Putin congratulates Natalia Solzhenitsyna on her 80th birthday
/Yesterday Russian president Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory message to Natalia Solzhenitsyna, the author’s widow, on the occasion of her 80th birthday. The message reads, in part:
“You have devoted your life, energy, and creative gift to promoting charity and enlightenment; you stood at the origins of important educational and humanitarian projects, such as the Museum of Russia Abroad, which has become the centre for preserving a huge stratum of Russian history and culture, as related to the émigré community, its lifestyles and traditions.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s works are an integral and very important part of Russia’s cultural heritage. You were and still are this great writer’s soulmate as well as closest comrade-in-arms; you are doing a lot to preserve his works and ideas and are handing down to posterity the memory about this outstanding and unique man, about his role in asserting the principles of justice and democracy in this country.”
And here is one of several pieces on Russian TV marking Natalia Solzhenitsyn’s 80th birthday: