Order of Friendship

Order of Friendship
Order of Friendship (obverse)
Awarded by  Russian Federation
Type	Single grade order
Eligibility	Foreign nationals
Awarded for	Strengthening friendship and cooperation between peoples
Status	Active
Statistics
Established	March 2, 1994[1]
Precedence
Next (higher)	Order of Honour
Next (lower)	Order of Parental Glory
Ribbon of the Order of Friendship

Prince Michael of Kent receives the Order of Friendship from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on November 4, 2009 at the Moscow Kremlin. (Photo www.kremlin.ru)

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge being awarded the Order of Friendship by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on 22 November 2011 at the Moscow Kremlin. (Photo www.kremlin.ru)

Manfred Schmidt, Head of the Department for Crisis Management of the Welfare Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany, being decorated with the Order of Frienship by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on 13 October 2010 at the Moscow Kremlin. (Photo www.kremlin.ru)

The Order of Friendship (Russian: Орден Дружбы) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by presidential decree № 442 of March 2, 1994^[1] to reward foreign nationals who's work, deeds and efforts were aimed at the betterment of relations with the Russian Federation and its people. Its statute was later amended by decree № 19 of January 6, 1999^[2], decree № 1099 of September 7, 2010^[3]. decree № 1631 of December 16, 2011^[4] and decree № 308 of March 16, 2012^[5]. It can trace its lineage to the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples,

Award statute

The Order of Friendship is awarded to citizens of foreign countries for special merit in strengthening peace, friendship, cooperation and understanding between nations, for fruitful work on the convergence and mutual enrichment of cultures of nations and peoples; for the active conservation, development and promotion of the cultural and historical heritage of Russia; for great contribution to the implementation of joint ventures with the Russian Federation, major economic projects and attracting investments into the economy of the Russian Federation; for broad charitable activities^[5].

Award description

The badge of the Order of Friendship is made of gilded silver and enamels. It is a pentagonal star created from diverging golden rays. On the obverse at the center of the star is a terrestrial globe, with the oceans covered in blue enamel. The globe is surrounded by a green enamelled wreath of olive branches. On the reverse is the inscription "Peace and Friendship" (Russian: "Мир и дружба") and the etched serial number of the individual award. The distance between opposite tips of the star is 44 mm.^[1]

The badge of the order is connected by a ring through the suspension loop to a standard Russian pentagonal mount covered with an overlapping 24 mm wide green silk moiré ribbon with 6 mm wide light blue stripes along its edges^[1]. When worn in the presence of other Orders and medals of the Russian Federation, the Order of Friendship is located immediately after the Order of Honour^[6].

Notable recipients (partial list)

The following individuals were awarded the Order of Frienship:^[7]

• Sopubek Begaliev, Kyrgyz politician (Kyrgyztan)
• Lydia T. Black, a historian and anthropologist in the field of Russian America^[8] (USA)
• George Blake, double agent (UK)
• Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada
• Van Cliburn, renowned pianist (USA)
• Patricia Cloherty, entrepreneur and businesswoman (USA)
• Dimitris Christofias, President of Cyprus
• Milorad Dodik, President of the Republika Srpska
• Maurice Druon, writer (France)
• Yuli Gusman, film director (Azerbaijan)
• Daisaku Ikeda, Buddhist philosopher (Japan)
• Raymond Johnson, founder of the Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis (USA)
• Akhmad Kadyrov, President of Chechnya
• Prince Michael of Kent of the Commonwealth realms' Royal Family, and descendant of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia; a qualified interpreter of Russian (UK)
• Vakhtang Kikabidze, singer and actor (the award was rejected by Kikabidze in August 2008) (Georgia)
• Lee Kuan Yew, Minister Mentor of Singapore^[9]
• Antonio Mennini, Apostolic Nuncio to Russia (2002-2010) for his contribution to the development of Russian-Vatican relations ^[10] (Vatican)
• Riccardo Muti, conductor^[11] (Italy)
• Oscar Niemeyer, renowned architect (Brazil)
• Sagadat Nurmagambetov, Defense Minister of Kazakhstan
• Victor Petrov, a historian of Russian-American studies (Ukraine)
• Richard Pierce, a historian of Russian-American studies^[8] (USA)
• Marcel Prud'homme, senator (Canada)
• Mrinal Sen, film director (India)
• Dimitris Sioufas, legislator (Greece)
• James W. Symington, a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and current attorney at Nossaman LLP/O'Connor & Hannan (USA)
• Andrzej Wajda, film director (Poland)
• Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, recognised for contributions to friendly relations between Russia and the UK, and his love of Russian literature.^[12] (UK)
• Tatjana Ždanoka, politician (Latvia)
• Ignatius IV of Antioch (Hazim), Patriarch Ignatius IV, Greek Orthodox Christian Church^[13]
• Prince Dimitri Romanov, claimant to headship of the Imperial House of Russia

See also

• Order of Friendship of Peoples (Soviet Union)
• Awards and decorations of the Russian Federation

References

External links

• The Commission on State Awards to the President of the Russian Federation (In Russian)
• The Russian Gazette (In Russian)

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