|
PRESIDENT: Yuri Fedorov
TREASURER:
Victoria Szerko
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Vladimir
Bukovsky
Alexander
Ginsburg (1936 - 2002)
Eduard Kuznetsov
Yuri Yarim-Agaev
Address:
GRATITUDE FUND Yuri Fedorov, 535 W 110th Street, #6E, New York, NY 10025
|
The events that swept Russia in
1988-91, once again shook the world. Quite unexpectedly for the world - and
even for those who took interest in the Russian history and its destiny -
Soviet power collapsed and the idea of communism came
tumbling down. As unexpected as it may seem, none of it would have happened
if not been for too many people who waged a war against Soviet power and
sacrificed their personal freedom and their lives for democracy. Of these,
the world remembers only but a few names.
Hundreds of
former political prisoners and dissidents who brought about the collapse of
the communist rule and paved the way to democracy in Russia are
unjustly forgotten. They are living a poverty-stricken existence in the
economic chaos of the post-communist Russia. These fighters for
democracy paid a dear price for the world to become more stable and less
threatening with the end of cold war. They paid with their freedom and often
with their very lives. Now those who are still alive are forsaken
by the world and by the very country they had liberated. As we all enjoy the
fruits of their selfless struggle, it behooves us to acknowledge their invaluable
contribution. This is a moral issue that not only Russian society but the
world democratic community must face.
|
