Seven citizens of Belarus have been awarded the Medal of Pushkin in recognition of their contribution to preserving and studying the Russian language, preserving the cultural heritage and also their contribution to cultures interaction. The awarding ceremony was held in the Russian Embassy in Minsk on March 7. The decree on awarding has been signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Belarus Alexander Surikov told reporters. The medals were presented to famous actors Vladimir Gostiukhin and Rostislav Yankovsky, Head of the Belarus National Academic Theater of Ballet Valentin Elizariev, deputy chairwoman of the permanent commission for education, culture, science and sci-tech progress of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly Natalia Avdeeva, director of the National Art Museum Vladimir Prokoptsov, actress Svetlana Sukhovei and also to editor of the culture department of the magazine “Gaspadynya” Valentina Polikanina. The representatives of Belarus have been awarded the Medal of Pushkin jointly with a group of the citizens from other countries. The awarding list included 19 people.