Vladimir Putin’s address:
Good afternoon. Colleagues – and I will allow myself the liberty of addressing you like this since, as you know, my work sometimes appears in the press – I would like to congratulate you on Russian Press Day, and wish you all the very best.
Yours is a very particular profession, and irrespective of how the means of delivering your content to your audience changes, your work remains fundamentally about the civic-mindedness and talent of those who make journalism the most important profession for any country, for any society. In our country, people in your profession have always been treated with particular attention and the utmost respect. This is because it involves, as I mentioned, civic-mindedness and talent, but also because, as has been the case all too often of late here and elsewhere in the world, it requires courage. Courage, the ability to stand your ground, and defend your stance.
You know that this award, which is held in high esteem, which carries government status, is conferred by a specially appointed council comprised not only of representatives of the government, but mostly people engaged in the creative professions, in your profession. It is they who select the winners. Yes, it is a state award, but let me stress that the winners are chosen by the most authoritative members of your profession. Therefore, I think, it fitting to ask the head of the council, Minister of Communications and Mass Media Igor Shchegolev, and Yasen Zasursky, one of the most distinguished members of your profession, an individual who has made a great contribution to training journalists in our country, to present the awards.
Let me once again congratulate you on this holiday.
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The 2011 government print media awards were presented by Minister of Communications and Mass Media Igor Shchegolev, and President of the Moscow State University Journalism Faculty Yasen Zasursky, in a ceremony attended by Vladimir Putin.
Recipients included Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper Khimkinskaya Pravda Mikhail Beketov, Editor-in-Chief of Tyumenskaya Pravda Larisa Vokhmina, General Director of publishing house Vokrug Sveta Svetlana Golovatyuk, and Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper Novye Izvestia Valery Yakov.
Awards also went to the Art Editor at Nizhegorodskaya Pravda publishing house Alexander Gushchin, Editor-in-Chief and General Director of Klyopa Natalya Dubinina, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nizhegorodskaya Pravda Sergei Zykov, General Director of the Global Politics Research Foundation, Editor-in-Chief of the journal Russia in Global Affairs Fyodor Lukyanov, and Izvestia commentator Sergei Leskov.
Novaya Gazeta commentator Irina Petrovskaya, Nizhegorodskaya Pravda Editor–in-Chief Tatyana Metyolkina, Chief Illustrator at Vokrug Sveta Anton Fyodorov, and Nizhegorodskaya Pravda Deputy Editor-in-Chief Gennady Chesnokov were also presented with the award.
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After the ceremony, the prime minister met informally with government award recipients and guests.
Notably, they asked Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to expedite the investigation of the brutal assault on Mikhail Beketov, the Editor in Chief of the newspaper, Khimkinskaya Pravda.
“I will certainly talk to Alexander Bastrykin. I believe we can expedite the investigation of this case,” the Prime Minister promised.
Vladimir Putin wished Mikhail Beketov a speedy recovery and added: “Yesterday, I watched a news report about the death of a French journalist who was killed in Syria. Your profession can be very dangerous in today’s world.”