Putin reportedly awards the Hero of the Russian Federation to his own first deputy chief of staff

Vladimir Putin has reportedly awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation to his own first deputy chief of staff, Sergey Kiriyenko, according to the newspaper Kommersant. Putin’s spokesman refused to comment on the matter, and the award still hasn’t been confirmed officially. The award is Russia’s highest honorary title, granted for service to the state and nation, usually connected with a heroic feat of valor.

Putin apparently handed out the same award to several staff at Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency, which Kiriyenko managed from 2005 until 2016, when he joined the presidential administration. Putin also reportedly bestowed the honor on Yuri Borisov, Russia’s new deputy prime minister in charge of the country’s military industrial sector.

Sergey Kiriyenko is widely credited with orchestrating Putin’s March 2018 re-election, where the president received 76.7 percent of the vote, winning a fourth term in office.