Congratulating the award winners, Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said, "Russia's prosperity depends on new ideas, inventions and discoveries, as well as state and public support for talented people that think critically."

According to the deputy prime minister, the government will provide 30 billion roubles' worth of investment over the next three years to promote cooperation between universities and manufacturing companies. He noted that the prize winners do not only come from renowned scientific centres in Moscow and St Petersburg as there are many scientists from other Russian regions.

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The innovations honoured by the government award have been adopted in different industries, including healthcare, energy, the chemical industry, the steel industry, construction, agriculture and defence. A total of 227 applications were submitted for the awards in 2009. Winners were selected by secret ballot at a meeting of an interdepartmental council in two rounds. A total of 52 innovations were chosen for the award, seven of which were developed by young scientists.