Medvedev awards Gorbachev St. Andrew order

GORKY. March 2. KAZINFORM Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has decorated Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev with the country's top award, the order of St. Andrew the First-Called. Kazinform refers to RIA Novosti.

Gorbachev, whose attempts to reform the crumbling Soviet system led instead to its downfall, celebrates his 80th birthday on Wednesday.

"I think it is a fitting mark of the important work you undertook as head of state," Medvedev told the former president, who despite being a popular figure in the West, rarely enjoys popular acclaim in Russia.

The eight-pointed star embossed with an image of St. Apostle Andrew, and a blue ribbon were established by Emperor Peter the Great in 1698-99. Late President Boris Yeltsin revived the order in 1998. Kazinform cites RIA Novosti. See www.en.rian.ru