No Dialog Between Russian Authorities, Public - Gorbachev Daughter

Irina Gorbachev-Virganskaya, Vice-President of the Gorbachev Foundation and President of the Raisa Gorbachev Club, thinks that the dialog between Russian authorities and the public has been thwarted.

She addressed the Thursday conference in the memory of Raisa Gorbachev, entitled "Modern Challenges and Values: Women's Dialog", and said that the main goal of the Gorbachev Foundation was "to establish, preserve and develop the civil society."

"In fact, the civil dialog in this country has been thwarted. There is no dialog inside the public and between the public and the authorities," Gorbachev-Virganskaya said. "I do not define the dialog between certain politicians and selected political experts as the public dialog," she remarked.

"The voice of women is less heard in Russia than the voice of other social groups," she said.

The conference organized by the Gorbachev Foundation involves experts from the United States, France, Italy, Spain, Germany and some other countries.

Although Raisa Gorbachev died a decade ago, her family still mourns her, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev told the conference. "We are still a bereft family although we have plenty of activity and communication. We (Mikhail and Raisa Gorbachev) were very close and loved each other. There was plenty of democracy in the family," he said.

He recited several episodes from his family life and said he gained strength from those moments. Gorbachev recalled the recent opening of a Raisa Gorbachev exhibition in St. Petersburg and the release of a book about her.

He thanked everyone for attending the conference and consoling his family since his wife's death. "Thank you for your support, which has helped us stay tuned despite the attempts of changing (Russian) administrations to do the opposite," he said.

Interfax // 24.09.2009