MOSCOW. July 25 (Interfax) - On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Tatiana Sapunova in his Kremlin office. Sapunova is the woman who was injured by an explosion a few months ago when she tried to remove an anti-Semitic road sign on Kiev highway outside Moscow.
Putin told Sapunova that he had signed a decree awarding her the Order of Courage.
"What you did is a courageous and moral step which is very important for our country," Putin said. "Unfortunately, extremist outrages occur not only in Russia, but also in other countries, particularly in so-called developed countries," he said.
"In any country, the expansion of extremism undermines the fundamentals of the state. In a multiethnic and multiconfessional country, it will be absolutely detrimental. Allowing the germ of chauvinism to spread, be it ethnic or religious, would destroy the country," Putin said.
Those who incite or carry out such outrages "either conscientiously destroy the country or do not know what they are doing because of their limited intellectual capacity," he said.
"What you did was more than just a courageous act. You showed that, thank God, there are people in Russia who understand what is going on and are prepared to fight such outrages. Such people make up a majority, and that is why what you did is so very important," Putin said.
Putin expressed the hope that with the aid of foreign and Russian doctors Sapunova will regain full health.
Sapunova thanked the president for the award and said that it pleased both herself and the numerous people who have been helping her. "Those who would do what I did certainly make up a majority. There are quite a few of them. I did not know this until I saw how many people helped me. I mean not only doctors, but also people who I did not know who gave me flowers and thanked me," she said.