Official website of the President of Russia

Документ   /

The medals were presented to Yevgeny Dronov, general director of TULAMASHZAVOD Production Association; Mark Zakharov, artistic director of the Lenkom Theatre; Nikolai Karpol, head coach of the Uralochka-NTMK volleyball club; Alexander Kulichenko, shaft sinker at the Taldinskaya-Zapadnaya-2 mine of SUEK-Kuzbass; and Galina Savelyeva, a professor at the Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University.

The title of the Hero of Labour was established in March 2013. It is awarded for outstanding achievements in public, social as well as economic activity; for contribution to the country’s socioeconomic development, including industrial production, agriculture, transport, construction, science, culture, education, healthcare and other spheres.

* * *

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, friends!

Today, here at the Kremlin we are honouring prominent citizens of Russia who are by right bestowed with the high title of the Hero of Labour of the Russian Federation.

This award reflects our deep respect for those who are opening new pages in the history of our Fatherland with their self-sacrificing labour.

Russia has always been known for its talents, accompanied by diligence, determination and responsibility. The highest and seemingly inaccessible summits can be conquered when there is a person who is sincerely determined to contribute to the common good for the benefit of our Motherland.

At all times, these qualities have helped our compatriots to achieve positive results in various fields: in science and technology, education and medicine, culture and arts, and thereby increase the strength and greatness of our country.

Our country has always had and will have such people. Today’s laureates are a good example of this. I am happy to say a few words about each of them.

Unique skills and gifted hands of Tula armourers have long been famous both in our country and worldwide. Yevgeny Dronov devoted all his life to the continuation of these glorious traditions and made a great contribution to the strengthening of the country’s defence capacity as well as the development of the national industry.

Born in Tula, the son of a World War II veteran, he rose from a shop foreman to the Tulamashzavod general director and learned all about the work of the production association which is a complex mechanism, occasionally encountering various difficulties. He also has to deal with some sensitive social issues concerning the workers.

Under the leadership of Mr Dronov, the production of modern military equipment supplied to the army and the navy has been mastered in recent years, and the plant proves the competitiveness of its products and its readiness to work at the highest possible technical level.

Our outstanding cultural figures also set the highest standards in their work, their service to art. Their creative gift cannot but be admired. The constellation of such legends includes Mark Zakharov.

His theatrical, acting and director's talent earns love from millions of admirers, and Lenkom Theatre, the main brainchild of Mr Zakharov, is called legendary.

For many decades now, it has been one of the brightest stars in the firmament of cultural life not only in the capital, but in the whole of our country. Lenkom is always trying to discover new ideas, and the audiences always respond with love and gratitude.

We really have a lot of amazing, extraordinary people. And the name of Nikolai Karpol is probably well-known even to those people who have nothing whatsoever to do with sports.

The world’s most titled volleyball coach, the most titled coach of Russia in sports Mr. Karpol brought so much joy to the people and inspired more than one generation of fans. He is like victory himself, he inspires volleyball fans, and, most importantly, the players. Nikolai Karpol has trained many champions. With his energy, character and words, he can create a real team and can rally people together to achieve a common goal, and this is the key to success. 

The team spirit and the camaraderie are important not only in sports. They are simply vital in difficult and occasionally dangerous jobs such as mining.

Kuzbass resident Alexander Kulichenko has been working in the coal industry for 26 years now. He is head of a mining brigade at the Taldinskaya-Zapadnaya-2 mine. The coal mining techniques are changing and becoming more sophisticated, but the result still depends primarily on the miners’ skills. The team led by Mr Kulichenko shows high performance results and repeatedly sets mining speed records.

To do so, one needs not only experience and courage, but also one must always be prepared to bear the responsibility for colleagues. One also needs leadership skills and a pinpoint approach to the organisation of work. Having mastered the mining techniques, Alexander Kulichenko shares his knowledge with young miners, thus ensuring the future of the coal industry.

Galina Savelyeva devoted herself to a good, noble and rewarding cause: she helps the miracle of motherhood to become a reality. A highly qualified obstetrician-gynecologist and internationally renowned researcher, Ms Savelyeva helped develop the many fields of research and methods of modern perinatology doing her best to preserve the health of the newborns and their mothers.

Galina Savelyeva is not only a GP and a researcher, but also a brilliant teacher. She has been heading the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Pediatric Department of the Pirogov Medical University for over 40 years now, and trained many excellent specialists. Such continuity is a reliable foundation for further development of domestic medicine.

Friends, colleagues, we still have a lot to accomplish and to achieve when it comes to breakthroughs in a variety of spheres. The solution to all these things directly depends on the energy of the people, their focus on the result, together with a desire to improve the life around them.

Friends, you open up new horizons and set an example of professionalism and enthusiasm for your colleagues and all those who want to contribute a part of their personal achievements to the country's overall success.

You have followed your own path to professional heights. At the same time, I think you share something in common. Each of you is aware that only those who genuinely love their work and are never satisfied with what they had accomplished, and keep setting new and more ambitious goals, enjoy real success and, by and large, can really be happy.

I wholeheartedly congratulate you on your well-deserved awards and I want to sincerely thank you all for what you have done and will certainly do for our country.

Thank you.

<…>

Vladimir Putin: Friends, once again I want to congratulate you on your awards today.

Of course, each of you has your own team behind you, but still you are in the limelight today as someone who has achieved really outstanding results in your careers.

Mark Zakharov said that, thank God, there was no such thing as major challenges in his over 40 years as theatre manager. I would like to build on what Mr Zakharov said and say that I believe that your entire life is a sequence of challenges. (Applause). That goes for all of our awardees present today, because every day you do something to promote not only your own personal success but the success of your teams as well as our country.

Thank you very much. My congratulations.