Plenipotentiary Representative of Russian Federation President in Ural Federal District Nikolai Vinnichenko awarded Governor of Chelyabinsk Region Mikhail Yurevitch with the Order of Friendship in the course of a solemn ceremony.

The corresponding decree was signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in December 2009; the ceremony took place in the Plenipotentiary Representative’s residence in Yekaterinburg. Mikhail Yurevitch was awarded for work achievements and many years of conscientious work.

‘The President’s decree was signed a long time ago, when I was still Mayor of Chelyabinsk, in fact. It’s nice to know that my efforts have been noticed. Any award always stands for something positive. Now that I am a governor, I often give awards to the people of the South Urals, that is, best workers, outstanding builders, doctors, and teachers. I also encourage state award applications by people who set up new enterprises and invest in our region’s economy. There are few such citizens, and their work should be praised,’ the Governor says.

The Russian Federation Order of Friendship was set up by the President in 1994 to replace the Soviet award, the Order of Friendship of Peoples. The order is now awarded for promoting international friendship and cooperation, development of Russia’s economic and scientific potential, facilitating understanding and cross-communication between peoples and nations, and international peace-building.

The Order of Friendship has been given to many prominent Russian politicians, scientists, and representatives of the cultural community and the art world, including head of the Federal Physical Education and Sports Agency Vyacheslav Fetisov, the Olympics champion Oleg Grebnev, actors and singers Vakhtang Kikabidze and Mikhail Boyarsky, physicist Sergey Maleyev, Soviet astronaut Vladimir Solovyov, and the leading scientist of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Sociology Vladimir Yadov.