medical centers of urban business enterprises. The staffs for them are prepared at medical faculty of the State university and in Tarasevich medical college.

By right Tiraspol can be considered as s sports city in which the special attention is given to the evolution of physical training, sports and work on improvement of the population. In the last season the sportsmen of the city have won at official competitions, the championships of Republic Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus 204 gold, 169 silver and 173 bronze medals, in the world and the Europe championships, at the international Cup competitions 2 gold, 4 silver and 7 bronze awards. Tiraspol is proud of the eminent sportsmen: the honored master of sports Larissa Popova - the silver prize-winner of Olympic Games in Montreal and champion of the Olympiad in Moscow (boat racing); the honored master of sports Natalie Valeeva, the bronze prize-winner of Olympiad (shooting from a bow), champions of the Europe L. Kristja, A. Repida, S. Tkach, V. Pogreban, V. Jurchenco, D. Subbotin, the frequent prize-winner of the championship of the Europe, the honored master of sports I. Samoilenco (box) and others.

For the regular occupations by physical training and sports the city possesses 233 sports structures, among which largest sports complex “Sheriff”. On its central sports arena holds 14 thousand spectators, there are 8 football fields in the complex, 4 of them with natural and 4 - with artificial cover. The football team “Sheriff” became in 2006 once again the champion of Republic Moldova, becoming the sevenfold owner of Gold medals.

Pride and glory of any city are first of all its inhabitants, and Tiraspol is not exclusion. Natives of city is a row of honored people which have glorified our city: the Hero of Socialist work, the academician N.D. Zelinsky - the founder of the Soviet school of chemists, the author of more than 600 scholary works, the originator of a gas-mask; famous bacteriologist L.A.Tarasevich - the author of the more than 70 scientific works on inoculation, microbiology and immunology.

The History of Tiraspol is connected with destinies of the writer-realist, classic of the Bulgarian literature G.P. Stomatov, the painter, the graphiker and theatrical artist J.R. Bershadski, the national actor of the USSR Ju.V. Shumskoi and many others. The citizens of Tiraspol are proud especially of the fellow countryman, the native of Tiraspol the painter-avantgardist M.F. Larionov, the with a world name. 2006 is declared by UNESCO Larionov’s year in link with 125 years from the date of his birth. In the city lived and multiplied the famous fighting and work traditions eleven Heroes of Soviet Union and eight Heroes of Socialist work. For courage and the durability manifested by the townspeople within Great Domestic war (1941-1945) Tiraspol was decorate by the Award of Domestic war of I extent.

We cooperate with many cities of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Germany; among them Kursk, Kaluga, Severodvinsk, Minsk, Nikolaev, Kherson, Izmail, Ternopol, Eilenburg. In 2006 the friendship and cooperation treaty with a hero town Volgograd, and also with Suhum (Republic Abkhazia) is signed. The city is a part of the International Black Sea Club and in September 2006 is accepted in the International Assembly of capitals and large cities (MAG).

Sukhumi is located on a wide bay of the eastern coast of the Black Sea and serves as a port, rail junction and a holiday resort. It is known for its beaches, sanatoriums, mineral-water spas and semitropical climate. Sukhumi is also an important air link for Abkhazia as the Sukhumi Dranda Airport is located nearby the city. Sukhumi contains a number of small-to-medium size hotels serving chiefly the Russian tourists. The city also maintains botanical gardens established in 1840.

The city has a number of research institutes, the State University of Abkhazia and the Sukhumi Branch of the Tbilisi State University (currently functioning in Tbilisi). In Soviet times, it contained a renowned ape breeding station. From 1945 to 1954 the city’s electron physics laboratory was involved in the Soviet program to develop nuclear weapons.

The city is the member of the International Black Sea Club.

History

The history of the city began in the mid-6th century BC when an earlier settlement of the second and early first millennia BC, frequented by local Colchian tribes, was replaced by the Milesian Greek colony of Dioscurias (Greek: Διοσκουριάς), geographically the remotest that Miletus ever established. The city is said to have been so named for the Dioscuri, the twins Castor and Pollux of classical mythology. It became busily engaged in the commerce between Greece and the indigenous tribes, importing wares from many parts of Greece, and exporting local salt and Caucasian timber, linen, and hemp. It was also a prime center of slave trade in Colchis. The city and its surroundings were remarkable for the multitude of languages spoken in its bazaars.

Although the sea made serious inroads upon the territory of Dioscurias, it continued to flourish until its conquest by Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus in the later second century. Under the Roman emperor Augustus the city assumed the name of Sebastopolis (Greek: Σεβαστούπολις). But its prosperity was past, and in the first century Pliny the Elder described the place as virtually deserted though the town still continued to exist during the times of Arrian in the 130s. The remains of towers and walls of Sebastopolis have been found underwater; on land the lowest levels so far reached by archaeologists are of the first and second centuries AD. In 542 the Romans evacuated the town and demolished its citadel to prevent it from being captured by Sassanid Iran. In 565, however, the emperor Justinian I restored the fort and Sebastopolis continued to remain one of the Byzantine strongholds in Colchis until being sacked by the Arab conqueror Marwan II in 736.

Afterwards, the town came to be known as Tskhumi, a toponym which is frequently related to the Svan for “hot”. Georgian scholars sometimes explain it as meaning the “hornbeam tree” in Georgian. Restored by the kings of Abkhazia from the Arab devastation, it particularly flourished during Georgia’s “golden age” in the 12th-13th centuries, when Tskhumi became a center of traffic with the European maritime powers, particularly with the Republic of Genoa. The Genoese established their short-lived trading factory at Tskhumi early in the 14th century.

The Ottoman navy occupied the town in 1451, but for a short time. Later contested between the princes of Abkhazia and Mingrelia, Tskhumi finally fell to the Turks in the 1570s. The new masters heavily fortified the town and called it Sohumkale, with kale meaning “fort” but the first part of the name of disputed origin. It may represent Turkish su, “water”, and kum, “sand”, but is more likely to be an alteration of its earlier Georgian name. At the request of the pro-Russian Abkhazian prince, the town was stormed by the Russian Marines in 1810 and turned, subsequently, into their major outpost in the North West Caucasus. Sukhumi was declared the seaport in 1847 and was directly annexed to the Russian Empire after the ruling Shervashidze princely dynasty was ousted by the Russian authorities in 1864. During the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878, the town was temporarily controlled by the Ottoman forces and Abkhaz-Adyghe rebels.

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Sukhumi quayFollowing the Russian Revolution of 1917, the town and Abkhazia in general were engulfed in the chaos of the Russian Civil War. A short-lived Bolshevik government was suppressed in May 1918 and Sukhumi was incorporated into the Democratic Republic of Georgia as a residence of the autonomous People’s Council of Abkhazia and the headquarters of the Georgian governor-general. The Red Army and the local revolutionaries took the city from the Georgian forces on March 4 1921, and declared Soviet rule. Sukhumi functioned as the capital of the “Union treaty” Abkhaz Soviet Socialist Republic associated with the Georgian SSR from 1921 until 1931, when it became the capital of the Abkhazian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic within the Georgian SSR. By 1989, Sukhumi had 110,000 inhabitants and was one of the most prosperous cities of Georgia. Many holiday dachas for Soviet leaders were situated there.

Beginning with the 1989 riots, Sukhumi was a centre of the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict which damaged much of the city. During the Abkhaz siege of Sukhumi (1992-1993), the city and its environs suffered almost daily air strikes and artillery shellings, with heavy civilian casualties.On September 27, 1993 the battle for Sukhumi was concluded by a full-scale campaign of ethnic cleansing against its majority Georgian population (see Sukhumi Massacre), including members of the Abkhaz government (Zhiuli Shartava, Raul Eshba, etc) and mayor of Sukhumi Guram Gabiskiria. Although the city has been relatively peaceful and partially rebuilt, it is still suffering the after-effects of the war, and it has not regained its earlier ethnic diversity. Its population in 2003 was 43,716, compared to about 120,000 in 1989.