OREANDA-NEWS. April 24, 2008. Ceremonies were held in Moscow, for the national public recognition award of Russia, Olympia, which acknowledges the contributions women make to society. Awards are presented each year. This year’s laureates: Galina Vishnevskyaya, People’s Artist of the USSR; Irina Viner, head trainer of the Russian national gymnastics team; singer Valeriya; Evgeniya Mikhailova, Vice-President of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia); and others – among them, Lyudmila Ponidelko, head of the St. Petersburg branch of Bank Electronika.

The national award for public recognition of the achievements of women, Olympia, was established in 2002 and is presented to women who are the most successful in professional and public activities. It is a unique and very prestigious award: this “women’s” award goes not for business accomplishments, but for socially active public positions, promising initiatives, and unquestionable achievement in various spheres. An honorary jury of 30 men – representatives of government authorities and public organizations, politicians, scientists, figures from the arts and culture, and heads of leading mass media – select the laureates.

Congratulating the winners were well-known artists and athletes, stars of stage and masters of the arts, prominent politicians and public figures: Mark Rudinshtein, Yuri Nikolaev, Leonid Roshal, Boris Scherbakov, Svyatoslav Belza, Alexander Buinov, and many others. As part of the awards ceremony, sponsors held an auction of works by well-known Russians. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the charitable fund A Family for Every Child.