Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree awarding state decorations to Russian athletes for their achievements at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the Kremlin press service said on Saturday.

The Vancouver Games were Russia's worst, with the team winning just three gold medals, five silver and seven bronze, and finishing 11th in the overall medals table. The Kremlin has been appalled by Russia's "dismal" performance, calling on officials responsible for the preparation of Russia's Olympic team to quit.

According to the decree, the Order of Friendship will be awarded to skiers Nikita Kryukov, Evgeny Ustyugov and biathletes Svetlana Sleptsova, Anna Bogaliy-Titovets, Olga Medvedtseva and Olga Zaitseva, who grabbed the gold medals.

The Order of Merit for the Fatherland, first class, will go to figure skater Evgeni Plushenko, speed skater Ivan Skobrev and biathlete Ivan Cherezov.

The Order of Merit for the Fatherland, second class, will be awarded to the bobsleigh pair of Alexei Voevoda and Alexander Zubkov, figure skating pair of Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, snowboarder Yekaterina Ilyukhina, skiers Irina Khazova, Natalia Korosteleva, Nikolay Morilov, Alexei Petukhov, Alexander Panzhinsky, skeleton athlete Alexander Tretyakov, biathletes Maxuim Chudov and Anton Shipulin.

Medvedev also expressed his deep gratitude to lugers Tatiana Ivanova and Albert Demchenko, figure skaters Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov, skier Alexander Legkov and snowboarder Stanislav Detkov, who took fourth places at the Olympics.

MOSCOW, March 6 (RIA Novosti)