Vladimir Putin presented the highest state award, the Order of St Andrew the Apostle, to the 95 – year-old writer Sergei Mikhalkov.
The title of Hero of Russia was awarded to Colonel Sergei Maslov, Aleksandr Petrov, Igor Matkovski and the retired Colonel, hero of the Great Patriotic War, former battery commander, Gunner Pavel Siutkin.
Fifty-four people received state awards and titles, including figures from science, culture and the arts, doctors, teachers and representatives of industry and agriculture. The awards ceremony is traditionally held in the Catherine Hall at the Kremlin.