In New York, in the building of the Yale Club in Manhattan, the award ceremony “Heroes of Democracy” was held. This is the first Renewing Democracy Initiative (RDI) honorary ceremony to be awarded to champions of democracy and freedom. Guests include human rights activists, politicians, journalists, athletes and military personnel. The war in Ukraine, the state of democracy in the United States and the rest of the world became the central topics of the ceremony. President of the Initiative for Renewing Democracy, multiple world chess champion and politician Garry Kasparov spoke about the link between the war in Ukraine and the defense of democratic principles.
“Since the start of the Putin regime’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, RDI has become the organization that puts into practice the concept that today it is impossible to divide the struggle for democracy, for the strengthening of democracy in America or in other countries of the free world, without confronting the forces of reaction and totalitarianism in the rest of the world.
Speakers at the ceremony called the events in Ukraine not only a challenge, but also a test for the free world and a chance to fight authoritarianism. The defeat of autocracy and totalitarianism in any country is always the victory of democracy in the rest of the world, as Garry Kasparov makes it clear.
“Today it is impossible to separate our fight against Putin’s regime and other things happening in our world, because the world has become small. Globalization has brought everything together, and therefore every success of authoritarianism, every success of totalitarianism reduces democracy in other countries and, therefore, vice versa. I have no doubt that Ukraine’s victory will give a powerful boost to the cause of freedom – from North Korea to Venezuela, from Belarus to Zimbabwe,” Kasparov said.
The honorary prize “Heroes of Democracy” for the struggle for the survival of his country was awarded to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmitry Kuleba. On his behalf, Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN Serhiy Kyslytsya accepted the award. The laureate himself in his video message, thanking for the award, added that today Ukraine is fighting not only for itself, but for the whole free world.
“I am honored by the award. For me, it is not so much about honoring my merits as recognizing the courage of the Ukrainian people,” Kuleba stressed.
Human rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, director of the Center for Civil Liberties, Alexandra Matviychuk is the guest of honor at the ceremony. In her own words, she flew to New York with an important message from Ukraine.
“We are very grateful for the wave of solidarity in different countries of the world, which helps us Ukrainians to fight for freedom and for a democratic choice,” Matviychuk said. “When the full-scale invasion of Russia began in 2022, the civilized world said: let’s help Ukraine not lose. But it’s time to move on to another story: let’s help Ukraine win. The world needs Ukraine’s success because its victory will give Russia a chance for a democratic future.”
Other recipients of the Heroes of Democracy award were members of the US Senate, philanthropist Howard Buffett and Karima Kanimbe, the daughter of Paul Rusesabagina, who saved people during the Rwandan genocide and secured her father’s release from prison. She is convinced that the main thing in the fight for democracy is not to give up:
“The message of this ceremony should be to never give up and continue to stand up for what we believe in: the principles of humanity, democracy and human rights.”
The speakers at the ceremony also underlined that freedom and democracy also have a price: those who are ready to fight for them must act decisively, and all those who do so already deserve the title of “Heroes of Democracy”. “.
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