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Yeltsin Receives Latvia’s Award Outraging Russians
Friendship of Nations
Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga awarded Russia’s former President Boris Yeltsin with the Tristar Order in Riga yesterday. The awarding was timed to the 15th anniversary of the Soviet coup attempt. The anniversary went largely unnoticed in Russia, whereas in Latvia, the first Russian president won his honors. President Vike-Freiberga said Yetsin had received the order for his resolute steps during the 1991 coup that made it possible for Latvia to regain independence.
Boris and Naina Yeltsin went to the Riga Palace in the afternoon to meet Vaire Vike-Freiberga and her husband, Imants. Russia’s first president signed the Guest Book, had a tête-à-tête conversation with the Latvian leader and received the Tristar Order of the 1st degree for “recognizing the independence of Latvia in 1991, contributing to the withdrawal of Russian troops from Baltic countries and building democracy in Russia.” Boris Yetlsin said that USSR’s then president Mikhail Gorbachev made “gross mistake”, opposing democratic sentiment in Baltic states and, particularly, taking a decision to send troops to Lithuania.
The Tristar Order was instituted on March 25, 1924 in memory of the first independent Latvian state, created on November 18, 1918. The order was introduced again after Latvia regained its independence. The order is awarded for outstanding services for the country and achievements in arts, science, sport and national economy.
Russian communities in Latvia said that accepting the Tristar Order Boris Yeltsin “not only betrayed Russian residents in Latvia but also supported the non-democratic nationalist policy” of the Baltic country. The statement says that the August 24, 1991 act recognizing Latvia’s independence from Russia “was drafted in haste and without any professional deliberation”. The declaration, for one, does not mention any guarantees for national minorities’ rights. “There were ample opportunities at that historic moment to grant a stable legal status to the people who found themselves abroad (not through their own fault). However the Russian leadership and Boris Yeltsin in particular failed or preferred not to use this opportunity and left their compatriots to the mercy of fate,” the statement runs. The Russian communities say this decision was followed by a natural reaction of Latvia’s Supreme Council that divided the people into citizens and non-citizens on October 15, 1991. “Responsibility for the fact that the Russian population of Latvia was politically discriminated after 1991 and is still under the threat of a forced assimilation lies primarily with the first president of Russia,” the Russian communities claim.
Probably aware of the upcoming statement from the Russian communities, President Vike-Freiberga said at the meeting with Boris Yeltsin that “Latvia is proud of the success of Russian nationals in science, arts and sport”. She also added that the naturalization procedure, essential to receive the Latvian citizenship, is merely “a formal necessity”.
After the ceremony, Boris Yeltsin and his wife went for a state lunch to the Latvian president’s residence in Yurmala. They went back to Riga by the evening to meet Latvia’s Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis at dinner. Tomorrow, Boris and Naina Yelsin are to attend celebrations marking the 800th anniversary of Cesis. The Latvian trip of the Yelstins is to last three days.
by
Valdis Krevinsh, Riga
All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 23, 2006
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