The 20th Jubilee Award Ceremony of the RPC Prize "Return to Life," dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the RPC, took place at the State Kremlin Palace

On May 22, the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC), with the support of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation and the Russian Sports Fund, held the 20th Jubilee Award Ceremony of the RPC Prize "Return to Life," dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the RPC.

The ceremony took place in the small hall of the State Kremlin Palace. It gathered all the brightest representatives of the country's Paralympic movement – more than 100 Paralympic champions, as well as their coaches from different eras, and heads of National Paralympic Committees and international organizations from more than 40 countries.

The laureates of the 20th Jubilee Ceremony were Paralympic athletes who demonstrated outstanding sports results, coaches who ensured the training of athletes, and state and public figures who made significant contributions to the development of the Paralympic movement in Russia over the past 30 years.

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin sent a greeting address to the participants and guests of the ceremony. It was read aloud by the Minister of Sports and President of the Russian Olympic Committee, Mikhail Degtyarev.

Greeting addresses were also received from the Chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Valentina Matviyenko, and the Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, Vyacheslav Volodin.

President of the Russian Paralympic Committee Pavel Rozhkov, addressing the ceremony participants, noted:

"Honoring the best Paralympians who have brought glory to Russian sport has become a fine tradition. The jubilee ceremony includes those who stood at the origins of adaptive sport in our country and won medals even before the formation of the Russian Paralympic Committee, competing as part of the USSR national team, as well as their mentors. With their victories, they laid a solid foundation for the development of the country's Paralympic movement and became idols for many children, a role model for future champions – your successors.

International partners – heads of national committees and international organizations – are taking part in this celebratory event. This is very important to us. Since 2016, the RPC has been under sanctions. Since 2022, the Executive Committee of the International Paralympic Committee has three times initiated at its General Assemblies the question of the RPC's complete disqualification from participation in the world Paralympic movement and competitions. And last year, at the IPC General Assembly in Seoul, the Russian Paralympic Committee achieved full reinstatement of its membership in the IPC.

During the votes, the majority of countries supported us. 111 delegates voted against the complete disqualification of Russia, 55 for; and on the issue of full reinstatement of membership, the majority was again in support of the RPC – 91 countries, with 77 against.

In our work to defend athletes' rights in various international bodies and organizations, we are actively assisted by the Ministry of Sports of Russia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Prosecutor General's Office. On behalf of the Paralympic athletes of Russia, we thank our foreign colleagues and partners for their support.

The victory at the IPC General Assembly allowed our athletes to compete with the flag, anthem, and uniforms featuring national symbols. At the 2026 Paralympic Games, they did so brilliantly, achieved resounding victories, delighted the country with medals, and took 3rd place in the team standings, asserting the clear leadership of Russian sport. Alongside the Ministry of Sports of Russia and All-Russian sports federations, the Federal Medical-Biological Agency made a significant contribution to the team's successful performance, with its specialists actively working with our Paralympians."

"The jubilee award ceremony 'Return to Life' in the Kremlin became for all of us a bright, unforgettable celebration that will be remembered for a long time and will make a significant contribution to the further popularization of the Paralympic movement in the country. This large-scale sports festival was made possible thanks to the support of the Russian Sports Fund, the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation, and personally the head of the sports department, Mikhail Degtyarev. There are not many sports awards in our country that have been held for such a long time. The tradition of holding the ceremony, established in 2005 by its ideological inspirer Olga Bogoslovskaya and the Russian Paralympic Committee, is alive and developing. Over the years, it has proven its worth and importance in popularizing the Paralympic movement and involving new people in it," added the head of the RPC in his concluding remarks.

Heads of government bodies, sports federations, representatives of the international Paralympic community, politicians, public figures, and sports fans gathered to congratulate the laureates. During the ceremony, laureates were recognized in ten categories.

Laureates of the 20th Jubilee Award Ceremony of the RPC Prize "Return to Life"

Nomination "Strength in Will"

Oksana Savchenko – eight-time Paralympic champion in blind swimming, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

Mikhalina Potaskueva (Lysova) – six-time champion, eight-time silver and three-time bronze medalist of the Paralympic Games in blind cross-country skiing and biathlon, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

Nomination "I Love You, Life"

Anna Milenina – seven-time Paralympic champion in cross-country skiing and biathlon for athletes with physical impairments, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

Alexey Tumakov – two-time champion and silver medalist of the Paralympic Games in cerebral palsy football, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

Nomination "What is Life? – Struggle!"

Sergey Shilov – six-time Paralympic champion in cross-country skiing for athletes with musculoskeletal disorders, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

Irina Gromova – senior coach of the Russian national team in cross-country skiing and biathlon for athletes with physical impairments, Honored Coach of Russia

Nomination "By Personal Example"

Rustam Sayfullin – Hero of the Russian Federation, participant in the Special Military Operation, colonel, deputy head of the Tyumen Higher Military Engineering Command School, member of the RPC Executive Committee, champion of the "Defenders of the Fatherland Cup"

Nomination "Turn of Fate"

Roman Petushkov – six-time Paralympic champion in cross-country skiing and biathlon for athletes with physical impairments, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

Alexander Kuzyukov – two-time Paralympic champion in wheelchair fencing, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

Nomination "Fulcrum"

Vladimir Lukin – Honorary President of the Russian Paralympic Committee

Petr Builov – Honored Coach of Russia, senior coach of the USSR and Russian national teams in blind athletics

Alexander Nazarov – senior coach of the Russian national team in alpine skiing for athletes with physical impairments, Honored Coach of Russia

Nomination "Overcoming"

Mikhail Astashov – two-time Paralympic Summer Games champion in cycling for athletes with physical impairments, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

Nomination "And Life, and Tears, and Love…"

Spouses Ruslan Israpilov and Madina Kazakova.

Madina Kazakova – champion and bronze medalist of the Paralympic Games in blind judo, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

Ruslan Israpilov – Honored Coach of Russia, coach in adaptive sports

Nomination "Second Wind"

Timur Tuchinov – two-time Paralympic champion in archery for athletes with physical impairments, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

Alexey Bugaev – four-time Paralympic champion in alpine skiing for athletes with physical impairments, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

Nomination "Return to Life"

Rima Batalova – thirteen-time Paralympic champion in blind athletics, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

Valery Kupchinsky – nine-time Paralympic champion in blind cross-country skiing, Honored Master of Sports of Russia

The well-deserved awards to winners in various categories were presented by: Mikhail Degtyarev, Pavel Rozhkov, Referent of the Presidential Directorate for Public Projects and Hero of Russia Alexey Romanov, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Anna Kuznetsova, member of the Federation Council Committee on International Affairs, Hero of Russia, and three-time Olympic champion Alexander Karelin, member of the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security and Hero of Russia Dmitry Perminov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education Oleg Smolin, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans' Affairs and Paralympic champion Mikhail Terentyev, acting Deputy Governor of Bryansk Oblast and Hero of Russia Andrey Frolenkov, Deputy Minister of Health of Russia Andrey Plutnitsky, Chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on Physical Culture and Sports of the Russian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Mitrofan of Murmansk and Monchegorsk, Chairman of the Dynamo Society Anatoly Gulevsky, First Deputy Head of the FAI MO RF CSKA and two-time Olympic champion Svetlana Khorkina, Vice-President of the Central Council for Tourism and Recreation Andrey Trofimov, Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia David Krishtal, General Director of FONKOR LLC Alexander Paramonov, as well as foreign guests of the celebratory events – President of the Asian Paralympic Committee Majid Rashed, and 11-time Paralympic champion in athletics and President of the Cuban Paralympic Committee Omara Durand Elias.

Each laureate of the Jubilee Ceremony received a certificate for 200,000 rubles from the charitable program "DobroFon," as well as equipment from Bosco.

The Russian Paralympic Committee thanks the partners of the 20th Jubilee Award Ceremony of the RPC Prize "Return to Life": Russian Sports Fund, Ministry of Sports of Russia, Fonbet company, Bosco company, Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, Central Council for Tourism and Recreation.

The main information partner of the Ceremony was Match TV. On May 27 at 4:45 PM Moscow time, watch the television version of the ceremony on the federal channel "Match!" and at 9:00 PM on the channel "Match! Strana."

The hosts of the ceremony were: Honored Journalist of the Russian Federation, five-time laureate of the national TEFI award, and Match TV commentator Dmitry Guberniev, and five-time world champion in rhythmic gymnastics, Honored Master of Sports of Russia Yana Batyrshina.

The "Return to Life" Ceremony dates back to 2005. That was when outstanding Paralympic athletes, national team coaches, and sports organizers who demonstrated the best sports results and made significant contributions to the development of adaptive physical culture and sport in our country were first honored.