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The top honours were awarded to fitter at Sevmash Alexei Ivanov, head physician at a Krasnodar regional hospital Vladimir Porkhanov, forest ranger from Yakutia Varvara Ustinova, artistic director of the Moscow Sovremennik Theatre Galina Volchek, and former Head of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiyev.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, friends,

I am pleased to welcome here in the Kremlin the participants and guests of the Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation gold medals presentation ceremony, and I would like to sincerely congratulate those who have been rightfully awarded this honorary title.

Talented and devoted sons and daughters, generous, extraordinary people who know what it means to work for the public good, for the success and prosperity of their Motherland were never in short supply in Russia. You have all these qualities, and have achieved outstanding results in your respective fields, opening up new professional horizons and earning praise of entire society.

Mintimer Shaimiyev’s name is inseparable from the development and consolidation of Russia’s statehood. He made a major personal contribution to ensuring that Russia perseveres at a sharp turning point in history, preserves its sovereignty and unity of its multi-ethnic population to become a powerful nation open to the outside world.

Mr Shaimiyev has also made an invaluable contribution to developing Tatarstan, one of the most successful and vibrant regions in Russia, as well as preserving Russia’s cultural heritage, and reviving spiritual historical centres like Sviyazhsk and Bolgar.

Talented and devoted sons and daughters, generous, extraordinary people who know what it means to work for the public good, for the success and prosperity of their Motherland were never in short supply in Russia.

The name of another recipient may be less known, but shipbuilding assembling fitter at the Northern Machine-Building Enterprise (Sevmash) Alexei Ivanov exemplifies the importance of responsibility, skill, creative boldness, and how the labour of a single person enhances the defence potential of a huge nation. He is an experienced and proactive worker who improved many complex elements of state-of-the-art equipment for making Russia’s submarine fleet without leaving his workplace on the assembly floor. The cost impact of his innovations is in the millions of rubles.

Varvara Ustinova has made an important contribution to the country’s economy. Certainly, her most significant contribution is to the preservation of Russian wildlife. Ms Ustinova’s job is not a conventional woman’s job. She is a forest ranger. Thanks to hard work every day and attention to detail, almost three thousand hectares are thriving.

The forest area in Yakutia, which is supervised by this award winner, is exemplary. The management of this forest is a smart combination of maintenance and cultivation, care for the wellbeing of the trees, and fire protection measures; cooperation with the public, officials, law enforcement agencies and the media. It is symbolic that in the Year of the Environment, the Hero of Labour award is presented to a true forest manager.

Another large, complex and very important facility is managed by Vladimir Porkhanov, head physician of the Regional Hospital and Research Centre No. 1. He has saved thousands of lives. The scope of his practice is huge and includes the most advanced, brilliantly performed surgeries and research in a wide range of areas, mentorship and, of course, management of the largest medical facility in the region, improvement of the technical resources, establishment of specialised early treatment clinics and air-lift services in the Krasnodar Territory. Mr Porkhanov is one of those people with a talent for anything. And most importantly, he dedicates all of his numerous talents to people.

Hard work dedicated to people, their cultural and aesthetic development and a cultural awareness are the work of the one and only Galina Volchek. She is a brilliant director and a versatile dramatic actress. She has been in the film and theatre industry for over 60 years. The value of her experience is not only in the diverse universe of memorable characters and outstanding productions but also in the true love of several generations of the audience, both in Russia and abroad. Just think of the overwhelming success of the Sovremennik on tour in the United States in the late 1970s and the anticipation of audiences abroad waiting for your theatre today.

Each of you is a universe of remarkable destinies, special inborn talents and, of course, hard work.

I cannot forget Ms Volchek’s outstanding gift for teaching, her loyalty to tradition and the creative truth of her colleagues and predecessors. The recent premiere of Neformat (Alternative Angle) with mostly the youngest members of the theatre company has become a phenomenon in Moscow’s cultural life. The production has proved once again that the iconic theatre on Chistoprudny Boulevard remains true to its name, with its modern and unique style that organically takes on the best of today’s trends.

Friends, I could speak much longer about each of you, your achievements in your careers and lives. Each of you is a universe of remarkable destinies, special inborn talents and, of course, hard work that deserves the biggest respect from our society and gratitude from our huge country. The Hero of Labour gold medals belong to you by right. My heartfelt congratulations to you on these sonorous titles. Thank you very much.

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Vladimir Putin: Friends,

First of all, I would like to address the award recipients.

We can see that today's laureates are very different people: they have varied professions, life experiences, and they have walked very different paths in their lives. Yet, there is something they have in common: every one of them is talented in their field of competence; they all have shown great diligence, dedication and love for their motherland. All this together leads to success.

Thank you.