Honored by Russia: Which Ukrainian politicians still hold Kremlin awards
Photo: which Ukrainian politicians still hold Kremlin awards (Getty Images)
Amid a diplomatic scandal with Poland, Ukrainian politicians and officials are increasingly renouncing Polish state awards. At the same time, many of them still hold honors awarded by Russia.
RBC-Ukraine reports who they are and what their current position is regarding Russia.
Key points:
- Leonid Kuchma: remains a holder of the Russian Order For Merit to the Fatherland (1st degree), which was personally awarded to him in 2011.
- Volodymyr Lytvyn: has held the Kremlin’s Order of Friendship since 2011; he currently works at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and funds assistance for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
- Metropolitan Onufriy: received the Order of Friendship in 2013; later, a Russian passport was found to be in his possession.
- Serhii Kivalov: holds two Russian awards — the Pushkin Medal (2009) and the Order of Friendship (2013); in 2024, he was wounded in Odesa during a Russian strike.
- Mykhailo Dobkin: received the Order of Friendship in 2010; in spring 2022, he was ordained as a deacon of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) and began supporting the Ukrainian army.
Leonid Kuchma
The second President of Ukraine condemned Russia’s aggression in the early days of the full-scale invasion. However, he still remains a holder of the Russian Order For Merit to the Fatherland (1st degree).
The decree awarding him this honor was signed by Vladimir Putin on April 20, 2004, before the Orange Revolution, with the wording "for his great personal contribution to strengthening friendship and cooperation between the peoples of Russia and Ukraine." Interestingly, Kuchma received the award much later — in 2011. It was personally presented to him in the Kremlin by then-President Dmitry Medvedev.
Despite his public break with Moscow, there is no official information that the second President has renounced the Kremlin award. The Russian side has also not reported any revocation of the honor.
Volodymyr Lytvyn
A multiple-term MP, former Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament), and ex-head of the Presidential Administration, he received the Order of Friendship in 2011 "for his significant contribution to developing and strengthening friendly relations and cooperation between the Russian Federation and Ukraine."
At the start of the full-scale invasion, Lytvyn condemned Russian aggression and, through his foundation in 2022–2023, provided vehicles to the military and humanitarian aid to civilians.
He currently works at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. On his Facebook page, he mainly shares academic articles and monographs exposing the Kremlin’s use of history as a weapon.
Serhii Kivalov
A multiple-term MP and former head of the Central Election Commission, he holds a collection of Kremlin awards. In 2009, Dmitry Medvedev awarded him the Pushkin Medal.
In 2013, Vladimir Putin personally awarded Kivalov the Order of Friendship for his "significant contribution to preserving and promoting the Russian language and culture abroad."
After the start of the full-scale war, the former MP condemned Russia’s aggression. The law academy in Odesa that he heads regularly reports assistance to the military, equipment transfers, and humanitarian hubs for displaced persons.
Kivalov remains in Ukraine and works in education. In May 2024, during a Russian strike on Odesa, his famous residence, known as the Harry Potter Castle, was damaged, and Kivalov was injured.
Metropolitan Onufriy (Orest Berezovsky)
The head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) received the Russian Order of Friendship in 2013 from Putin, with the standard wording "for a great contribution to developing friendly relations between peoples and strengthening spiritual traditions."
On February 24, 2022, Onufriy formally condemned the full-scale invasion, calling it a "Cain’s sin," and declared support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Later, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church declared its independence from Moscow, but did not fully sever ties with the Russian Orthodox Church.
Controversies around the church leader continue. In 2023, a journalistic investigation found that Metropolitan Onufriy held a Russian passport.
He initially denied having it, but later explained that he had obtained the document during Soviet times and now considers himself a citizen of Ukraine only.
Mykhailo Dobkin
The former MP, ex-head of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, and former mayor of Kharkiv received the Russian Order of Friendship in October 2010. He was awarded by Medvedev for his "significant contribution to cross-border cooperation with Russia."
After the start of the full-scale invasion, Dobkin radically changed his rhetoric, condemned the Kremlin’s actions, and stated that for him, "that country no longer exists."
Photos and videos circulated on social media showing Dobkin in a Ukrainian Armed Forces uniform in de-occupied areas of the Kharkiv region. Later, his daughter confirmed that he had completed training and was serving in the National Guard. Dobkin was also ordained as a deacon of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate).
Today, Dobkin lives a private life. His former ally from the Opposition Bloc, Oleksandr Feldman, noted that Dobkin actively provides financial support to the army.
Collaborators
At the same time, there is a large group of Russia-awarded politicians who became state traitors.
Some fled to Russia after the 2014 Revolution of Dignity — former President Viktor Yanukovych (Order of Holy Prince Daniel of Moscow from the Russian Orthodox Church), former Prime Minister Mykola Azarov (Order of Honour), and former Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk (Order of Friendship), as well as former MPs Vadym Kolesnichenko and Oleh Tsaryov (both Pushkin Medal recipients).
Another group of Russian award holders began direct cooperation with Russia after 2022.
Putin’s ally Viktor Medvedchuk (Order of Friendship), former MP Andrii Derkach (Order of Friendship from the Russian Orthodox Church), and several other fugitive politicians are currently in Russia or in occupied territories, where they openly support the war against Ukraine.
Former MPs Yevhen Balytskyi and Volodymyr Saldo have headed occupation administrations in southern Ukraine and were awarded the Russian Order For Merit to the Fatherland (3rd degree) during the full-scale war.
Quick Q&A
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Which Ukrainian politicians hold Russia’s Order of Friendship? This Kremlin award was previously granted to former Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Lytvyn (in 2011), former Kharkiv Regional State Administration Chairman Mykhailo Dobkin (in 2010), and former Central Election Commission Chairman Serhii Kivalov (in 2013). Aside from politicians, Metropolitan Onufriy, the head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), has also remained a holder of this Russian order since 2013.
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What award did Leonid Kuchma receive from Vladimir Putin? The second President of Ukraine holds Russia's Order For Merit to the Fatherland (1st degree). The decree awarding him was signed back in April 2004, but Leonid Kuchma personally received the decoration at the Kremlin in 2011 by the then-President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev.
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Which Ukrainian figures received Russia’s Medal of Pushkin? This Russian state award, presented for promoting Russian culture abroad, is held by Serhii Kivalov (awarded in 2009), as well as fugitive former Members of Parliament Oleh Tsarov and Vadym Kolesnichenko (both received the decoration in 2013).
