VORONEZH (dpa-AFX) - Stefan Duerr, a German dairy producer who has been active in Russia for decades, has been awarded the State Order of Friendship by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Alexander Gusev, the governor of the Voronezh region, released a video of the presentation of the high-level award - at Putin's instruction, he announced.

At the same time, he praised the 61-year-old Dürr, who also has Russian citizenship and is pictured on many dairy product packages, for his services to agriculture. The farmer, who comes from Baden-Württemberg, is also the chairman of the Russian dairy producers' association, Soyuzmoloko.

Governor: Some shy away from awards

"Stefan Dürr is very proud of this award, while some investors with foreign roots, who are being pressured by the authorities of unfriendly states, shy away from Russian state awards," Goosev said on his news channel on Telegram. Dürr's Ekoniva Group has always stood for the highest standards in the dairy industry, said the governor.

Ekoniva is the Russian subsidiary of Ekosem-Agrar AG, whose founder, shareholder and board member Dürr is. According to the company, the group is active in 35 regions of Russia and has more than 15,000 employees.

After Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine, many Western companies, including Volkswagen, Bosch and Siemens, withdrew from the Russian market in response to the sanctions imposed by the EU and the United States. However, numerous small and medium-sized companies that are not affected by trade bans continue to operate in Russia. Food products, for example, are not covered by Western sanctions./mau/DP/zb