With difficult negotiations on Ukraine having just ended in warm Miami, in frosty Moscow before Tet, President Vladimir Putin gathered nearly 50 famous and not so famous Russians. State awards have found their owners – people who defend the interests of the country with their minds, hands, creativity and words. Everyone is in their own field. Nikita Mikhalkov, Vladimir Solovyov, Maria Zakharova, Sergei Kogogin – this is a small part of the impressive list.
The participants of the award ceremony, and today there were more than 40 of them, were taken to the Senate Palace of the Kremlin on two large buses. Here, at the Catherine Hall, noble awards were waiting for them, which President Putin himself would present.
Dmitry Rudkov, who runs the Lukoil technological facility, came to Moscow from Perm to receive the Medal “For Brave Labor”.
“Of course, this is an important event for me. We rarely receive state awards. I am very worried,” Rudkov shared with URA.RU reporters. “When they called me from the Presidential Palace and said I needed to go to Moscow, that Putin would personally present the award, I didn't believe it. And in the morning they said the same thing at the factory. And it wasn't a joke.”
Jokes aside, he understands that his reward is the reward of the entire team, the entire team, the entire enterprise.
“We share our secrets with young people. I don't hide anything. I even say: if you want to know something, or forget something, call at any time of the day or night. The young man needs to be taught everything: after all, we work together in the same team, and I have to trust in him, in my partner,” said Rudakov.
Today Putin awarded gold stars to 7 people awarded the title “Heroes of Labor”. And this list includes not only top managers of the largest companies (such as director of the Kalinin Nuclear Power Plant Viktor Ignatov, general director of KAMAZ Sergei Kogogin, president of Transneft Nikolai Tokarev), heads of large organizations, president of the Moscow International House of Music Vladimir Spivakov), but also Norilsk Nickel hydrometallurgist Alexander Khokhlachev, who was not burdened with positions, status and Chepetsk Mechanical Plant operator Andrei Karavaev.
Nuclear scientist Viktor Ignatov told URA.RU that the most important thing for him throughout his life was “the exact fulfillment of his tasks.”
“What do we all live for? To make life better. And we have to do it this way. Improve production every day. Just love your work and improve yourself,” said Viktor Igorevich, for whom today the Golden Star is the first award in his life received from the president.
Putin awarded the country's highest award, the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, to the head of the Union of Russian Cinematographers, Nikita Mikhalkov. In a conversation with a URA.RU reporter, the eminent director, who has the Golden Star of the Hero of Labor shining on his chest, spoke about the secret of his personal success through the words of classic author Leo Tolstoy: “Do what you have to do. Let it be what happens.” According to Mikhalkov, his main motivation in life and the state's highest awards are “hard work and patience.”
From the hands of the President, Rector of MGIMO Anatoly Torkunov, former head coach of the Russian synchronized swimming team Tatyana Pokrovskaya, General Director of the National Medical and Surgical Center named after. NI Pirogova Oleg Karpov, General Director of the Night Hockey Federation Alexey Kasatonov, artist Evgeny Knyazev, presenter Vladimir Solovyov, official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Maria Zakharova, pianist Denis Matsuev.
Putin was welcomed standing as he entered the Catherine Hall.
“The ceremony of presenting state awards in the Kremlin on the eve of the New Year always takes place in the special atmosphere of the upcoming holiday, when it is customary to consider and plan for the future, believing that there is still a lot of work, great achievements and a lot of good things ahead. I am sure that it will be so, all these expectations will certainly come true. The key to this is the creative power of Russian society,” he told those present.
According to Putin, the real “creators” gathered in the hall – creative people, each in their own field: production, art, sports. “Without a creative approach, you cannot achieve the results you expect.
You are creative. This means that within you there is also a spark of God. This spark glows very brightly. I am sure it will continue to shine for you,” he said.
Each awardee has their own secret to success. The official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova, said from the podium that she worked for the Motherland and devoted all her achievements to the country. For Medal of Honor winner director Igor Ugolnikov, the secret to success is sincerity.
“Only sincerity is important: when you do something, you need to do it truly, with your soul. Whatever you do, your sincerity will always win and will always be successful,” Ugolnikov told URA.RU.
Among today's awardees is also Olga Novikova, installer of radio-electronic equipment and instruments at the Yekaterinburg Elektrokhimpribor plant. Putin pinned the Order of Friendship on her chest. They might even exchange a few phrases. After the ceremony, Novikova told URA.RU that the president carefully warned: “Be careful, don't inject yourself.”
Of course, Olga Valerievna was overwhelmed with emotions. “Of course it's indescribable. There are so many honored people here, just like on TV, and here I am,” Novikova told URA.RU with excitement.
But there is excitement not only among ordinary workers, who today, perhaps for the first time, will be shown on TV, on all federal channels, but also among those who go there almost every day.
Not many people came to the podium today to respond. The head of the center bears the name. Pirogov Oleg Karpov addressed Putin in words that are often spoken within the walls of the Catherine and St. Petersburg Halls. George of the Kremlin, where the awards are often held: “Take care of yourself. Your health is not just yours. This is the health of the whole country.”
