Prague, Nov 2 (CTK) – Czech folk singer and lyricist Jaromir Nohavica and former Soviet ice hockey goalkeeper Vladislav Tretiak were among those who obtained The Silver Archer award aimed at projects contributing to Russian-Czech relations on Thursday.
It is organised under the auspices of the Russian embassy and President Milos Zeman.
The award started in 2016, when it was also held under the auspices of the embassy and Zeman. This year, the Czech Centres were also involved.
It is presented in nine categories by a jury of 18.
Although Zeman did not participate in the award-giving ceremony in person, he sent the organisers a letter expressing joy over the fact that Nohavica and Tretiak would be awarded and pointing out he had granted Nohavica a state order on October 28.
“True artists who pass joy to people deserve to be appreciated on a large scale,” the president wrote.
Tretiak also acts as the President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and he was granted the prize for his extraordinary contribution in sport diplomacy and Czech-Russian relationships. In his sport career, Tretiak won ten world champion titles and three golden Olympic medals. Before he received the prize, he gave a a signed jersey for Zeman to a representative of the Presidential Office.
In the category of historical heritage, the National Heritage Monument was awarded for its exhibition entitled The Experience of Exile, which deals with the experience of Russian exiles in the interwar Czechoslovakia.
Other categories included business and communication, tourism, educational programmes, media communication and sport.
Czech singer Karel Gott and writer Lenka Prochazkova received the award in 2016.
