On December 26, Desmond Tutu, a prominent figure of the South African liberation movement, Archbishop Emeritus of the Anglican Church of South Africa and Nobel Peace prize laureate, died aged 90.

Tutu took an active part in the fight against the apartheid regime in South Africa and in the subsequent formation of a democratic civil society in the country. He will be remembered in Russia as an outstanding human rights defender and spiritual leader who was highly respected not only in South Africa but throughout the world.