Congratulations on the award! Artists of the Ensemble were awarded the medal "Military Conductor and Composer V. I. Agapkin"for the first time

The name of the Russian and Soviet military conductor and composer, Colonel of the Soviet Army Vasily Ivanovich Agapkin is well known to all admirers of musical art in Russia and abroad.

Vasily Agapkin wrote more than forty marches, waltzes and pieces for brass band. Among his most outstanding works are the waltzes "Magic Dream", "Blue Night", "Night over Moscow", "Dawn over Moscow", "On the Black Sea Coast", the polka "Merry Rest", "Counter March for the Cavalry", "Mongolian March". However, Agapkin gained nationwide fame as the author of the military march "Farewell of Slavyanka", which became a landmark work for the history and culture of Russia. This march, dedicated to seeing off soldiers to war, has been one of the most recognizable Russian melodies in foreign countries for over a century.

The performance of the march "Farewell of Slavyanka" as the final "chord" of each concert performance is one of the remarkable creative traditions of the Academic Order "For Merit in Culture and Art" Song and Dance Ensemble of the Troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation under the direction of the artistic director and chief conductor, People's Artist of Russia, Major General Viktor Eliseev. Every Russian associates this music with the heroic past of our people, with the Victory in the Great Patriotic War — that is why, at the very first sounds of this march, wherever the concert takes place, the audience always stands up.  

Last year, 2024, the 140th anniversary of the famous composer was celebrated. In memory of this important event in the cultural life of the country, by order of the Director of the Federal Service of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation - Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation, Hero of the Russian Federation, General of the Army Viktor Zolotov dated March 4, 2024, N 54, a commemorative medal "Military conductor and composer V.I. Agapkin" was established.

Joyful excitement reigned today in the Ensemble — On behalf of the Director of the Russian National Guard, Hero of Russia, General of the Army Viktor Zolotov, Deputy Head of the Department, Colonel General Alexei Vorobyov presented the commemorative medal “Military Conductor and Composer V.I. Agapkin” to the artists of the Ensemble who have achieved the greatest success in their creative work.

The presentation of the award took place in a solemn atmosphere. The event was attended by officers of the central office of the department, veterans of the law enforcement forces, and servicemen of the Academic Ensemble.

The list of those awarded included 22 names, including the head of the Ensemble, artistic director and principal conductor Viktor Eliseev, deputy head of the Ensemble for military-political work Vladimir Bogdanov, principal conductor Lyudmila Bogomolova, military conductor Alexey Mazanov, head of the video recording studio Ivan Gurkovsky, conductor of the orchestral group Vladimir Urman, concertmaster of the orchestral group Danila Korenev, leading soloist of the Ensemble Natalia Eliseeva, vocalists of the choir group: Alexey Dmitriev, Alexander Kokhov, Evgeny Nasonov, Igor Safonov, Alexey Kholyavko, Grigory Yakovlev, orchestra artists: Pavel Arinin, Andrey Kravetsky, Vitaly Kuznetsov, Dmitry Svistunov, ballet dancer Elena Kozhayeva, choirmasters of the studio (Children's Ensemble) Valeria Goryunova, Tatyana Pankova, sound engineer of the video recording studio Sergey Pugachev.