Vitsyebsk preparing for patriarch's visit

Vitsyebsk's Victory Square is being renovated specially for the forthcoming visit by Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The pace of work sped up after the regional governor, Alyaksandr Kasinets, moved the deadline forward from May 9, 2010, to September 27.

Patriarch Kirill is expected to take part in the opening ceremony. Some 400 construction workers work at the square from 8a.m. to 11 p.m.

This is how it looked before the renovations (Photo by Narodnyya Naviny Vitsebska).

Images taken by the author