On Monday, June 11, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz joined in the citywide celebration of Russian Heritage by hosting a ceremony honoring several distinguished members of the community.

“Russia and Brooklyn have shared a very special relationship for more than a century,” said Borough President Markowitz. “The number of Russian speaking Brooklynites has swelled in recent decades, and Russian culture, food, and customs enliven Brooklyn neighborhoods more and more every year.”

Honorees included Dr. Svetlana Amirkhanian, chairlady of the St. Gregory Armenian Mission Parish; Dr. Daniel Igor Branovan, president of Russian-American Jews for Israel; Leonard Petlakh, executive director of the Kings Bay YM-YWHA; Elie Rubinstein, executive director of Blue Card; Sofia Vinokurov, the late Naum Vinokurov, Fira Roytkov, the late Joseph Roytkov, and Mark and Berta Rachman, founders of “National” restaurant; William E. Rapfogel, executive director and CEO of Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty; and Rabbi Mark S. Golub, president and CEO of the Russian Media Group.

The 5th Annual Russian Heritage Festival, a citywide celebration of the many cultural and economic contributions of the Russian-speaking community in New York, encompasses a series of events and is produced by the Russian American Arts Foundation and presented by the Daily News, in cooperation with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the City of New York.