The medal has been awarded to 11 foreign citizens for their great contribution to the spread and study of the Russian language, the preservation of cultural heritage and the rapprochement and mutual enrichment of different nations’ and people’s cultures.
The award’s recipients include President of Finland Tarja Halonen, Gadilbek Shalakhmetov, a member of Kazakhstan’s parliament, Kamal Mehti-oglu Abdullaev, rector of the Slavic University in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Ilber Ortayli, director of the Topkapi Palace Museum in Istanbul.