Vladimir Putin's speech at the awards ceremony:

Ladies and gentlemen, I am very glad to be here today.

Your job is to come to the rescue when people cannot handle a disaster on their own. And Russian rescue services have not once failed to bring relief when they were most needed.

The recent disaster at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric dam brought significant damage to property, but this is of course not the most important thing. As I said at a meeting in Khakassia, equipment can be repaired or rebuilt, but people cannot be brought back. Seventy-five people were killed. It is an awful tragedy.

There is no need to describe the damage done to the hydroelectric dam. You have seen it with your own eyes. I would only like to thank you all for your courage and outstanding professionalism, and to celebrate your heroic efforts, which started in the very first hours after the accident and never stopped for one minute as long as they were still needed.

In an extremely difficult environment, the rescue squads responded intelligently, cooperatively and promptly. Rescue personnel, medical personnel, firefighters, divers, pilots, and all other Emergencies Ministry staff performed their professional duties and demonstrated their best professional and personal qualities.

I would like especially to emphasize the latter point - their exceptional personal qualities. I have observed many of the people who took part in the rescue operations, and I have seen how deeply concerned they were about the people who were injured or killed. It is precisely this kind of attitude towards one's job that is invaluable.

Thanks to your efforts 14 people's lives were saved.

You have managed to prevent an even worse disaster - an environmental catastrophe for the whole region. You have prevented significant pollution of the local drinking water and saved dozens of towns and villages on the Yenisei River from flooding.

We recently met to discuss the progress of the disaster relief efforts at the dam. We have discussed the progress of the reconstruction and basic measures for consolidating the power supply system in the region.

We will also launch a very thorough investigation into the causes of the accident. We will do everything humanly possible to prevent similar disasters in the future.

Thank you again for the excellent work you have done. I wish you and your families all the best.

I am happy to say that some of the relief workers will be awarded government certificates of honour for their outstanding response to the Sayano-Shushenskaya disaster.

I will also ask Mr Shoigu, the Emergencies Minister, to consider nominating the best relief workers for state awards.