David Sanderson. "Gorbachev rocks Althorp with his charity"

     There may have been a flight in a MiG fighter available to the highest bidder but it was the offspring of a cold war warrior who stole the show.
     Mikhail Gorbachev’s daughter and granddaughters put the glamour into glasnost last night when they attended a charity auction at the Althorp estate in Northamptonshire.
Irina Virganskaya, 50, and her daughters Ksenia, 25 and Anastasia, 18, were among the guests who had been invited to bid for lots at the auction.
     These included dinner with Gorbachev in Moscow, a flight in a MiG fighter, an artwork by Tracey Emin, a night in a Russian maximum-security prison and a custom-made dress from Matthew Williamson.
     All proceeds from the evening, the costs of which had been underwritten by Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev, were going to the Raisa Gorbachev Foundation, named after the former Soviet leader’s late wife.
     On arrival at the sprawling 8,500-acre home of Earl Spencer, the 400 guests, including Quincy Jones, Salman Rushdie and Orlando Bloom were invited to indulge in champagne and oysters on the front lawn while a choreographed Cossack display team was seen riding through the hills towards them.
     Gorbachev helped to choose the musical entertainment, which included his favourite band, the Scorpions — a German heavy rock group.
     For the young and hard-partying set, including Tamara Beckwith, Lady Victoria Hervey and Claire Danes, the New York DJ Donna D’Cruz was spinning the decks from midnight onwards.
     Gorbachev, who had dinner with Lady Thatcher on Friday, hopes the auction will raise millions for the foundation which helps children with cancer.
     Speaking before last night’s glittering event Gorbachev said: “To launch the foundation at the historic house of Althorp is, I hope, a good way to send out a dramatic message to raise awareness and to bring in more funds. Cancer is a pernicious disease, never more so than when it affects children.”
     His co-host for the auction, Geordie Greig, the editor of Tatler, said the underwriting of the event by Lebedev, a major stakeholder in Aeroflot, was the first sign of the new breed of Russian billionaires engaging in charitable endeavours with the cream of British society.
     “It’s a very significant moment,” he said. “We’ve had Russian millionaires buying yachts and football clubs, this is the first time they have underwritten a big charitable venture.
     “Gorbachev has brought all the warmth which closed the cold war. Who would have thought that the former president of the Soviet Union would be hosting an auction with the editor of Tatler — it’s a bringing together of worlds.”

"The Sunday Times", 11.06.2006