Lukashenko arrived in Kremlin for talks with Putin
President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko arrived in the Kremlin for a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on October 9th
The heads of state are expected to discuss topical issues of further development of Russian-Belarusian relations of strategic co-operation and alliance, focusing on integration liaisons within the Union State.
After the talks, a solemn ceremony of presenting Russia’s highest state award – the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called – to the President of Belarus will take place. Vladimir Putin signed a decree on awarding the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called to President of Belarus, Chairman of the Supreme State Council of the Union State Aleksandr Lukashenko, on August 30th, 2024. The document notes that the Belarusian leader has been honoured ‘for outstanding achievements in developing the allied relations and strategic partnership between Russia and Belarus, for strengthening friendly ties between the Russian and Belarusian peoples, as well as for his great personal contribution to creating the Union State and ensuring its effective operation’.
The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called – the highest state order of the Russian Federation (the first order and the highest award in the Russian Empire) – was established in late 17th century by Peter the Great in honour of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called.
In total, more than 1,000 people received the award before 1917. After the October Revolution, the order – like all other awards of the Russian Empire – was abolished. However, in 1998, the Russian President’s decree restored it as the highest state award. According to the statute, it is conferred on outstanding statesmen, public figures and other citizens of the Russian Federation for ‘exceptional services that contribute to the prosperity, greatness and glory of Russia’, as well as to foreign heads of state and government for ‘outstanding services to the Russian Federation’.
A total of 26 people have been awarded the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called since 1998, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former leaders of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, Heydar Aliyev and Nursultan Nazarbayev, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II, ex-President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev, and composer Alexandra Pakhmutova.
