MOSCOW, May 15 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded state honors to a group of foreign nationals for their effort in promoting economic, cultural and scientific ties with Russia.
According to a decree published on the government’s official website, the Order of Friendship was bestowed upon six foreign business and cultural representatives for their “significant contribution to the strengthening of friendship and cooperation with the Russian Federation, development of trade, economic, scientific and cultural ties.”
The decorations were conferred to Avtoframos Director General Bruno Anselen and Director of the Center for Arctic Studies Jean Malaurie of France, Director of the Warsaw Bolshoi Theatre Valdemar Dombrovsky of Poland, Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Riga Shipyard company Vasily Melnik of Latvia, and Chairman of the Council of the Finland-Russia Society Pauli Saapunki of Finland, as well as to Leonid Tovazhnyansky, Rector at the Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute in Ukraine.
The Order of Friendship was established in 1994 to reward foreign citizens for special merit in promoting peace, friendship, cooperation and understanding between nations.
