Immortalization of reformation epoch in modern Russian history
Friends and colleagues gathered together in September at the Higher School of Economics (HSE) opening of Yegor Gaidar, one of the most well-known figures among the so-called ‘young reformers’ and authors of the massive privatization of Soviet assets that finally set contemporary Russia on the path to a free market economy.
The choice of the place for the monument was not accidental because it was Gaidar as the acting head of the Russian Cabinet in the 1990s that made the decision to establish HSE. “That was one of the last orders he signed before his retirement,” HSE Rector Yaroslav Kuzminov said. “He had to overcome the opposition from the academia to set up the institution. He always fought for people’s freedom to realize their abilities. He will always remain in our memories.”
Among other VIP guests present at the occasion were deputy prime and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, Russian Central Bank (CB) Chairman Serge Ignatiev, former Economic Ministers Andrei Nechaev and Yakov Urinson, HSE’s Scientific Director Yevgeny Yasin and Russian School of Economics Rector Sergei Guriev. Others included Anatoly Chubais, CEO of Russian Nanotechnologies Corp., and one of Gaidar’s closest allies, and Petr Aven, Alfa Bank president and the external economic relations minister in Gaidar’s government, etc. All the guests called installation of the monument ‘one more proof of public recognition’ of Gaidar’s meritorious services to Russia. “Now we have put up a good monument to an outstanding man in an excellent place,” Ignatiev noted.
Yasin noted that this bust is not the last monument to Gaidar, ‘because his name tops the list of the most outstanding authors of the most significant economic reforms in the 20th century.” Chubais called the erection of the monument an extremely significant event. “During his lifetime, Gaidar took part in events that changed the course of our country, and thanks to him, there is no return back to the past.” Aven called the installation of the bust to ‘this outstanding statesman’ in one of the best Russian business universities a ‘restitution of justice.’
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