The meeting devoted to forest industry development was chaired by Sergei Donskoi, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation.
The competitions were held during the speedskating World Cup season at Thialf Oval in Heerenveen (the Netherlands).
In Russia, the New Year holiday trumps even Christmas in importance, and major celebrations take place all over the country in recognition of the day.
The ISU Speed Skating World Cup was held in Holland from December 11 to 16. Artyom Kuznetsov represented Russia at these competitions.
Vologda is hosting an international conference devoted to foreign economic activity on December 10-11.