Order Of Saint Andrew.

[Christophe]

MOSCOW, March 2 (RIA Novosti)

Medvedev awards Gorbachev St Andrew Order

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has decorated former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev with the country's top award, the order of St. Andrew.

Gorbachev, the so-called architect of perestroika and glasnost in Russia, is celebrating his 80th birthday on Wednesday. He was the seventh and last leader of the Soviet Union and is well known for his reform attempts, which led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
"I think it is a fitting mark of the important work you undertook as head of state," Medvedev told the former president.

The eight-pointed star embossed with an image of St. Andrew and a blue ribbon was established by Emperor Peter the Great in 1698-99. Late president Boris Yeltsin revived the order in 1998.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin also sent a letter of greetings to Gorbachev, calling him "one of the most prominent state leaders, who significantly influenced world history."
Gorbachev is still worshiped by some Russians for bringing freedom and democracy to the country, while many others consider him a weak politician, who ruined the Soviet empire.

His controversial image in Russia could be one of the reasons why the main celebrations of his birthday will take place later in March in the West, where he is seen as a symbol of the liberalization of Soviet life and the ending of the Cold War.

MOSCOW, March 2 (RIA Novosti)

From the official website of the President of Russia :

"March 2, 2011, 15:00 Gorki, Moscow Region

By a presidential executive order Mr Gorbachev was awarded the Order of St Andrew the Apostle.

* * *
PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Mr Gorbachev, I want to give you my warmest wishes on your anniversary birthday. Of course, you will receive a huge number of congratulations today, and I add my sincerest congratulations too and wish you good health.
Of course, today you will hear many warm words from your relatives and friends, from past colleagues, and from the numerous politicians who appreciate and respect you. As head of state, I want to inform you also that I signed today a presidential executive order decorating you with our highest national award – the Order of St Andrew the Apostle.

MIKHAIL GORBACHEV: Thank you very much.

DMITRY MEDVEDEV: I think this is a fitting assessment of the immense work that you did as head of state. You led our country through a very difficult and dramatic time in its history. We all remember this, all of us who had more or less reached adulthood, anyway. This was an immense labour. People may hold differing views on its results, as you know very well, but whatever one thinks, this truly was a great and difficult labour.
Second, I see in this decoration a symbol of respect for the country that you headed, and that was our common home: the Soviet Union.
Once again, I congratulate you. I will present the state decoration to you on a separate occasion at the Kremlin, as protocol dictates. Today, we will simply sit a while and chat, drink some tea and a glass of champagne together.
I also want to present you with this book. I don’t know if you perhaps don’t own it already, but if so, there is always the Gorbachev Foundation or other organisations to which you could give it. This is a book of essays by Count Witte [Sergei Witte, chairman of State Council under Nicholas II] On the Immutable Laws of State Life. I present it to you as my colleague as president and as a lawyer.
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