Vladimir Putin has awarded Yuri Kovalchuk, his long-time friend and the principal shareholder of Rossiya Bank, the Order of Merit to the Fatherland, 3rd class. In the decree, Kovalchuk is described as a “public figure.” Officially, the award was granted “for his major contribution to the implementation of socially significant projects, effective work in preserving cultural and historical heritage, and active charitable activities.”
In 2020, the independent investigative journalism project Proekt published an investigation into Kovalchuk, describing him as Putin’s “personal consigliere” and Russia’s second most influential person. According to the journalists, Kovalchuk effectively acts as the president’s trusted adviser while controlling a major media empire and managing assets used by Putin.
As Proekt reported, Rossiya Bank entities earn billions of rubles in fees from utility bill processing, and Kovalchuk himself, through the National Media Group, has gained influence over several of Russia’s largest television channels and print outlets. People and entities linked to Kovalchuk own a range of elite properties that Putin reportedly uses.
Putin’s decree also saw singer Oleg Gazmanov receive the Order of Merit to the Fatherland, 2nd class. Russia’s former Foreign Minister, Igor Ivanov, who served as Secretary of the Security Council from 2004 to 2007, received the 1st class of the order. In the decree, Ivanov is identified as a retired ambassador extraordinaire and plenipotentiary.
In addition, former senator and ex-chairman of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs Mikhail Margelov, currently serving as vice-president of the Russian International Affairs Council, was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky. Tanzila Norbaeva, chairwoman of the Senate of Uzbekistan, received the Order of Honor. And Semyon Mikhailovsky, rector of the Ilya Repin St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, received the Order of Merit in Culture and Art.
