The Patriarch's Chambers of the Moscow Kremlin became host to the fifth ceremony of the annual international Person of the Year award founded by RBC. Its master of ceremonies, Svyatoslav Belza, solemnly greeted the guests, past years' winners, thanked the independent expert council for their work, and reminded the attendees that the award was given for certain achievements. The Person of the Year is an international award, and not only Russians, but also anyone who has worked for the benefit of this country can become a winner. There can be no doubt that the award's prestige is helping make a good name for Russian business, and our country as a whole, and thus assisting in its integration into the global community.

Each winner spoke of this thrilling event in many different ways. Yury Zhdanov, the head of the Federal Agency for Managing Special Economic Zones, who was the first to receive the award, expressed his appreciation of his friends, whose support helped him carry on. Dmitry Zelenin, Governor of the Tver region, praised for achieving success in realizing the economic potential and raising the investment attractiveness of the Tver region, stressed the invaluable role of the regions in Russia's economic development.

Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), took a liking to the very title of the category in which he was named the best: "For Forming a Positive Image of Russian Business and for Dialogue with the Authorities". These issues are extremely relevant, and if the expert commission has noticed a positive trend in this area and acknowledged the dialogue as constructive - then, the award is well deserved.

While the overwhelming majority of Person of the Year 2005 winners was made up of people known well in the country, it was pleasant to also see new faces that the wide Russian public is not very familiar with yet. This shows that the chance to receive such an honorable prize is available to all. After all, the main things that the expert commission is looking for while selecting the nominees (considering that several may be chosen) is the contender's innovative activity, his special achievements, and personal or professional qualities. All this year's winners have contributed a great deal to the development of a company or an industry, and thus to the development of the country at large.