MOSCOW, June 15 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree conferring the Order of St.Andrew the First-Called upon Lyudmila Zykina, the director of the State Academic Folk Company "Rossia", "for an outstanding contribution to the development of national culture and musical art.

Zykina who celebrated her 75th anniversary the other day is an outstanding Russian singer known for her unique voice.

She has made her mark in Russian culture and musical art with more than 2,000 songs of various genres, many of which have been recognized as classical examples of folk art and have endeared themselves to millions of people.

The folk company "Rossia" that Zykina founded and took the direction of in 1977 has been acclaimed all over Russia and abroad. In the recent years, the celebrated company has given performance in the Urals, Udmurtia, Siberia and Krasnoyarsk region.

Zykina is active in public life, presiding over the Russian Academy of Culture, the Moscow Peace Fund and the charity "In the name of peace and man". She has initiated and directed many large-scale socially-significant events and charitable moves for war and labour veterans.

Lyudmila Zykina has been decorated with the Hero of Socialist Labour title, the Orders of Lenin, "For services to the country" (second degree), "For services to the country" (third degree) and the Lenin prize she is a Merited Artist of the USSR and a Merited Artist of the Russian Federation.