The fifth annual national Person of the Year award ceremony founded by RBC was held on February 15. Russia's top people, whose professional achievements made a significant contribution to Russia's development, were awarded in the Moscow Kremlin's Patriarch's Chambers.

The Person of the Year award is traditionally handed out to those who by their personal achievement help solidify Russia's political and economic status and develop the country's science and culture: businessmen, politicians, bankers, investors, scientists and artists. The expert committee consisting of about sixty of Russia's most renowned people chooses the best of them - those that have become symbolic of the positive trends in the state's development over the previous year.

It has become a sort of a tradition to link Russia's economic success to a favorable international market environment and high oil prices. However, the list of 37 winners of the Person of the Year award indicates that the most exciting events are not happening in the fuel and energy sector alone. As Olga Sviblova, Director of the Moscow House of Photography, pointed out, "Some of this year's winners are people who have been around for a long time and whose achievements are evident to all, while others are new names the public is only about to discover, whom we will get to see and hear for the first time at the award ceremony today. The award's results will show the market's current trends and will give a glimpse of what the market will be like in the near future, what sectors of the economy are likely to take the lead."

This is probably why most winners treated the award exclusively as a sign of attention to their sphere of activity. Professor Konstantin Anokhin (winner in the special Potential and Prospects in Science category), for example, said he regarded the award primarily as support shown to "the Russian tradition of fundamental research". In turn, Vladimir Vigdorchik, the Director of Medincenter, a medical branch of the Foreign Ministry establishment providing services to Diplomatic Corps of the Russian Foreign Ministry, (winner in the special category for contribution to national healthcare) noted that it was not the appreciation of his merits that he found pleasing, but rather that the award indicated the significance of national healthcare for society.

"I think the Person of the Year award will only gain relevance with each year, because we are trying to keep ahead of the times," Yury Rovensky, RBC's General Director said to explain the principles the award's expert council was governed by. "We have launched an event that does not simply draw the community's attention to outstanding professional achievement, but also works to renew operational and managerial techniques and helps rejuvenate the elite."

Though the award is only five years old, it has stepped across national boundaries, and now citizens of other countries besides Russia can also contend for this prize. Anyone who has worked for the good of this country can be named Person of the Year by the expert council. Two foreigners were among the award winners this year: General Manager of Auchan Russia Patrick Longuet (in the Businessman of the Year category), and President and CEO of TNK-BP Robert Dudley (in the special Foreign Top-Manager in Russia category). In his acceptance speech, Longuet noted that his company's mission was to "keep boosting Russians' buying capacity" and promised that Auchan supermarkets would open in Russian regions this year. Robert Dudley was awarded "for adapting advanced international experience to the Russian business environment". According to him, "when our company emerged a few years ago, nobody could say what might come out of this. And now we are showing excellent results in the industry."

It was most unexpected and pleasantly surprising to see Russian managers awarded for showing success in managing western assets. As Alexander Shishov, winner in the special Successful Business Expansion to Eastern Europe category, noted, it used to be that, on the contrary, foreign managers were praised for managing Russian assets. The winners' names were announced by the expert council on the night before the ceremony, and the list was posted on the official website, so no anxiety or intrigue was felt in the Patriarch's Chambers in the Moscow Kremlin. The hall was, nevertheless, filled beyond capacity. Russian and foreign mass media were present, as well as prominent state and public figures, representatives of Russia's business elite and the arts community.

Among the presenters of the award were David Yakobashvili, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Wimm-Bill-Dann; Vladimir Tarachev, the State Duma Deputy; Nadezhda Martyanova, the General Director of the MAKS insurance company; Arkady Dvorkovich, the head of the Russian President's Expert Department; Rostislav Ordovsky-Tanayevsky Blanco, the President of Rostik Group; Viktor Gerashchenko, the Chairman of YUKOS' Board of Directors; designer Yelena Yermak; Dmitry Mezentsev, the Federation Council Vice Speaker; Tatyana Paramonova, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia; and Mikhail Barshchevsky, the Governmental Envoy to the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, and Supreme Arbitration Court.

Probably the biggest surprise at the ceremony was the expert council's decision to grant no Person of the Year in Politics award at all this year. The guests welcomed the news with applause. "These days it's dangerous to give an award in this category," Viktor Gerashchenko said jokingly.

Igor Bunin, the General Director of the Center for Political Technologies, an independent Russian think-tank, suggested that it was because "a successor" was still being sought after. Dmitry Mezentsev, however, strongly disagreed with such statements. "Just look: two out of the four Grand-Prix winners are 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 in fact awarded to Alexander Zhukov, Deputy Chairman of the government, and Information Technology and Communications Minister Leonid Reyman. The highest awards were also given to Vladimir Resin, First Deputy Mayor of Moscow, and Nikolai Tsvetkov, President of Uralsib Financial Corporation.

Being awarded a high prize is a good reason to express gratitude. Yury Zhdanov, head of the Federal Agency for Managing Economic Zones and winner in the Person of the Year in State Administration category, thanked another winner, Vladimir Resin, saying "Vladimir Iosifovich set me on the path to construction, and I accidentally changed three jobs over the past year." Badry Gobechia, CEO of Otkritie Brokerage House, winner in the Financier of the Year category thanked all Russian investors. Journalist Vladimir Solovyov (the Person of the Year in the Mass Media award winner) gave warm regards to Nikolai Senkevich: "I wouldn't be working for NTV if it weren't for him! Senkevich should also receive an award!" And, as if in fulfillment of this wish, Nikolai Senkevich was given an award in the special Industry Leader category.

All the winners vowed to justify the confidence placed in them. Thus, Lyudmila Verbitskaya, the Rector of Saint Petersburg State University (the Person of the Year in Education award winner), promised to "bring up brilliant young people for our brilliant country." President of Mirax Group Sergei Polonsky (winner in the Construction Company CEO category) promised his company would complete the construction of the tallest (93-storey) building in Europe in Moscow.