COMUNICATION

The European and Ibero-American Academy of Yuste Foundation regrets the death of the last president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, father of perestroika and a figure who influenced the history of Europe and the world, and sends its condolences to his relatives and loved ones. (31/08/2022)

Mikhail Gorbachev was awarded the Carlos V European Award in 2002 and received the prize in a solemn ceremony that was held on 3 June at the Monastery of San Jerónimo de Yuste and was presided over by His Royal Highness Prince Felipe. The jury of the Carlos V European Award, organised by Yuste Foundation, decided to award this recognition to the former Soviet president for his contribution to the “reinforcement and consolidation of European values and the defence of democracy, human rights and the rule of law and, consequently, his contribution to general understanding and promotion of the cultural, scientific and historical values of Europe”.

During his speech at the ceremony, Gorbachev spoke a few words that have not lost their validity today: “everything that is happening in the world, the new paradigm of development, makes it necessary for all of us to analyse everything in depth and, above all, to do so here in Europe, because very often what happens here in Europe has a profound impact all over the world”.

In that speech in 2002, in which he spoke of solidarity and freedom, Gorbachev asked questions about the future of Europe and stated that “I am still a person who considers that nothing in History is predetermined. We know that the History of Humanity is a history of decisions made by people. It is a history of discoveries and achievements and therefore, even at times, in the most difficult and confusing times, alternatives exist. There are different possibilities and this is essential, and we should, therefore, not get into a panic situation, we should not be bent by the course of events and how they develop in our own lives”.

GORBACHEV AND YUSTE

The former Soviet president participated actively in the various activities of Yuste Foundation and in publications such as the article “Construcción de una Europa unida. Logros, problemas, perspectivas”, in the publication El futuro de Europa. La Europa social y de los ciudadanos, by the European Academy of Yuste Foundation, 2007; or “Tendencias políticas y sociales del mundo actual” in the book Las demandas sociales en la Europa del siglo XXI, published by Caja Extremadura, 2002. In addition, Mikhail Gorbachev was interviewed by journalist Sol Gallego for the book Europa desde Yuste. Entrevistas a los Premio Europeo Carlos V.

Gorbachev was also a member of the jury of the Carlos V European Award in 2004 and 2008 and he participated in the meetings held by these juries in the European Parliament in Brussels. He also participated in other activities of Yuste Foundation, such as the inauguration of the exhibition “Retratos de los niños del éxodo” by Sebastião Salgado, at the Monastery of San Jerónimo de Yuste, on 3 June 2002; the conference “Las demandas sociales en la Europa del siglo XXI”, which he gave at the Monastery of San Jerónimo in Yuste on 4 June 2002; and his participation in the “Russian-Extremaduran Meeting”, which was held from 25 to 28 June 2005 in Moscow at the Gorbachev Foundation.