absolutely beautiful welcome to florence and the famous pontiff bridge on this week's program we'll be continuing our exploration of russian culture and influence brought from famous people who live here to current russians who live and work in italy and who wouldn't be happy here with glorious winter sun sensational food and often culture it's the beginning of the nineteenth century saw a number of russian wealthy families to skinny italy has always held a special attraction for russians many cool to each of these the cultural center of the world and with its breathtaking architecture food and style it gets you thinking that maybe some truth in that today dozens of tall companies offer excursions by plane and bus loads of russians arrive every week. with famous landmarks such that one murder conservation bridge in a fancy museum because you're not saying that everyone will be impressed on the

first visit here. still it's amazing here we're especially impressed that despite so many tourists the city is still clean quiet safe and relaxed no you. with the linen in florence for nine years and in my experience russians like not only the architectural and cultural beauty of the city that also enjoys shopping in iraq a lot especially for not a good receiver ideas that. would make is the hometown of michelangelo and the they spent a lot of time living and working in this region of italy the art and culture that have created and contribute it influenced many outstanding russians who came to florence for inspiration and stayed here for a while for which there are many ways talented and skilled italians enriched machine cultural life and vice versa over the centuries to tell you expect. huge

influence in the design of moscow and st petersburg one of the other great things about florence is the shopping. pastime of many russian tourists prices are lower here for designer goods than back home although this next luxurious pretty well it might be better not to look at the price tags. in the main shopping street of florence you can find. a brand that was founded at the beginning of the twentieth century by a russian noble family. in two thousand and eight it's now an international company based in france with several stores in italy. by the russian one. of these three of the russian fashion label reads like an exciting novel the story of the brands you could say is part of russia's heritage and history. founded in paris in one

thousand twenty four by prince philip you suppose and his wife marina the niece of the last russian saw me collide the second and says she clothing range tasseled european and american customers but the prince has a little business sense and two years after the nine hundred twenty nine the street crash ruined his most prosperous clients use of force was forced to shut up shop. almost eight decades after the original house of entry closed stores. has restored the branches for the glory. to our next location now and in a city known as the cradle of the renaissance surrounded by terra cotta roofs a cluster of onion domes each topped with a tall cross is certainly not what you would expect to see in the florence skyline less than a mile from florence is to most these brightly colored domes of a different lines marked the surviving history of russian immigration to italy and florence the russian orthodox church of the nativity of christ.

there's been a russian orthodox church on the site since ninety three built by the russian community in far in time this is something to consider will damage over the years but was restored several times elegant and exotic it matches the city's cultural heritage perfectly reflecting in the true architectural style of seventeenth century moscow today the church is popular with orthodox worship as from all over tuscany. the church of florence houses many historic relics of the russian orthodox church including works by both russian and it's how you artists it's on the market you concert in florence and it's

a place that brings the local community closer together and welcome addition to prison life in tuscany. because i knew most of the congregation of our church consisted of people of many nationalities including russians ukrainians georgians greeks italians serbs and spoke ariens this church is the first big orthodox cathedral that was built initially then more cathedrals and son removed and barry appeared and only five years ago a big church in rome was built that. tchaikovsky the demi the family to c.s.t. a real russians with a strong connection to italy. twenty minutes outside the city well meant to be beautiful scenery vibrant callus. but what has this pod got to do with russian culture. to answer that question let's meet this week's guest. great to meet you thank you very much for your time nice to meet you while we here in this beautiful

and i guess of bad given the question this place is called upon to lead. and there are many beautiful eliz here one of them in fact where we're standing right now is named after dusty of ski he spent a year in the city and it was said to be one of the happiest times of his life. came to florence with his young wife and they found out here that they were going to have a baby and the couple stayed in the city while she was pregnant. also finished the eaters here so she left a remarkable trace in the history of this city. and it's not just. tchaikovsky's but on this life there are many russian influences in florence. tchaikovsky spend seventy years in florence and composed quit of space here she enjoyed florence a lot there whether architecture art and the many museums the famous director to ski also leave here in the nineteen seventy's and eighty's then there was joseph

brought ski but turner who has not been to florence to go up to the model it seems that many russians love it but one particular florence there's nor about this place the city is not too big and not too small and its historical center is packed with everything one might fancy museum goers admirers of there are nations and art lovers is perfect for everyone also those who are into fashion are excited to come here not to mention those seeking good food and wine. thank you very much for your time and enjoy your time here florence. moving on and what other locations in florence are connected to russia one of the most beautiful palaces is still officially named. after a noble russian family who owned it the nineteenth century it was pulled by counted me to be truly a senator and the director of the hermit's harsh to the god son of empress catherine the great palace also contained impressive library which he started to

put together in italy to replace his previous collection of books which were lost in the great. in eighteen twelve. the brutally ends were not the only wealthy russian family who made an impression in florence cephalon much of the city are also connected to the demeter family there all squares villas and monuments in honor of the family members who lived in florence in the nineteenth century and the family emblem can even be seen on the front of the dromo basilica of st mary the flower as it's officially cooled when money was needed to restore the cathedral princedom it off donated a large sum as his contribution mr great to florentine governess thanked him by putting the emblem right next to the main entrance. many russian artists traveled all lived in italy in the previous centuries and the country is still an inspiration for many of their works far from classical but rather unusual controversial contemporary art is displayed at

a russian art gallery in the center of florence. and she stood on galloway has existed for several years now and now we're working on a new concept. we want to showcase work which would combine art blind and sound and would affect as many senses as visitors as possible the want to share that oh it will be not only a visual treat little say heal a person because it will focus and. florence is full of captivating stories and legends connects to many corners of the world. one local met is that if you rub this bourse snout and put a coin in its mouth you will return to florence at some point in your life i'm no he doesn't really like to has poor rubles christian and italian i share many similarities the culture of the two countries is very classical based and complementary in many ways both have a rich history incumbent's a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of arts and design. and from modern

christian french fashion houses to cranes all throughout churches cheap away. the russian connections you can find in italy and you'll be amazed at the results. as tchaikovsky did call florence the city of dreams he said and they had a point but unfortunately that's so that's how we have left on this week's program i think that's the end of our exploration of russian culture here in italy i'll see you again at the same time next week we'll be back in the russian capital until then for me and the rest of the moscow our group by. the.

british. holds. the. markets. to the global economy in these kinds of reports. more news today. these are the images the world has been seeing

from the streets of canada. operations are today. mine. would be soo much brighter than if you moved from france to pressure in some. ways for instance on t.v. don't come. to.

parties top stories the priest syrian army takes control of a damascus suburb with violent clashes the reports of casualties opposition fighters could now move towards the capital center but says the un's due for close door talks in a few hours on a resolution which backed the arab league calls to get president assad to step down . libya's new leaders face accusations of torture as doctors without borders pull out of a key city saying the same patients keep returning but with new interrogation injuries

it's raising key questions among humans rights groups about the people of nato how to break the power. and the public politicians and hackers lashed out against an international online piracy pact a french m.e.p. has quit over there. rallies continue in poland to stop a thinker to deal had a great deal or internet user. growth or wrapped up for your now by you know neil and the grand slam wait moscow won for scotland's finest andy murray tell us more yeah he said tell you what i was watching the match with novak djokovic in the australian open men's semifinal i was even tired watching it he gave his whole we're going to have a look at where the field in just a second. joining us this is indeed sports today plenty head coming up including the stories in.

queens over the course of the russian pair of sweat llama kuznetsova here is some real but claim the first doubles of the grand slam season is just really a. back on track title hopefuls school recover from a rushing by scott to see off atlanta on home ice in the continental. title the top the american pair of spencer levine and kyle stanley storm to doping farmers and. let's get started at the australian open where the murray has once again fallen off the penultimate hurdle the scot losing to novak djokovic in the second men single semifinal things well it started off pretty well for fourth seed murray capturing the opening set six three. were number one joke which would level matters offered up before murray i took the lead following the third the fourth

very much belonging to dzhokhar meaning it was all done to the decisive fifth set as they were that the reigning champion would come to the floor late on joke of h. taking it six three three six six seven six one seven five for just under five hours on court no less rafael nadal he waits on sunday on the way for a major must go on for a brain i now there's been good news for russia on the date and on tour with atlanta kuznetsova and various vulnerable clinching the women's doubles title the per force to come from. i'm against italian sara ronny vinci five seven six four six wavy on cd that is also twice major champion there's been something of a second doubles title to her resume as those were the seven new. to football

where a big weekend of f.a. cup action kicks off later on friday with two evening games in england's tottenham monitor ari reading up well pick the team with a visit to egypt side first despite being on trial for types of asian spurs big favorites to progress and one while following the team that not taught in a modern the cup last year they travel to goodison park to take on everton the colleges have won all previous f.a. cup ties between the two sides now i tell you what i looked it up earlier on the word bunch spock ability is actually a word on a demonstrates perfectly what did in the continental hockey league last night the white on blues had been thrashed earlier in the week by scott but recovered perfectly with a comprehensive win over outland constantine the top report had suffered forced three defeats and said if in the western conference eight points behind third place denominator both sides had been thrashed in their previous encounters and were

eager to bones back in front of russia head coach. who attended the clash it was that very lack of defense if we were honest that allowed denominate to score carbon copy goals late in the first period and the blue and whites never looked back first collected it to zone pass to get one on one and the bog jump bus to russia's international constantin but all in. and just eighteen seconds after the restored to the host doubled their lead this time grigori shifted groom broke away leaving the goaltender guessing to nothing after the opener five minutes into the second and the home team earned a penalty shot by rule and turned away shot by the now must move forward mihailo needs him to keep up wanting the game and the frame and it's corliss in the final period dinner were attacking but the twenty seven year old goalie denied all their efforts however even the best russian at minor was helpless when the blue and white scored an empty net in the dying seconds of the game nice in sealed the final score

at three to nothing with his first goal for do nama your. preparations for the playoffs already underway temptation and pressure is piling up in every game our team provided to be united tonight was a well deserved when. we can start the season. in the middle of the season some good games. in our health this. downside. last too long you know many games have to recover after find our game and start preparing for. this loss at lunch suffered a fifth consecutive defeat well do not seem to book the third place in the western conference with ten matches to go before the playoffs start in same but out of archie. gold and silver medalist fifty plus shank surely gotten a jolt of motivation after being done by his young training partner at the european

figure skating championships author kaczynski scoring in the event short program to take the lead for the thing you'll simply not expect him to put it up to the man regarded as russia's pine for pine top figure skater. stuart the shank about zero point zero nine points calling it is best career i think to date twenty nine. performing a quadruple jump two to nailing the would probably cost in the lead. with the opportunity to secure gold in sheffield with a solid outing in the men's free skate on saturday. the los angeles clippers helping the surprise package of the n.b.a. season thus far the california fed remaining top of the pacific division following victory over memphis on thursday the host jumping to a twenty nine seventeen lead after the first quarter but the grizzlies opened the second with a fourteen zero run of their own cutting the difference to just one point by halftime it was then to and fro until the final few minutes trippers bench one more

williams the most instrumental late on knocking off nine of his eighteen points in the final quarter his partner in crime blake griffin didn't onto his tally during the last dozen minutes but was top scorer for l.a. with twenty thousand children all ninety eight ninety one clippers finished the winners moved to nine wins two losses at home. over in european action turkish side gala tough sure i have claimed a narrow victory against olympiakos in the euro league meaning russian side remain the only on beaten side in the group e. olympiakos taking advantage of a shallow start by khaled tosh drive but at the end of the first quarter the game was tied at fifteen apiece the turkish fishers would then find their rhythm moving fourteen points ahead by time. still not giving up the fight costa stupas with the shot of the t. here his three pointer sending the game into overtime and it was in the extra

period that the hosts finally managed to take care of the gritty greeks edging perceiving seventy eight seventy seven. barcelona who pushed the best defensive record in tournaments travel to mccabe the visitors i played in the opening quarter time but well in the second with the game tied at twenty nine each half way through the initiative then swinging in the couple on giant. favor resample back once and forty come from. making the differences boss a target seventy one fifty seven the result is on top of debates with two wins as many. over the goal for the american jew of spencer levine and kyle stanley share the lead after the first run of the farmers open in california that west coast paraffin in the opening day and ten on their part stanley hundred nine birdies improves the final hole on the twenty four at all. training this nice approach into an eagle on the eighteenth levine also a model of consistency on the day he needed

a late birdie for a share of the lead the twenty seven hitting a great approach on the par five final hole on the relatively simple putt meant he finished tied for the lead with a score of sixty two the joint lowest of his career. now the rugby world is gearing up for another series of six nations bottled starting next month plenty of vines will be in reigning champions are going to have a new coach shell a plethora of new faces in the roster following a world cup exit last year in the quarterfinals the reigning champions kick off their twenty twelve campaign and february fourth against scotland in edinburgh arland italy wales some france of course also vying to take from the english while scottish head on the murray has already been making headlines stating england were origins during the world cup encounter against the scots new english coach stuart lancaster though has his eyes firmly on the future. there's no aryans me there's

a determination in the side to win a desire to be competitive and i like to think that we reflected. really comment too much on what went on in our game i was always stood in the songs with. sixty thousand people. you know from our point of view you know we want to be known as a hard working woman who we're going to. play hard for england. brings us finally to ask that picks were two of the world's top runners a soft power and for campbell brown simply can't wait until the twenty twelve london olympic games the goal of course for the jamaican sprinter to continue their gold medal winning exploits in maybe my olympic year because my age is moving those forces me so you know i definitely have to put in that extra are you know and . you know to run indoors you know working on the star. is fifty meters was you know room for me the other time but i didn't stop at the finish of the other

things to me i am blessed to have. one. hundred meter i want to be twice and to think of becoming the first one in history to do it three times is great and it's in the back of my head but working hard because i'm not on the team yet still have a child in june and so the objective is to alfie kohn to train hard and hopefully make the team in both events and then take it from there and that's how your sport looks at this hour whether it's next year and twenty four hour art.

well see british science it's time to. go. to the. markets why not scandals. find out what's really happening to the global economy in the country reports on

our. party gets exclusive pointed to therion opposition fighters are taking control of a step outside the mouth. plenty of new leaders face accusations of torture as doctors without borders pull out of acute city sank the same patients complete turning out with new interrogation injuries so. that. the public politicians and hackers lots out against the internet's online piracy

pact with resignations and rallies to stop this eighty opteron deal getting regular internet news or. as g.d.p. figures in the united states come in worse than expected to russia and some friday's session on a negative note but overall the week is strong with the r.t.s. gating four point seven percent more on this in twenty minutes time a business. at seven pm here in moscow this is r t coming to you live with me and he's now our top story there's been a massive demonstrate. in a town just outside damascus that's fallen under the control of the opposition free syria army some suburbs have seen nearly two thousand killed in the past two days and buildings heavily shelled aren't you sara firth has exclusive footage from the besieged town.