adopting Alexandrov's melody (lyrics by Sergey Mikhalkov were adopted later; Oleg Chirkunov was the only one voting against it). He served as the first President of Chuvash Republic to 29 August 2010. He was a supporter of market reforms. Fyodorov opposed Russian President Boris Yeltsin's policies in Chechnya and Vladimir Putin's 2000 federal reform initiatives. Post-presidency On 8 September 2010, at the session of the State Council of Chuvashia, he was approved as a member of the Federation Council of Russia. He had been the Minister of Agriculture from 21 May 2012 until April 2015. Two days after his appointment he sent a letter to Mikhail Ignatyev, who was his successor as the president of Chuvashia. Fyodorov criticized the economic policy of Ignatyev's administration. From April to September 2015 Fyodorov was an advisor to the President of Russia on agroindustrial complex issues. In January 2014, Fyodorov arrived in Berlin for the Green Week agriculture exhibition on a business-class Cessna private jet, which was registered in Serbia. The photo of Fyodorov leaving the cabin was first retouched and then removed from the website of the Ministry of Agriculture. In March 2015 deputy chairman of the Committee on Agrarian Policy of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Pavel Grudinin criticized Fyodorov's department for imposing transport tax on agricultural machinery operating in the fields, despite the fact that this transport is not intended to use the motorways. After his resign from the federal cabinet Fyodorov was appointed a member of the Federation Council from Chuvashia for the second time. In 2015–2020 he was the First Deputy Chairman of the Council. Personal life He is an ethnic Chuvash. He is married and has one son and a daughter. His son Vasily is a lawyer. In addition to his native Chuvash, he speaks Russian and German. Honours and awards Order of Merit for the Fatherland; 3rd class (5 August 2003) — for outstanding contribution to strengthening Russian statehood and many years of diligent work 4th class (9 May 1998) — for services to the state and a major contribution to socio-economic development of Chuvash Republic Order of Alexander Nevsky (2017) — for his great contribution to the development of Russian parliamentarism and legislative activity Order of Honour (11 September 2008) — for outstanding contribution to the socio-economic development of the long and fruitful work State Prize of the Russian Federation for science and technology, 1999