28/7 Tass 223
MOSCOW, July 28 (Itar-Tass) —— President Dmitry Medvedev handed in the Order for Services to the Fatherland, Second degree to Itar-Tass Director General Vitaly Ignatenko during a state decoration award ceremony held in the Grand Kremlin Palace on Thursday. The high award was given to Chief of Russia’s oldest news agencies for an outstanding contribution to the implementation of the state policy in the field of information and many years of fruitful work.
Ignatenko was one of four dozen other laureates of high state awards who attended the state decoration award ceremony, including test pilot Sergei Bogdan, former defense minister of the Soviet Union Marshal Sergei Sokolov, Duma Vice-Speaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky, composer Oskar Feltsman, actresses Vera Vasilyeva and Anastasia Vertinskaya, Director of Kurchatov Nuclear Research Institute Mikhail Kovalchuk.
Accepting the high award, Vitaly Ignatenko said that he believes “ it is a special privilege to accept the award from the hands of the Russian president in the presence of outstanding citizens of the Russian Federation, who faithfully served the country for many years. I think that the past few years proved to be a wonderful time of fruitful work for them. Thank you very much for these wonderful years,” Ignatenko said, addressing the president.