Jacques Chirac (right) and his wife Bernadette were endlessly fascinated with Russian culture. (In the photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila greet the Chiracs in St. Petersburg in 2006)
Photo: Dmitry Azarov
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Jacques Chirac Receives State Prize
Former French president Jacques Chirac has been awarded the 2007 State Prize of the Russian Federation for humanitarian activities, it was announced yesterday. The award acknowledges Chirac’s services in the development of cultural ties between France and Russia. Chirac, who translated Pushkin’s Evgeny Onegin into French many years ago, is known for his long-time interest in Russian culture and for his friendship with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The State Prize is the only Russian state prize that can be given to a foreigner. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the decree on the award at the recommendation of the President’s Council on Science and Council on Culture and the Arts.
Chirac was known during his presidency not only for his admiration of Russian culture, but for his closeness to Putin. Chirac was criticized in the West for supporting Moscow in many issues. The two leaders’ friendship got off to a rocky start, however. Putin ignored numerous invitations to visit France and did not include Paris on the itinerary of his first visit to Europe. In 2000, however, Putin met with Chirac after the European Union – Russia summit in Paris and their relations blossomed. Then they were unified when France, Germany and Russia refused to support the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Meanwhile, criticism of Russia’s record on Chechnya, democracy and human rights gradually disappeared in official statements by France. France and Germany also tempered the desires of many new members of the EU to take a harsher tone in relation to Russia.
In 2006, Chirac awarded Putin the French order of the Legion of Honor. That award was widely criticized in France and beyond its borders. Reporters without Borders called the award “unworthy of France” and “an insult to those who fight for freedom of speech in Russia.” Chirac was in the center of a number of scandals when he left office last year, the same year he received the Russian State Prize for.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 21, 2008
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