The renowned Russian academic and Eastern studies specialist Mikhail Meyer and St. Petersburg artist and active proponent to friendship with Japan Natalya Maksimova were awarded the Order of the Rising Sun on November 3, ITAR-TASS reports. The order is one of the highest honors of Japan.

Mikhail Meyer is a historian specializing in the history of Turkey and the author of many academic publications on the Ottoman Empire. He is also the director of the Institute of Asia and Africa at Moscow State University. This institute is one of the main educational institutions for specialists in Japanese studies and organizes exchange programs with numerous Japanese universities.

Artist Natalya Maksimova is one of the leaders of the Russia-Japan Friendship Society. She is known for her large number of pictures painted during trips to Japan. Her works includes both landscape paintings and portraits of residents of a wide range of regions throughout the country from Okinawa in the south to the island of Honshu in the north. Her works have been exhibited with great success in both Russia and Japan.

The Order of the Rising Sun is one of the highest honors in Japan. It is bestowed on Japanese and foreign citizens via an order of the emperor. In the past 50 years 30 Russians have received this honor, including Mstislav Rostopovich, Valery Gergiev, Yuri Lyubimov and Ivan Golovin. The first Russian to receive the order was Rear Admiral Vsevolod Rudnev, the commander of the legendary Battleship Varyag.