“Unknown heroes” of Russian culture recognised at prize ceremony

The first winners of a new competition to find the “unknown heroes” of contemporary Russian society were announced at a ceremony in Moscow last week. The Civil Initiatives awards seek to discover the people and projects working towards creating a better Russia. In all, 12 categories, covering everything from culture and art to public health and animal welfare are awarded, voted for by the public online.

The Spiritual Legacy category, which covers art, culture, education and science, was awarded to Living Classics, an international competition aimed at promoting reading among children. In 2013, 2.5 million children aged 11-12 from Russian speaking countries entered the competition which involves reciting passages from their favourite literary works. The organisations also supports initiatives aimed at improving library provision and the promotion of the Russian language and literature abroad.

The competition was launched by the Committee for Civil Initiatives, a think tank set up in April 2012 by Alexei Kudrin, the current dean of the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences at St Petersburg University and trustee of the Calvert 22 Foundation.