The winners of the annual international Person of the Year award, founded by RBC five years ago were announced in the Patriarch's Chambers in the Moscow Kremlin on February 15.

"Some of the winners this year are people whose achievements are evident to all, while others are new names, discovered for the first time by the public at this award ceremony. I, however, did not cheer for any specific person. I believe all the winners deserve the prize," said Olga Sviblova, Director of the Moscow House of Photography. "I was more concerned about the ceremony itself. We are all tired of glamour; so I am glad there was no singing or dancing in the Kremlin today. The ceremony was held in proper business fashion; like anything what RBC does," she added. Last year awards were given to 28 people, this year 37 people were awarded.

"It is nice to see the number of prominent figures growing with each year," the ceremony's host Svyatoslav Belza proclaimed. The whole Russian business elite seems to have gathered to congratulate the winners - politicians, public figures and representatives of the arts community. The arched chambers of the palace were filled beyond capacity. Among VIP-guests attending the ceremony were Arkady Dvorkovich, Tatiana Paramonova, Mikhail Barshchevsky, David Yakobashvili, Viktor Gerashchenko, Sergei Kapitsa, designer Yelena Yermak, and many other well-known figures. The Person of the Year is not a competition, but rather a ceremony where an award is given to those worthy of it. The winners' names were announced by the expert council the night before the ceremony, and the list was posted on the official web site. There was still, however, room for surprise. The experts decided that the award for Person of the Year in politics was not to be granted at all this year. The guests welcomed the news with excited applause and began to guess what this may have implied. "These days it's dangerous to give an award in this category", Viktor Gerashchenko said jokingly. Igor Bunich suggested that it was because a winner was still being sought after. Dmitry Mezentsev, however, strongly disagreed with such statements. "What do you mean we do not have politicians? Just look - two out of the four Grand-Prix winners were government members, which means that people from the government have indeed been working for the economy and towards attaining stability in the country." The Grand-Prix and the Glory of Russia Order were awarded to Deputy Chairman of the government Alexander Zhukov and Information Technology and Communications Minister Leonid Reyman. The highest awards were also given to First Deputy Mayor of Moscow Vladimir Resin and President of Uralsib Financial Corporation Nikolai Tsvetkov.

The most applauded winners were Pavel Loginov, President of Moscow-based insurance company "Stolichnoye Strakhovoye Obshchestvo" (the guests took a liking to the expert committee's wording of the award's merit "for effective crisis management in resolving disputes with state officials") and Oleg Mitvol (in the special category of "active lifestyle"). Having received his diploma, Mr. Mitvol said he was leaving hastily for Novosibirsk, but promised that his lifestyle would become even more active so that he might still be a contender for the Grand Prix.