Medvedev Decorates Gorbachev With Highest Russian Order
Interfax - 5.3.12 - JRL 2012-81
Moscow, 3 May: Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev has decorated the former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev with the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, the Gorbachev Foundation news service told Interfax.
file photo
"I accept the highest award of the Russian state with excitement and gratitude. My whole life is passing before my eyes. I am not ashamed of what has been done," Gorbachev said, accepting the award.
In his words, "we initiated reforms not for the sake of accolades or fame, but because we realized that the country desperately needed change".
"People deserve freedom. They have the right to determine their own destiny and the fate of the country. That was the main idea," Gorbachev stressed. He went on to say: "We wanted great changes to transpire without bloodshed."
"We could not avoid it completely, but there was no major bloodshed. We made mistakes and I am greatly pained by them now. Nevertheless, in a few short years, we managed to cover enough ground to make returning to the totalitarian past impossible. I will never agree that freedom is foreign to Russia, that people do not need it. They do. There are more free people in our country today than ever before," Gorbachev said while accepting the award.
Gorbachev expressed confidence that "the people who recently came out to the streets of our cities demanding fair elections were speaking for millions of Russian citizens".
"Do not push them away, do not look at them as enemies! We need change without chaos, free political competition without societal schisms. This is difficult, it requires maturity and accountability from everyone. But it is possible. I would like to facilitate this and therefore I consider it my duty to express my opinion, to speak frankly with the people and the authorities," Gorbachev said.
"The current generation of citizens and political leaders will be creating a great, strong and prosperous Russia. We need such a Russia and I am sure that the world needs it too. Once again, by expressing my gratitude for the high award I would like to convey my strong faith in our country's democratic future," Gorbachev concluded.
Notably, the presidential decree for awarding Gorbachev with the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called was issued over a year ago, ahead of the 80th birthday of the former Soviet leader. (Passage omitted to end)
Keywords: Russia, Government, Politics - Russia, History, Soviet Union - Russian News - Russia
Moscow, 3 May: Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev has decorated the former Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev with the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, the Gorbachev Foundation news service told Interfax.
file photo
"I accept the highest award of the Russian state with excitement and gratitude. My whole life is passing before my eyes. I am not ashamed of what has been done," Gorbachev said, accepting the award.
In his words, "we initiated reforms not for the sake of accolades or fame, but because we realized that the country desperately needed change".
"People deserve freedom. They have the right to determine their own destiny and the fate of the country. That was the main idea," Gorbachev stressed. He went on to say: "We wanted great changes to transpire without bloodshed."
"We could not avoid it completely, but there was no major bloodshed. We made mistakes and I am greatly pained by them now. Nevertheless, in a few short years, we managed to cover enough ground to make returning to the totalitarian past impossible. I will never agree that freedom is foreign to Russia, that people do not need it. They do. There are more free people in our country today than ever before," Gorbachev said while accepting the award.
Gorbachev expressed confidence that "the people who recently came out to the streets of our cities demanding fair elections were speaking for millions of Russian citizens".
"Do not push them away, do not look at them as enemies! We need change without chaos, free political competition without societal schisms. This is difficult, it requires maturity and accountability from everyone. But it is possible. I would like to facilitate this and therefore I consider it my duty to express my opinion, to speak frankly with the people and the authorities," Gorbachev said.
"The current generation of citizens and political leaders will be creating a great, strong and prosperous Russia. We need such a Russia and I am sure that the world needs it too. Once again, by expressing my gratitude for the high award I would like to convey my strong faith in our country's democratic future," Gorbachev concluded.
Notably, the presidential decree for awarding Gorbachev with the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called was issued over a year ago, ahead of the 80th birthday of the former Soviet leader. (Passage omitted to end)