Heydar Aliyev Foundation VP gets high award of Russian Orthodox Church
By Nigar Orujova
Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, head of the Russian Representative Office of the Foundation, Leyla Aliyeva, has been awarded a high order of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The Order of the Holy Equal to the Apostles Duchess Olga of the third degree, which was founded in 1989 to mark the 1000th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia, is granted to women for their contribution to the Church.
The holders of the order include chairwoman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko, former Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Grand Duchess of Russia Maria Vladimirovna.
The order was conferred to Leyla Aliyeva by Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia for her contribution to the construction of a monument to Saint Prince Vladimir in the southern Russian city of Astrakhan, and for her role in strengthening the friendship between Russia and Azerbaijan.
In September 2012, Aliyeva participated in the inauguration of the Azerbaijan-Russia Bridge of Friendship in Astrakhan. The 50-meter-long pedestrian bridge connects the Heydar Aliyev Park with the boulevard. Symbols of Baku and Astrakhan, the Maiden Tower and the Astrakhan Kremlin, are in the ornaments of railing.
Aliyeva was also awarded a medal "For Services to the Astrakhan region".