Gorbachev celebrates 75th birthday

      Former  Soviet  President Mikhail Gorbachev is celebrating his 75th birthday.
     Thousands  of  congratulatory  messages  have  been  received  from incumbent  and  former  chiefs  of  state, leaders of parties and public organizations,    ministers,   parliamentarians,   governors,   artists, scientists  and  average  citizens  from  various places of the globe, a source at the Gorbachev Fund press service told Interfax on Thursday.
     Federation    Council   Chairman   Sergey   Mironov,   presidential administration  head Sergey Sobyanin, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia Alexy II,  Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Viktor Chernomyrdin,  former  premier  Mikhail  Kasyanov,  Yabloko Party leader Grigory  Yavlinsky, St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko, actor Oleg   Tabakov   and   many   other   Russians   have  sent  their congratulations to Gorbachev, the source said.
     "Congratulatory  messages  have  been  received from German Federal Chancellor  Angela  Merkel  and  Kazakh  President Nursultan Nazarbayev. There are  many congratulations from the United States, including video-addresses  by  former  presidents  George  Bush  and Bill Clinton. Actor Leonardo  DiCaprio  has  also sent video greetings to Gorbachev. He will see them at tonight's dinner," the source said.
     Many  friends  and  partners,  including  former  German chancellor Helmut Kohl   and   foreign   minister   Hans-Dietrich   Genscher   will congratulate Gorbachev in person at the dinner.
     "Naturally,  I  have  invited  Bush,  Margaret  Thatcher and Felipe Gonzales  but  we  are all people of an advanced age and it is sometimes not easy for us to travel. Unfortunately, some failed to come for family reasons," Gorbachev told Interfax.

Interfax, March 2, 2006