DHAKA: Yevgeny Yevtushenko, a representative of the post-Stalin generation of Soviet poets who was particularly popular in the 1960s, has received the UNESCO medal and diploma "for outstanding contribution to developing culture and strengthening inter-cultural dialogue and relations among nations.

The award ceremony took place at the opening of Days of Russian Language at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization headquarters in Paris on Friday, reports The Voice of Russia on Saturday.

The report said that after the winning Yevtushenko said ‘Thank you very much for this medal’ in French.

It is the first time that the UNESCO headquarters was hosting Days of Russian Language instituted in 2010, Eleonora Mitrofanova, Russia's permanent representative to UNESCO, told Itar-Tass.

A poetic evening of Yevgeny Yevtushenko took place at the Russian embassy in France a day earlier, on Thursday. Yevtushenko who is the winner of many prestigious awards presented his new poem Dora Franco.

Yevgeny Yevtushenko, who is also a script writer and a publicist, wrote more than 150 books which had been translated into many foreign languages.

BDST: 1425 HRS, JUNE 14, 2014