The published decree of November 9, 2026 lists 17 RTRS employees — a state-owned enterprise that provides the broadcast of federal TV channels, including Channel One and Rossiya 24.
The Order of Honor was awarded to RTRS Treasury Director Andrey Khromov, Deputy General Director Mikhail Nebolsin, and Moscow Regional Center Director Dmitry Nazarov. The Order of Friendship was awarded to Information Support Department Director Viktor Potanin, and ten more employees received medals of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” of the I and II degrees.
Three employees were awarded honorary titles: Director of the Mobilization Training and Civil Defense Department Almaz Suleymanov, Chief Accountant Tatyana Manets, and Deputy General Director Margarita Sukhanova. The European Union imposed sanctions on RTRS on July 15, 2025, as well as personal restrictions against its CEO Andrey Romanchenko and the director of the department for coordinating the development of communications infrastructure in the “new territories” Vladimir Naydenov.
The EU sanctions document says that the enterprise played a key role in replacing Ukrainian television broadcasting systems in the occupied territories of Ukraine with a network that broadcasts content approved by the Russian authorities. According to the EU, this was aimed at suppressing dissent, spreading Russian propaganda, and limiting residents' access to independent information.
It also says that RTRS employees were directly involved in setting up Russian television broadcasting in the occupied territories of Ukraine. In August 2020, Putin had already awarded about 300 RTRS workers for Russia's transition to digital television broadcasting, and in August 2026, for the company's 25th anniversary, the entire staff was awarded the Order of Honor; among those awarded then were Khromov, Nebolsin, and Sukhanova.
The current awards were repeat honors for some RTRS employees: Khromov, Nebolsin, and Sukhanova had already received presidential awards before. In the new decree, they again made the list of 17 people recognized for their work at the state company.
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