Chairman of the Russian Federation Council Valentina Matvienko, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin and Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin at the State Awards Ceremony of the Russian Federation in the Catherine Hall of the Kremlin. Photo: Valery Sharifulin/TASS
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin the Order of Merit to the Fatherland, first (highest) degree.
The award became known in February of this year, when the speaker turned 60, and now the Russian leader found time in his busy schedule and personally presented the famous silver sign with a double-headed eagle to Vyacheslav Viktorovich along with other laureates at the Hall Catherine of the Kremlin.
This is not just any event: throughout the 30 years of this award’s existence, thousands of people have received it; but at the moment only 93 Russians have obtained the four degrees of the order (as in the case of Volodin).
Each one of them is a legend. The first female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova. Great actors Alexander Shirvindt and Leonid Bronevoy (unfortunately, they are now gone). World famous conductor Vladimir Spivakov. The legendary doctor Leonid Bokeria. Politician-prophet (who left the world prematurely two years ago) Vladimir Zhirinovsky. And many others, deservedly respected by the people.
By tradition, the specific merits of each candidate for the Fatherland are not announced when awarding the order of the same name, but for us, parliamentary journalists, everything is obvious.
Together with the editorial staff of Komsomolskaya Pravda, we congratulate Vyacheslav Viktorovich on his well-deserved award!
