NYC.GOV: Members of the FDNY Hockey Team joined representatives from the Russian American Foundation (RAF) on May 4, to celebrate the FDNY’s win against the EMERCOM Russian firefighters in Moscow on Apr. 27. “Our teamwas able to bring home the victory, but more importantly, they were able to continue the strong relationship we have with our fellow firefighters in Russia,” Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said at the event at Mari Vanna restaurant in Manhattan. read more

UNIFORMED FIREFIGHTER ASSOCIATION: A team of New York firefighters battling with the Emergency Services Ministry squad on Friday in a rematch in Moscow of a game Russia won last year. It may not have been as momentous a victory as the legendary “Miracle on Ice,” but for a group of New York City firefighters it was just as satisfying. read more

MOSCOW TIMES:  A team of New York firefighters battling with the Emergency Services Ministry squad on Friday in a rematch in Moscow of a game Russia won last year. It may not have been as momentous a victory as the legendary “Miracle on Ice,” but for a group of New York City firefighters it was just as satisfying. After losing to Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry team in New York last year, the FDNY hockey team exacted sweet revenge in a rematch in Moscow on Friday, acing a hard-fought 6-5 win in a shootout. read more

EMERCOM OF RUSSIA:  On the eve of the Day of Fire Protection of the Russian Federation, Hockey Club Legends of Hockey in cooperation with EMERCOM of Russia and Russian-American Foundation – a member of culture working group acting in the framework of the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission presents ice hockey tournament Battle on Ice which will take place from 27 to 29 April 2012 on the rink of Hockey Complex GRAD. Club Legends of Hockey, EMERCOM hockey team, FDNY Firefighters, NHL Rangers Alumni and GRAD Moscow Team will take part in the tournament. read more

KHL.RU: The Russian-American Foundation (New York) in cooperation with Russia’s Legends of USSR Hockey Club has announced that the “Battles on Ice” series of friendly hockey games will be staged in Moscow. As well as the Legends of Hockey, the New York Fire Department team will also play against EMERCOM (Russia’s emergency rescue service) and Moscow Hockey Club Grad. read more

USEMBASSY.GOV: Under the auspices of the Bilateral Presidential Commission, the Russian-American Foundation and Moscow’s Hockey Club Legends are thrilled to continue their tradition of historic matches between the hockey teams of the New York City Fire Department, EMERCOM, the “Legends of Hockey,” “Grad Club” Grad, and “NHL Veterans Club”.   The teams will be battling it out on the ice April 27-29.  Such hockey legends as Ron Dyugey, Mark Dzhanssens, Stephen Wicks, Alexander Yakushev, Yuri Lyapkin, Viktor Shalimov, and Vladimir Lutchenko will participate. read more

IAFF.ORG: April 12, 2012 – For the second consecutive year, the FDNY Hockey Team – comprised of members from the Uniformed Firefighters Association Local 94 and Uniformed Fire Officers Association Local 854 — will face the EMERCOM Hockey Team of Russian fire fighters and police officers later this month. read more

SAN FRANCISCO GATE: Joy Womack, a 17-year-old ballet dancer from Austin, is set to become the first American to graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Russia. She will take her finals and graduate in May, according to the Daily Mail. Womack has been studying at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, recognized as the best in the world, since 2009. She started her dance career at the age of three, first in California, before moving to Austin in 2006 where she studied at the Austin School of Classical Ballet. She has also attended the Kirov Academy of Ballet, the Los Angeles Ballet School and the Yuri Grigoriev School of Ballet. read more

DAILY MAIL: A 17-year-old student from Texas is to become the first American to graduate from the world’s leading ballet school, the Bolshoi Ballet Academy. Joy Womack has lived by herself in Moscow, Russia, for three years, more than 6,000 miles away from her home in Austin, to attend the school. Now, after years of dancing for 10 hours a day and six days a week, Joy is preparing to sit her finals and graduate in May. read more

THE DAILY REVIEW: Liliana Kettenburg has been accepted to the Bolshoi Ballet Academy’s 2012 summer intensive held in Middlebury, Conn. This six- week program is accommodated by the Russian American Foundation and is staffed exclusively by the master teachers of Moscow’s 235-yearold Bolshoi Ballet Academy, one of the most prestigious centers of classical ballet repertoire and training in the world. read more