Medal of Pushkin

The Medal of Pushkin (Russian: медаль Пушкина) is a state decoration of the Russian Federation awarded to its citizens and to foreigners for achievements in the arts and culture, education, humanities and literature. It is named in honour of Russian author and poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin.

Medal of Pushkin
Medal of Pushkin (obverse)
Type	State Decoration
Awarded for	Achievements in the arts and culture, education, humanities and literature
Presented by	Russian Federation
Eligibility	Citizens of the Russian Federation and foreign nationals
Status	Active
Established	May 9, 1999[1]
First awarded	1999
Ribbon of the Medal of Pushkin
Precedence
Next (higher)	Medal of Nesterov
Next (lower)	Medal "Defender of a Free Russia"

Reverse of the Medal of Pushkin

History

The Medal of Pushkin was established on May 9, 1999 by Presidential Decree № 574,^[1] its statute was amended on September 7, 2010 by Presidential Decree № 1099^[2] which completely revamped the awards and honours system of the Russian Federation.

Award statute

The Medal of Pushkin is awarded to citizens of the Russian Federation with at least 20 years in socio-humanitarian activities for achievements in the arts and culture, education, humanities and literature, for great contributions to the study and preservation of the Russian cultural heritage, in the rapprochement and mutual enrichment of cultures of nations and peoples, for the creation of highly artistic images.^[3]

The Russian Federation order of precedence dictates the medal is to be worn on the left breast with other medals immediately after the Medal of Nesterov.^[4]

Award description

The Medal of Pushkin is a circular 32mm diameter silver medal with raised rims on both the obverse and reverse. The obverse bears a self-portrait (line drawing) of Pushkin's left profile. On the reverse center the horizontal relief signature of Pushkin himself. The signature takes most of the total width of the medal. Under the signature near the lower rim of the medal, the letter "N" in relief and a line reserved for the award serial number.^[3]

The medal hangs from a standard Russian pentagonal mount by a ring through the medal suspension loop. The mount is covered by an overlapping 24mm wide azure silk moiré ribbon with a 2.5mm golden stripe situated 5mm from the ribbon's right edge.^[3]

Award recipients

• Number of awards of the Medal of Pushkin to 2012^{[needs update]}:^[5]

1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	Total
62	75	47	31	26	25	16	53	152	60	34	50	44	3	678

• Natalia Y. Borodin, director of the Pushkin school in Novomoskovsk, Tula Region, received two Medals of Pushkin – 1999 and 2000.
• The Medal of Pushkin was also awarded to citizens of the following states: Abkhazia, Afghanistan, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon,^[6] Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, South Ossetia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain, Syria, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine,^[7] United Kingdom,^[8] Uruguay, Uzbekistan, USA, and Vietnam.^[9]
• Many heads of state were also awarded the Medal of Pushkin.

A medal awarded to Ian Blatchford in 2015, and personally presented by Vladimir Putin, was returned in March 2022, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[10]

See also

• Awards and decorations of the Russian Federation

References

1. "Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of May 9, 1999 No 574" (in Russian). Commission under the President of the Russian Federation on state awards. 1999-12-15. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
2. "Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of September 7, 2010 No 1099" (in Russian). Russian Gazette. 2010-09-07. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
3. "Statute of the Medal of Pushkin" (in Russian). Commission under the President of the Russian Federation on state awards. 2010-09-07. Archived from the original on 2015-07-05. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
4. "Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of December 16, 2011 No 1631" (in Russian). Russian Gazette. 2011-12-16. Archived from the original on March 31, 2013. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
5. Based on information from the site of the President of the Russian Federation and the legal systems' reference web sites of "Consultants", "Garant", and "Codex"
6. "Reconnaissance: La Russie couronne un camerounais". February 13, 2013. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
7. (in Ukrainian) Регіонали удостоїлися медалі Пушкіна Regionals were awarded medal Pushkin Archived 2013-02-21 at the Wayback Machine, TSN.ua (19 February 2013)
8. Sparks, John (11 December 2015). "Top Russian Honour For Science Museum Head". Sky News. Archived from the original on 2015-12-14. Retrieved 2015-12-11.
9. Based on information from the site of the President of the Russian Federation
10. "Ian Blatchford hands back Pushkin Medal in response to Ukraine invasion". Museums Association. 4 March 2022.

External links

• The Commission on State Awards to the President of the Russian Federation