Putin awards Order of Friendship to Pushkin Museum director

Russian President Vladimir Putin has awarded the Order of Friendship to Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts Director Ekaterina Pronicheva.

Decree No. 736, signed on October 15, recognises Pronicheva's contribution to culture and the arts and her years of professional service. It was published on Russia's official legal information portal.

Pronicheva became director of the Pushkin Museum in January 2026. She previously headed Moscow's VDNKh exhibition complex from 2015 to 2018 and the city's tourism committee from 2018 to 2022.

In 2022 she was appointed director general of the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum Reserve.

The decree also honours Askar Abdrazakov, a vocalist at the Bashkir Opera and Ballet Theatre, and historian Elena Malysheva. Malysheva, who leads the National Centre for Historical Memory under the Russian president, received the Medal of the Order for Merit to the Fatherland, First Class.