Members of the independent expert council named 37 persons, whose professional accomplishments rightfully deserved public acknowledgement.

The Person of the Year project turned five in 2006. Over that period, the award ceremony under the same name became a prestigious and significant event in the business life of the Russian capital. "This project is quite young, but it is already enjoying wide public acclaim, and has good prospects," RBC General Director Yury Rovensky believes. "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. 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."

People representing spheres as diverse as state administration, business, industry, education, science and culture, were marked in 37 award categories. As usual, the winners were congratulated by well-known political and public figures, all of the country's business elite, and people from the art world. The awards were solemnly presented by 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. The participants of the ceremony were single-minded in the opinion that the Person of the Year was a unique event for our country. 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 accomplishments 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. However, I didn't cheer for any specific person. All the winners are well deserving of the award. I was more concerned about the ceremony itself. You know, we are all very tired of glamour, so I was only glad to see no singing or dancing in the Kremlin today. The ceremony was held in the proper business style so characteristic of anything RBC does."

Awards in the sociopolitical sphere were traditionally given at the beginning of the ceremony, only to be followed by awards in business and special categories. The Grand Prix was given out at the end. This year, the highest prize was awarded to Alexander Zhukov, the Deputy Chairman of the Russian government; Leonid Reyman, the Information Technology and Communications Minister; Vladimir Resin, First Deputy Mayor of Moscow: and Nikolai Tsvetkov, the President of Uralsib Financial Corporation. The Grand Prix winners were also presented with Glory of Russia orders.

Among the winners in sociopolitical categories were Yury Zhdanov, the head of the Federal Agency for Managing Special Economic Zones; Dmitry Zelenin, the Governor of the Tver region; journalist Vladimir Solovyov; Lyudmila Verbitskaya, the Rector of the Saint-Petersburg State University; Sergei Litovchenko, the Executive Director of the Russian Managers Association; Konstantin Ernst, the General Director of Channel One Russia, and People's Artist of the USSR Igor Moiseyev.

It was a surprise for the participants of the ceremony that the expert council had decided to grant no Person of the Year in Politics award at all this year.

The Person of the Year is an award with international status. Two foreign citizens won 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, awarded "for adapting advanced international experience to the Russian business environment", described his company's performance as follows: "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."

The award ceremony was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere. All the winners expressed their sincere gratitude for the commendation of their work and for the confidence shown in them.

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A side note from BOSS

The Glory of Russia order is included in the state register of awards (No. 111, 112, dated September 9, 2004), and is granted to state and public figures, representatives of the national and international community, science and cultural figures, as well as organizations of various types of property for a sizeable contribution to the development of the country and solidifying Russia's position in the international arena.

The Glory of Russia is made up of a badge and a star. The award is made of silver with gold plating, studded, and with inserts of green and white enamel.

Winners of the most prestigious international and Russian national awards, including the Person of the Year organized by RBC, are presented with this order.