On May 22, 2026, the XX grand ceremony of awarding the "Return to Life" award of the Russian Paralympic Committee took place at the State Kremlin Palace. This year's event was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Russian Paralympic Committee.
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin sent greetings to the participants, guests and organizers of the ceremony.
With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Mitrofan of Murmansk and Monchegorsk, Chairman of the Patriarchal Commission on Physical Culture and Sports, took part in the event.
During the ceremony, outstanding Paralympic athletes, national team coaches and sports organizers were honored. The awards were presented in ten categories for outstanding sporting achievements in the international arena and significant contributions to the development of adaptive physical culture and sports.
Metropolitan Mitrofan presented awards in the "Turn of Fate" nomination to six-time champion, silver and bronze medalist of the Paralympic Games in cross-country skiing and biathlon, Honored Master of Sports of Russia Roman Petushkov, as well as two-time champion of the 2020 Summer Paralympic Games in Tokyo in fencing, Honored Master of Sports of Russia Alexander Kuzyukov.
Addressing the laureates, His Eminence noted the strength of spirit, courage and will of the Paralympic athletes, who, overcoming difficult life circumstances, achieve outstanding sporting results and become an example of perseverance for many people.
The award ceremony was also attended by Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation A.Y. Kuznetsova, Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Russian Olympic Committee M.V. Degtyarev, Senator of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, Hero of Russia Alexander Karelin, Head of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency V.I. Skvortsova, Assistant to the Office of the President of the Russian Federation for Public Projects, Hero of Russia A.V. Romanov, President of the Russian Paralympic Committee P.A. Rozhkov, representatives of national Paralympic committees and international sports organizations, as well as other distinguished guests.
The event was attended by a member of the Patriarchal Commission on Physical Culture and Sports, Priest Georgy Dekhtyarev.