MOSCOW, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Tuesday awarding the Order of Courage to 11-year-old Alexei Martynenko, who sacrificed his life saving other children from a summer camp fire.
The order was awarded "for the courage and determination shown in saving people in extreme conditions," the presidential decree read.
The fire broke out on July 23 at a summer camp in Khabarovsk Region in Russia's Far East, where there were 189 children.
Martynenko, a 5th grade student from the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur, rushed to help evacuate other children from the tents on fire. He received fatal burns and died in hospital with three other children from the camp.
The day after the tragedy, people in the boy's hometown circulated on social networks a petition to grant Martynenko a state award.
