Monday, March 22, 2010

Gorbachev's Granddaughter Secretly Marries; His Reforms Sparked Rebirth of Russian Orthodox Church

Anastasia Virganskaya, granddaughter of former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, secretly got married in Moscow over the weekend, the Ria Novosti (Russian) website reports today (March 22, 2010).

The 23-year-old Virganskaya married a 24-year-old postgraduate student at the Russian Academy of Public Administration. The wedding ceremony was held in secret at a Moscow restaurant, as the couple did not want any publicity.

Gorbachev arrived at the ceremony with a large bouquet of white and red roses, and left the restaurant shortly after the ceremony.

Gorbachev was the last leader of the Soviet Union and is well-known for his reforms which led to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, as well as the end of more than 70 years of godless communism. The Russian Orthodox Church -- which was not recognized and was even persecuted under communist rule -- has seen a remarkable "rebirth" since 1989 and is now thriving.

Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990. In 1997 he established the Gorbachev Foundation of North America -- under the auspices of Northeastern University in Boston -- with the goal of strengthening the spread of democracy through research, advocacy, and education.

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