On November 4, in the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin presented the Pushkin Medal to two Belarusian clergymen — Abbess Gavriila (Glukhova) and Archpriest Andrei Lemeshonok — “for their contribution to the preservation of the Russian language and culture.”
At the ceremony, Lemeshonok addressed Putin:
“Vladimir Vladimirovich, God bless you! Thank you very much for the hope our people have received — hope for life, for the Light. Thank you very much for giving your life to God. It was all you had, and you gave it to God. And you went to Golgotha for Christ. But Golgotha is not only death, it is also victory over death, it is resurrection.”
The abbess said:
“Venerable Vladimir Vladimirovich, you are not only a worthy citizen of our earthly Fatherland, great Russia; the Lord has blessed you to be the helmsman of the ship of state, which you have wisely steered for a quarter of a century. Despite all manner of difficulties, temporary sanctions, sorrows, illnesses, and enemy intrigues, you guide this ship and all those aboard it toward peace, stability, the preservation of God-blessed family traditions, the strengthening of spiritual and moral principles, and the well-being of every person in Russia’s multimillion population.
“I bow deeply to you for not forgetting our army, sacrificing its life so that Holy Rus’ may live. I bow deeply to you for your care for widowers, orphans, and mothers whose husbands and fathers give their lives for the Motherland, for there is no greater love than that which gives its life for one’s friends.
“… I sincerely thank you for this profound attention to me, a simple abbess who, with the blessing of the Patriarch, heads an ancient 12th-century monastery in the city of Hrodna. This is literally the border between Poland and Lithuania.
“… And, if I may, I would like to speak on a personal level about my late mother. She was a truly great teacher of Russian language and literature in the city of Saratov on the Volga River in the 1950s and 1960s. She loved the Russian language so much, she lived with love, that she instilled this love for the Russian language not only in the students of Saratov, but also, when her homeland sent her on a business trip to Makhachkala, she taught the people and children there to love the great, mighty Russian language.
“… Your Excellency, may the Lord, through His power, who holds time and years, multiply and extend the years of your life and preserve you in good health for many years to come, to the joy of us all and to the glory of great Orthodox Russia.”
Both recipients of the Pushkin Medal had previously criticized the peaceful protests against Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus. They have both actively supported Russia’s war against Ukraine.
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