There are 31 Heroes of Russia among the 85 participants of the second stream of the Time of Heroes program.

85 participants, including 31 Heroes of Russia, were selected for the second stream of the presidential program "Time of Heroes". This was announced on the project's website on May 21.

"We propose to nominate 85 people for the second stream. 37 participants were selected from among those who applied in the first wave of registration, 48 more applied in the second wave of registration," said Sergey Kiriyenko, First Deputy head of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, whose words are quoted in the statement.

In addition, he noted that the number of candidates with high state awards has increased significantly. Kiriyenko added that among the main selection criteria were military merit, high managerial experience in the civilian and combat spheres.

Alexander Karelin, Senator of the Federation Council, Hero of Russia, member of the Public Council of the Time of Heroes program, stressed that 72 knights of the Order of Courage were also among the participants of the second stream.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on January 24 that the Time of Heroes program had proven to be effective and would continue in one form or another.

The launch of the Time of Heroes program was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a message to the Federal Assembly on February 29, 2024. The Russian leader clarified that the participants of the SVR will be given the opportunity to enroll in leading universities and receive a civilian specialty as a matter of priority.