A solemn ceremony of presenting state awards was held in the Kremlin's Catherine Hall. Russian President Vladimir Putin presented the Order ‘For Merit to the Fatherland, First Class’ to Oleg Kononenko, the commander of the cosmonaut squadron of Roscosmos, twice Hero of Russia and Turkmenistan. The news was reported by the press service of the Russian President.

The highest state award was recognition of Kononenko's outstanding personal achievements, as well as high appreciation of the work of the entire Russian rocket and space industry. Making a speech of gratitude, the cosmonaut stressed that this award is ‘the merit of thousands of specialists, whose work remains behind the scenes, but is critical to the success of each mission.’ He expressed pride in his contribution to the development of manned cosmonautics.

A special moment of the ceremony was Oleg Kononenko's meeting with the portrait painted by a young artist from Turkmenistan Batyr Sultanov. The work was created as part of the 'Crossroads of Arts' cultural project and became a warm symbol of international recognition.