The official Russian state award “Alexander Pushkin” medal was established in 1999 and has been awarded to a little more than a thousand people. In terms of importance, it is located between the “Nesterov Medal” (awarded to representatives of aviation) and the “Defender of Free Russia” medal.
Its description mentions that the medal is presented for merit in art, culture and education, as well as for the creation of high-quality works in these areas.
Separately, it is mentioned that this medal can be awarded to foreign citizens who have “made a great contribution to the development and strengthening of cultural ties with the Russian Federation, as well as recognized activity in supporting Russian art and culture, including active activity in popularizing the Russian language and literature beyond the borders of Russia . It is also awarded for effective work to bring nations and peoples closer together.”
In fact, this means that Russia, in the person of Putin, has highly valued Gushchin and Favorsky’s long-term support of the Kremlin’s policy, which has resulted in a bloody war in Ukraine.
Gushchin is a historian by education, who has written quite a lot of publications and books about the war, which are distinguished by judgments and interpretations in line with Russian propaganda. He has also actively performed with them at various international events funded by Russia.
As recently as last year, he actively expressed his indignation at Latvia’s “ultra-rights”, who dared to demolish Soviet monuments. In 2015, Estonia banned him from entering the country, but he appealed this decision in court and got the ban lifted. Guščín is also regularly mentioned in the annual reports of the State Security Service.
Favorska, on the other hand, is the chairman of the board of the association “Krievu sabiedria in Latvija” and ran in the Saeima elections from the “Union of Latvian Krievus” party.
It is interesting that Favorska’s name is connected with a very interesting episode related to the scandalous member of the European Parliament, Tatjana Ždanoka. In 2014, at one of the Russian pickets near the Saeima, a surveillance camera and also a witness recorded the moment when Zhdanoka handed over a bundle of money to Favorska.
This raised suspicions that this money was intended as a payment to picket participants. However, both participants of the event denied such a possibility and excused themselves with the legend that Zhdanoka had given Favorska money for watches allegedly bought in Switzerland.
It is interesting that the same Pushkin medal was received in 2012, for example, by the openly anti-Semitic Syrian writer Oela Orsan, who once publicly expressed his support for the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001.
