Mikhail Gorbachev tells Vladimir Putin ’not to be afraid of his own people’ - Telegraph
▻http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/9915008/Mikhail-Gorbachev-tells-Vladimir-Putin-not-to-be-afraid-of-his-own-peop
Mr Gorbachev, 82, condemned a raft of recent Kremlin-backed laws as “an attack on the rights of citizens” and said that Mr Putin’s inner circle was full of “thieves and corrupt officials”.
The former Soviet general secretary - whose policies of perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness) unleashed the civil freedoms that contributed to the collapse of the USSR in 1991 - expressed “astonishment” at the scale of controversial legislation introduced in Russia since Mr Putin returned to the presidency in May.
The new laws include increased fines for unsanctioned demonstrations, a broadened definition of treason, the re-criminalisation of libel and measures to force foreign-funded non-governmental organisations to label themselves as “foreign agents”.
En fait, c’est un remerciement…
▻http://rbth.ru/news/2013/03/02/putin_wishes_gorbachev_happy_birthday_23442.html
Putin wishes Gorbachev happy birthday, 13:24 March 2, 2013 Interfax
Russian President Vladimir Putin has sent a greeting message to ex-Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to wish him a happy birthday, the Kremlin press service reported on Saturday.
“Your fruitful social and research activities and your active involvement in essential charity and educational projects have rightfully won you deep respect. It is important that you are attaching unyielding significance to the implementation of significant initiatives in the international cooperation area and are seeking to promote Russia’s authority in the world by your multifaceted work,” Putin said in his greeting message to Gorbachev.