On the presentation of the annual All-Russian literary and historical prize “Alexander Nevsky”.
Proof that patriotism - love for the Fatherland and veneration of its great figures - can be a unifying, national idea, are the annual celebrations dedicated to the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky. This holiday, which has a centuries-old tradition in St. Petersburg, beginning of the XXI century becomes all-Russian and nationwide. The veneration of Prince Alexander Nevsky as the savior of Rus'-Russia has a history of almost 700 years, and the worship of him as the patron saint of Imperial Russia began on September 12, 1724, when, wanting to perpetuate the victory in the Northern War (1700-1721) and the date establishing Peace of Nystadt, Emperor Peter I ordered the relics of the holy warrior prince to be transferred to St. Petersburg from Vladimir. In 1743, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna established the annual religious procession, which took place until 1921, and was canceled by the Bolsheviks. Only 92 years later the ancient tradition was resumed, this happened in 2013. 50 thousand citizens took part in the celebrations dedicated to the transfer of the relics of the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky, held on September 12, 2016 in St. Petersburg, according to the metropolitan website. The religious procession was led by Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg and Ladoga.
Much earlier than the resumption of the procession, an event took place glorifying the holy prince Alexander Nevsky as the spiritual unifier and enlightener of Russia. Since 2004, the All-Russian Historical literary competition for the Alexander Nevsky Prize. This is the case when not only the highest prize, but the very opportunity to participate in a representative competition is a source of pride for everyone who nominates their work. The word “work”, of course, is not a word that can fully describe the materials considered by the competition jury. Within the framework of the All-Russian Historical- literary prize“Alexander Nevsky” two competitions are held: a competition of literary historical works and a competition of museum memorial projects. In essence, the works of teams or individual authors are provided, which are the result of many years of research and effort. Therefore, by agreement of the founder of the prize - OJSC Talion (St. Petersburg) represented by famous philanthropist Alexander Iosifovich Ebralidze and co-founder of the prize - the Union of Writers of Russia, headed by Dr. historical sciences, co-chairman of the World Russian People's Council, famous Russian writer Valery Nikolaevich Ganichev, decided to increase the number of laureate nominations, and clarified the thematic features of the works. The St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Writers' Union was represented by its chairman Boris Aleksandrovich Orlov.
The Regulations on the competition say: “For the competition, applications are submitted in which the author (team of authors) and the work created by him, dedicated to historical figures who have made a significant contribution to the development of the world, are nominated for the prize. Russian state, or to our other compatriots who set an example of noble service to the Motherland with their lives.” It is about serving the Fatherland, about the inextricable connection of each creative personality almost all laureates said, drawing knowledge and inspiration from the history of Russia. The honorary director of the Alexander Nevsky award ceremony, A.I. Ebralidze, provided the halls of the most beautiful palace in St. Petersburg for the event - the former palace of the Eliseev merchants, restored through the efforts of Talion LLC modern technologies with careful preservation of historical interiors, the first word was given to Archpriest Alexy Krylov, rector of the Cathedral of John the Baptist (Chesme Church). Father Alexy read a greeting from the vicar of the St. Petersburg diocese, Bishop Markell of Tsarskoye Selo, who recalled that history is theocentric, the Lord appears to us through individuals. But there are exceptional individuals responsible for making historical decisions. Saint Alexander Nevsky is an example of such a person and an intercessor for us before God.
Father Alexy, presenting awards in the nomination “In the service of the Fatherland”, emphasized that, despite the fact that Alexander Nevsky remained in people's memory in armor and with a sword, he died as a schema-monk. The team received the award in this category School Museum Military and Labor glory high school No. 197 named after. V. Markelova, Tomsk region, Severstal for holding the open festival “Letters from the Front”, which set as its main task the preservation of memory and historical education of the younger generation. The literary prize in this category was awarded to Anna Danilova’s book “The Nun Adriana. The life story of a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, nun Adriana (Malysheva). This book is documentary evidence heroic life Russian woman who was a participant in the war, worked in difficult post-war years at the factory, and then went to the monastery. The book is narrated in the first person. As the author said, the example of this woman’s life teaches readers to love their Motherland and be proud of its victories.
Special award “Chroniclers” got a team State Museum history of St. Petersburg for creating a unique exhibition - “Drawings of children of besieged Leningrad” from the museum’s collection. The museum workers managed not only to find and preserve these precious evidence of the heroism of Leningrad children, but to attribute some of them, leaving the names of little Leningrad heroes in history. Besieged Leningrad The book, which received an award in the “I Live and Remember” category, is also dedicated to it. Its author, Igor Mikhailovich Ilyinsky, recalls his life in the besieged city, his fate during the evacuation, and his relatives and friends who worked in the besieged city and restored Leningrad after the war. Igor Mikhailovich expressed gratitude to the founders of the Prize and especially thanked the historian, public figure, chairman of the Ross Writers Union Valery Nikolaevich Ganichev. This gratitude resulted in long applause from all participants in the celebration; the audience gave Valery Nikolaevich a standing ovation.
Prize in the nomination "Pedigree" was presented by the director of the Bukvoed bookstore chain, Denis Alekseevich Kotov. He, saying that a book lives not only through writing and publication, but also through promotion to the reader, took upon himself the obligation to distribute the books of all Alexander Nevsky Prize winners through his book network. There is no doubt that the book-album by Natalya Andreevna Naryshkina-Prokudina-Gorskaya “The Man Who Walked Fast” about the famous photographer, her relative, will receive recognition from readers. The museum prize in this category was awarded to the Nerchinsk Museum of Local Lore for an exhibition dedicated to the Butyrin family, a family of gold miners and philanthropists who had a house in St. Petersburg. Museum representative Alexander Yuryevich Litvintsev noted that famous aristocratic families have long been connected between Nerchinsk and St. Petersburg, so that both cities can be called cultural capitals.
Admiral Anatoly Alexandrovich Komaritsyn, former President Russian Geographical Society, presented the award winners in the nomination “Gatherers”. The team received the award National Museum Republic of Tatarstan, Kazan for the creation of “ Virtual Museum Great Patriotic War of the Republic of Tatarstan”, in which a book was created in memory of the dead, captured, missing residents of the republic, where every second family lost a member. For the book “Russians round the world travel. From Kruzenshtern to “Sedov” the prize was received by the authors Alexey Vyacheslavovich Kruzenshtern and Leonid Grigorievich Kolotilo. They thanked the entire team that took part in preparing the book for publication, which tells not only the history of circumnavigations, but also their geo-strategic significance for Russia at that time.
Sergei Mikhailovich Nekrasov, director of the All-Russian Museum of A.S. Pushkin, historian, culturologist, screenwriter, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, author of a number of monographs and numerous articles on the problems of museology, the history of Russian culture and social thought of the 18th-early 19th centuries. gladly awarded the prize in the nomination "Heritage" his colleagues from the Historical and Cultural Memorial Museum-Reserve “Cimmeria M.A. Voloshin” from Koktebel (Crimea). Natalya Mikhailovna Miroshnichenko spoke about the “International Scientific and Creative Symposium “Voloshin September”: the ideas of Maximilian Voloshin and the traditions of the House of the Poet in modern world" This living, developing exhibition ( research) is connected with St. Petersburg, since the fixed assets necessary for museum work, stored in the Pushkin House. The book by Yulia Viktorovna Kudrina “From the Heights of the Throne. Emperor Alexander III and Empress Maria Fedorovna” also has a deep connection with the history and modernity of Russia. As the author of the book said, today we still know little about this outstanding Emperor, who saved Russia when, after the abolition of serfdom, it, as F.M. Dostoevsky said, “was hovering over the abyss.”
The head of the “Directorate of International Book Exhibitions and Fairs” Sergei Vadimovich Kaikin presented the laureates of the “Alexander Nevsky” award in the nomination “Creators”. The prize was received by the team of the Association of State Literary and Memorial Museums of the Penza Region for “Kuprinsky literary holiday" Violetta Nikolaevna Dobryakova said that this is the only Alexander Kuprin museum in Russia. Interesting family legend Kuprin that through the prayers of little Alexander’s mother to St. Alexander Nevsky was saved from death in childhood by the future outstanding Russian writer, and the holy prince became his intercessor in later life. The spiritual connections with the saints of Rus'-Russia of the great Russian writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky are explored in her book “Dostoevsky: I am studying this secret” by Galina Borisovna Ponomareva, who received a literary prize. She spoke about the connection between her literary destiny and the work of Dostoevsky and his spiritual quest.
The culmination of the festive ceremony was the awarding of three highest prizes. The great Russian literary scholar Nikolai Nikolaevich Skatov congratulated the laureates Third Prize. It was awarded to the Irkutsk Regional Museum of Local Lore for a unique exhibition dedicated to the fate and spiritual quest of our contemporary, the brilliant Russian writer Valentin Grigorievich Rasputin. The exhibition “Near Light from Afar (on the anniversary of the death of the writer V.G. Rasputin)” presents materials telling about his attitude towards the Russian Orthodox Church, about Rasputin’s visit to the holy land of Athos. Famous writer Sergei Shargunov received a bronze figure of St. Alexander Nevsky for the book “Kataev”. Sergei Shargunov talks about his reverent attitude towards this wonderful Russian writer, whose life and work future generations should know about. Valentin Petrovich is an extraordinary stylist, he is a man of truth. And the power of truth must win, said Sergei Shargunov.
The longest-running award was the award Second Prize. Valery Nikolaevich Ganichev spoke a lot about the critical importance of history as a science and history as a canvas own life. I remembered an instructive episode from my military childhood. One day, it was April 5, 1942, he came to class, and the teacher said, “Today we beat the Germans.” The guys were excited and happy. But the teacher explained - it was 700 years ago - he did it Grand Duke Alexander Nevsky on Lake Peipus. The images of our great ancestors strengthened the Russian spirit during the most difficult years war. We still need them today. It is not for nothing that almost all of Russia venerated the relics of Saint Admiral Fyodor Ushakov this year. And in St. Petersburg, Ganichev said, the Alexander Nevsky Prize brings together people from all over Russia, this is one of the best modern historical awards.
Its worthy laureates were the employees of the historical and memorial complex “35th Coastal Battery” in Sevastopol, who created the exhibition “Grandchildren of Heroes” and received a commemorative figure of the silver saint Prince Alexander Nevsky. This modern pantheon, created with the help of Alexey Chaly, does not allow you to forget heroic story the glorious Russian city of Sevastopol. The team of historical authors Vitaly Dmitrievich Dotsenko, Sergei Ivanovich Makarov, Sergei Viktorovich Medvedev can rightfully be proud of both the well-deserved prize and their book “Admiral Ushakov. The naval commander is a holy, righteous warrior.” The authors of the book created family tree The ancient Ushakov family, dating back to 1022, was marked by all the existing icons, monuments, and churches dedicated to the holy Russian sailor. The authors presented a gift edition of this voluminous book with a gold edge to A.I. Ebralidze, and V.N. Ganichev was presented with a painting depicting Ushakov’s squadron at the roadstead of Fr. Corfu and thanked him for his scientific guidance. Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg and Ladoga was a consultant in the spiritual sphere.
Alexander Iosifovich Ebralidze congratulated the main laureates of the prize who received sculptures of the golden saint Alexander Nevsky. First Prize was awarded to the team of the Russian State Historical Archive, headed by Sergei Vladimirovich Chernyavsky, for the historical and documentary exhibition “Brilliant Son of the Golden Age. N.M. Karamzin and his era (on the 250th anniversary of his birth).” S.V. Chernyavsky thanked the organizers of the award and noted that the work, which received the highest rating from the jury, was based on the research of several archives, the help of the Public Library, and the Pushkin Museum. All our joint efforts, the scientist said, are justified, since Karamzin was a patriot, a hard worker, a man of honor - and should become an example for future generations.
The first literary prize was also awarded to the team of authors of the unique 15-volume publication “The Great Victory”. The team of authors was led by Alexey Ivanovich Podberezkin (general editing by Sergei Evgenievich Naryshkin and Anatoly Vasilyevich Torkunov). As project manager A.I. Podberezkin said, work on the publication was carried out on a public basis, based on enthusiasm, all participants considered it an honor to be involved in this rare historical work. The main task is to resist the falsification of the history of the Great Patriotic War, because our history is connected with our current sovereignty and further development countries. Great Patriotic War is not finished, so we, said A.I. Podberezkin, will continue this work. There are still many unclassified and unprocessed documents left. A.I. Ebralidze also spoke about the book, that it contains the true truth about all participants in the war - from privates to generals, obtained on the basis of recently declassified archives. Separately, the 9th volume is dedicated to Commander-in-Chief Stalin. As A.I. Ebralidze said, this is a good book, I want to live in an empire and I don’t want my country to be dictated how to live and what to do. The book “Great Victory” teaches us how to win.
Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky teaches us to win and this competition confirms that due to the growth of the patriotic spirit, the people become more moral, stronger, the awareness of historical justice makes a person a believer in the highest, God's justice, makes him realize his national greatness and spiritual wealth.
The All-Russian Historical and Literary Prize "Alexander Nevsky" is open creative competition. It is designed to support the interest of our compatriots in the history of their Motherland, in the best museum memorial projects and literary works dedicated to the heroes of our history and their deeds for the glory of the Fatherland.
It is symbolic that the award’s anniversary was celebrated in 2014, which was named the Year of Culture in the Russian Federation by presidential decree. One of the main criteria internal culture a person can without a doubt be called interested in understanding the past of his country and iconic figures of national history, cultural and scientific figures. Therefore, it is infinitely important at all times to support people who devote their lives to preserving the historical heritage of the country, be it within the walls of museums or on the pages of books. A composer lives in his music, an architect in buildings, a statesman in actions that have left a mark on history, but life goes on as usual, and that is why the work of those who devote themselves to serving the memory of outstanding compatriots is so valuable to us.
Every year, the Prize Commission bears the heavy burden of selecting the best of the best. Over the past years, about 1,500 literary works and more than 400 museum projects have been submitted to the competition. Among the laureates is Hero Soviet Union front-line writer Vladimir Karpov, literary critic Felix Kuznetsov, Russian Ambassador to Israel Pyotr Stegny, heart surgeon, academician Yuri Shevchenko, famous church historian Abbot Damaskin (Orlovsky), rector of the State Literary Institute. Gorky Boris Tarasov, daughter of Marshal Zhukov Maria Zhukova, President of the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve A.I. Aksenova, staff of the Russian State Library, director State Museum-Reserve M.A. Sholokhov Alexander Sholokhov, artist Ilya Glazunov and many others.
General Director of JSC Talion (St. Petersburg) Alexander Ebralidze:
The name of the holy noble prince Alexander Nevsky arose at important critical stages in the development of our country. By establishing the award, we want to emphasize that today is one of such turning points in the history of Russia, when every citizen must give clear answers to the questions posed by life - who am I? What do we live for? Fatherland, people - what meaning do we put into these words? The most important thing is that, in giving answers to these questions, we must understand that we live in a society where others always compare our words with our actions.
Chairman of the Board of the Union of Writers of Russia, academician Valery Ganichev:
Over the years of the existence of the Alexander Nevsky literary prize, we have fully realized the severity of the problems that it was designed to solve. This led us to the idea of expanding the scope of the project. With the help of the All-Russian Historical and Literary Prize "Alexander Nevsky", we hope to find the origins of Russian spirituality and patriotism not only on the pages of literary works on a historical theme, but also in museum halls. These origins in life path and the deeds of the heroes of our history, who can serve as an example for the education of current and future generations. The founders of the award intend to celebrate the people who tell us about them from the pages of their books, with their created expositions.
Today at once again The prize invites participation from museum workers and historical writers whose works are dedicated to the history of Russia.
The bonus fund will be 1,800,000 rubles. There are first, second, third and a number of incentive prizes for each competition. The winners of the first three prizes will also be awarded a sculpture of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky.
The collection of competitive applications will last until June 12, 2014, and the award ceremony is timed to coincide with September 12, the day of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky.
Additional information can be obtained on the award website www.alexander-nevsky.ru or by phone:
On September 11, on the eve of the day of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, an award ceremony for the laureates of the Alexander Nevsky Prize will be held in St. Petersburg.
Visiting the “Orthodox Book” portal is the head of the Organizing Committee of the “Alexander Nevsky” Prize, Marina Anatolyevna Guseva.
- Marina Anatolyevna, please tell us when and how the Alexander Nevsky Prize began?
- Our award was established in 2004, and the first award ceremony took place in 2005. Our award is called historical and literary because we work in two directions: we hold a competition of literary historical works and a competition of museum memorial projects. Our award was created both to popularize the best memorial projects of Russian museums, and to popularize literary works on historical topics that reveal the role and place of historical figures, their heroic deeds for the glory of the Fatherland.
We have two founders: the Union of Writers of Russia, which is headed by academician, Doctor of Historical Sciences Valery Nikolaevich Ganichev, and JSC Talion. Alexander Iosifovich Ebralidze, head of Talion OJSC, is a historian by training. And history for him is not a hobby, but life.
- Why was the figure of Alexander Nevsky chosen for the award?
- Alexander Nevsky is an iconic personality, interest in whom has always arose in turning points our country.
Our task is to present modern historical literature as widely as possible. The September issue of the Book Industry magazine presents the results of our joint survey on the market of modern historical literature. The survey involved publishers, librarians, critics, public figures. They all emphasized that modern historical literature is an independent phenomenon that requires attention and care. Most of the experts participating in the study noted the lack of special programs not only at the federal, but also at the local level to support historical literature. Therefore, any joint events of historians, local historians, writers, and publishers could prove useful against such a background.
- Not only can a book be nominated for the Alexander Nevsky Prize creative union or a publishing house, but also any private person. Isn’t the Prize Award Committee, and most importantly, the review group, choking on the wave of graphomaniac works?
- You will be surprised, but no. In the first year, we received 50 books for the competition, this year - 210 books. We consider this figure as a solid result: after all, we have a very narrow specialization. We award books dedicated to heroes Russian history, and not just good books based on historical material.
- How is the work of the experts from the review group organized? Who are your experts?
- We have two groups of experts: a review group - it evaluates historical and literary texts. And there is an expert museum group - they evaluate museum memorial projects.
We invite to the reviewing and expert group: scientists, journalists, literary critics. Each book submitted to the competition is first registered and then given to them for evaluation. Two reviews are written for each book. The same procedure applies to museum projects.
When the acceptance of applications ends in mid-June, we compile preliminary lists of those works and projects that we found particularly interesting. These are not selected lists yet, this is the initial “substrate” with which the commission will continue to work. From this preliminary list, a Selection List of 9 laureates is compiled. The selection list is approved by the commission, and then the winners of the first three awards are selected from these 9 people. It happens that one reviewer is “for” and the other is “against”, and then a member of the commission becomes the arbitrator.
Throughout the 5 years of our award’s existence, the review group of the literary competition has been headed by Alexander Yurievich Segen, associate professor of the A. M. Gorky Literary Institute, secretary of the board of the Union of Writers of Russia. He is the permanent leader of our review group. But there is a rotation within the group itself. We are interested in a fair competition, so we pay great attention review and expert work. It is necessary to take into account all opinions, observe collegiality, and only then make a verdict.
- The regulations on the prize indicate that works covering the period of national history from ancient times to 1945 are nominated for the competition. What is the reason for this limitation?
- This restriction was introduced by Alexander Iosifovich Ebralidze. A fairly widespread point of view is that the interval of 50 years from today sets the necessary distance for historical vision.
- Which books from this year’s list would you recommend to our readers?
- The book “Ascetics of Russia”, written by a famous Russian historian, director of the Institute, is very interesting Russian history RAS Andrei Nikolaevich Sakharov in collaboration with Vladislav Dmitrievich Nazarov and Alexander Nikolaevich Bokhanov. This book contains 30 historical essays, each of which creates a portrait of a person who influenced the course of Russian history. Each of the presented historical figures, and among them: Saints Boris and Gleb, Vladimir Monomakh, Saint Sergius of Radonezh, Kuzma Minin, Dmitry Pozharsky, Afanasy Nikitin, Feodor Ushakov, and others, became, according to the authors, a certain symbol of the era. This book allows you to look at many facts of our history with a fresh, unbiased look.
As part of our community of Russian history lovers, we met amazing person: Valery Vasilievich Zavarnikhin. He created the Alexander Nevsky Museum in Gorodets, in the place where the Blessed Prince rested. Actually, our acquaintance with Valery Vasilyevich led us to the idea of creating a competition for museum memorial projects.
In general, our prize today no longer exists only as a historical and literary prize.
Our activities are broader: we try to maintain interest in Russian history, we try to encourage enthusiasts engaged in such work in the regions. We collect and donate thematic collections of historical and literary texts to regional libraries, regional universities, and try to support regional museums.
- Marina Anatolyevna, is your laureates supported? In what form?
- We have a lot of off-site events, we definitely hold meetings with readers of our laureate authors, we try to promote their books at major book exhibitions in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
On our website we constantly talk about new works by our authors. In LiveJournal we have several communities: “Lovers of Russian History”, “Community of Fans of the Alexander Nevsky Prize”, “Museum Community”.
- Presentation the awards will be held September 11, on the eve of the day of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky in St. Petersburg. Why is the prize, which is Moscow in origin, awarded in St. Petersburg?
- Our award is not Moscow or St. Petersburg. Our award is the award of two Russian capitals. We divided it this way on purpose: we announce the winners in Moscow, and reward them in St. Petersburg, because our founders are also in St. Petersburg.
- What are the prospects for the Alexander Nevsky Prize project?
- We are only five years old, and this is a small date, not an anniversary. Our founder, Alexander Iosifovich Ebralidze, recently said that in Georgia, on his initiative, work has begun to create a historical and literary David the Builder Prize. I am very glad that we have like-minded people. This means that our award as a project is successful.
Marina Podolskaya
http://www.pravkniga.ru/intervews.html?id=1111
The fifth one started in November 2008 annual competition All-Russian Historical and Literary Prize "Alexander Nevsky", established by OJSC "Talion" (St. Petersburg) and the Union of Writers of Russia.
This year will be special for the award. For four years, the All-Russian Alexander Nevsky Prize has been an annual literary competition recognizing authors best works on historical topics. Perennial successful development this initiative showed its relevance. There was great interest in the project both from writers, historians, and from the public and the media. The need to expand its scope gradually grew.
At the press conference summing up the results fourth year work, which took place on the eve of the award ceremony in September 2008, the founder of the award, General Director of OJSC Talion A. I. Ebralidze announced changes in the project.
The All-Russian historical and literary award "Alexander Nevsky" now includes two competitions - literary historical works and museum memorial projects, created to identify the best memorial projects of Russian museums and literary works on historical topics, revealing the role and place of historical figures, their heroic deeds in the glory of the Fatherland. At the same time, the goals and objectives of the project remained unchanged. According to the founders, the All-Russian Historical and Literary Prize “Alexander Nevsky” is designed to attract the attention and interest of the population to Russian history, its role in the formation of civil society, and the education of the younger generation of Russians. The main objectives of the project are to strengthen the national self-awareness of the understanding of the significance of the role and authority of the individual in national history; preserving the memory of historical figures who made a significant contribution to the development of the Russian state and who showed with their lives an example of noble service to the Motherland.
The competition of literary historical works evaluates books published no later than three months before the award and no earlier than 2000, dedicated to a military, political, public or religious figure who made a significant contribution to the development of the Russian state and covering the period of Russian history from ancient times to 1945 year inclusive. Applications can be submitted to the competition of museum memorial projects, where the candidate for the All-Russian Historical and Literary Prize “Alexander Nevsky” is nominated museum worker (creative group), whose exceptional activities are aimed at preserving the memory of historical figures who set an example with their lives true patriotism and selfless devotion to the Motherland, whose military deeds and spiritual feats became a model of fulfillment of duty, deeds had a special impact on social life, science, culture and history of Russia from ancient times to 1945 inclusive. The premium fund of the All-Russian Historical and Literary Prize “Alexander Nevsky” will double compared to previous years and amount to 1,800,000 rubles. There are first, second, third and a number of incentive prizes for each competition. The laureates of the first three prizes are also awarded a sculptural image of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, sculpture by Eduard Mkhoyan. The founders of the All-Russian Historical and Literary Prize “Alexander Nevsky” note the spiritual and ideological message that the history of the Fatherland carries. “By establishing the prize,” A. I. Ebralidze said in his address to the public, “we want to emphasize that today is one of such turning points in the history of Russia, when every citizen must give clear answers to the questions posed by life - who am I? What do we live for? Fatherland, people - what meaning do we put into these words? “With the help of the All-Russian Historical and Literary Prize “Alexander Nevsky” we hope to find the origins of Russian spirituality and patriotism not only on the pages of literary works on a historical theme, but also in museum halls. — V. N. Ganichev, Chairman of the Board of the Union of Writers of Russia, explains the purpose of the prize. - These origins are in the life path and deeds of the heroes of our history, who can serve as an example for the education of current and future generations. The founders of the award intend to celebrate the people who tell us about them from the pages of their books, with their created exhibitions, at the end of each year.”
On September 12, on the day of remembrance of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky, the laureates of the All-Russian Literary Prize named after Alexander Nevsky were awarded for the fourth time in St. Petersburg. The ceremony took place in one of the ancient mansions of the Northern capital - Sheremetyevsky Palace, with its front façade facing the Neva. This historical building is the residence of one of the co-founders of the award - JSC Talion. The award ceremony, held in luxurious antique interiors, received a special touch of significance from this, as befits not a momentary phenomenon, but an event designed to leave a serious contribution to the culture of the country.
Indeed, the Alexander Nevsky Prize is an open literary competition designed to revive and support Russians’ interest in the history of their Motherland and the best literary works on this topic. The organizers of the award strive to identify the most talented literary works about the history of Russia, revealing the role and place of historical figures, their heroic achievements for the glory of the Fatherland, to familiarize readers with these books and popularize historical literature in the country.
It must be admitted that the results of the four-year existence of this literary award indicate that its organizers manage to translate their plans into reality.As previously reported , this year about 200 works have already been submitted to the competition, which is noted by the organizers as a significant increase in the popularity of the award, since the scope of the competition is limited to works that contain exclusively historical themes. For comparison, let's say that in the first year only 50 books participated in the competition. The 2008 prize winners were twelve writers, two journalists and one publishing house.
The first awards were given to:
- 1st class awards- Rector of the Literary Institute named after. A.M. Gorky Boris Tarasov for the book “Nicholas the First. Knight of Autocracy."
- 2nd class awards- writer, Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia Alexander Zvyagintsev for the work “The Life and Deeds of Prominent Russian Lawyers. Ups and downs" .
- 3rd class awards- literary critic, corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Felix Kuznetsov for research " Quiet Don": the fate and truth of a great novel."
This year four were awarded special awards:
- « Gatherers" - Moscowpublishing house "Veche" ,
- « Compatriots» - Valentina Frolova for the book “Winds of the Bosphorus”,
- « Spiritual devotees» - Evgeniy Titkov for the book “Patriarch Sergius (Stragorodsky): the feat of service to the Church and Motherland”
- « Guardians» - Sergei Nekrasov for the book “Lyceum Lyre”.
- laureates special prize in the field of journalism « Brethren»: editor-in-chief magazine “Moscow Magazine. History of the Russian State" Anna Grushina and television journalist, correspondent for the Vesti program. St. Petersburg" TV channel "Russia" Alexey Oliferuk.
- Lev Anisov(“Shishkin”),
- Alexander Kazin(“Great Russia. Religion. Culture. Politics”),
- Yuri Koginov(“Bagration. He is the God of the army”),
- Yuri Ligun(“Ilya Muromets and the Power of Heaven”),
- Antonina Pikul(“Valentin Pikul. From the horse’s mouth”),
- Kavad Rush(“Officers’ time”).
In this regard, he cited the example of the first prize winner Boris Tarasov, whose work opened a new, important for an adequate perception of history, look at the era of Tsar Nicholas I and the Decembrists. And also a second prize winner Alexandra Zvyagintseva, whose work has become a powerful argument against those who seek to present Russia as a “dense” state that does not have its own legal traditions.
Book Felix Kuznetsov, winner of the third prize, according to V.N. Ganichev, is “ a brilliant detective"and at the same time fundamental research the fate of an extraordinary work of the 20th century.
Noting the merits of the works of each of the laureates, V.N. Ganichev focused on the book of the award nominee Yuri Arkadyevich Ligun. His story about Ilya Muromets - “ not just a statement of epic history, but the core by which the unity of the Russian and Ukrainian peoples is affirmed» . In addition to the abundance historical facts, « The book surprises with the richness of its words. That original, folklore word, which is a precious heritage of the culture of the Slavic peoples».
V.N. Ganichev especially highlighted the work of the winner of the special award “Spiritual Ascetics” Evgeniy Pavlovich Titkov for a deep and comprehensive study of such a complex and controversial figure in the history of the Russian Church as Patriarch Sergius (Stragorodsky). Valery Nikolaevich expressed the conviction that within the framework of the prize it is necessary to encourage the study of personalities who played a significant role in the history of the Orthodox Church. Thus, the themes of religion, faith, and “times of troubles” still disturb readers.
In conclusion V.N. Ganichev expressed the wish that the competition would receive more books about creators, whose efforts multiplied the spiritual, intellectual and material capital of our Fatherland.
Representative of the Organizing Committee of the Alexander Nevsky Prize Marina Anatolyevna Guseva briefly spoke about the charitable activities of the award publishing group. Books collected during charity events went to the libraries of the Black Sea Fleet, the Sevastopol branch of Moscow State University, the St. Petersburg Military Medical Academy, as well as the library of the Kronstadt Naval Cadet Corps.
Another member of the organizing committee, Alexander Yurievich Segen.
His speech A.Yu. Seguin concluded in the following words: « If a Russian reader, at least once a year, read one of the books submitted to our competition, the fullness of his life would become more tangible . Even if a Russian reader read those books that are included in the selection list, this would already be enough for him to feel much happier in this world and deservedly bear the title of a Russian person».
The authors themselves, who were present at the award ceremony, spoke about the winning books.
Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences Felix Feodosievich Kuznetsov(winner of the 3rd degree prize) thanked the founders of “Alexander Nevsky” for the award that his book “ about the great Russian writer of great moral strength Fyodor Mikhailovich Sholokhov", whose name is associated with one of the tragic pages in Russian literature, when they tried to take him away from the writer favorite child, his novel "Quiet Don".
Rector of the Literary Institute named after. A.M. Gorky (1st degree prize winner) dedicated his speech to the hero of his work “Nicholas the First. Knight of Autocracy." He pointed out the existing negative, truncated attitude towards Emperor Nicholas I, which labels him "tyrant", "dictator", "gendarme". But this view was established at the instigation of a narrow circle of people interested in having the name of the monarch, who opposed the embodiment of their anti-state interests, discredited.
As a result, in the opinion of our contemporaries there are no other, opposite assessments that were given by the deepest thinkers and writers, public figures and representatives of different classes - contemporaries of Nicholas I. For example, F.M. Dostoevsky, who suffered from Nicholas I for his revolutionary hobbies, subsequently appreciated him in the highest possible way. Or V.S. Soloviev, who wrote that Nikolai I stood not only at the height of his time, but much higher, because in his politics he was a true Christian.
B. Tarasov noted that NikolaiI had a genuine artistic sense , which forced him to pay special attention to A.S. Pushkin, guessing in the poet the founder of classical Russian literature. It was after the high praise given to Alexander Sergeevich by the Emperor that Ivan Kireevsky and other writers began to perceive Pushkin as an outstanding writer.
B. Tarasov sees his task as presenting those facts, evidence of the era that would reveal the personality of Nikolai I in its entirety, including elements of established opinions, but only as an addition, and not a dominant element in assessing the figure of the monarch.
Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia Alexander Grigorievich Zvyagintsev(awarded the 2nd degree prize) was unable to personally attend the presentation, since, as the representative of Russia in the Security Council of Europe, he was forced to leave for Strasbourg. The organizers announced Zvyagintsev’s decision to transfer the prize money (200,000 rubles) to the fund Children's home No. 26 Admiralteysky district of St. Petersburg.
The final word at the press conference was Alexander Iosifovich Ebralidze, General Director of JSC Talion. He thanked all the writers, " thanks to whose work we all become a little better“and our knowledge of our own history becomes richer.
A.I. Ebralidze also announced changes in the format of the prize: starting from November 1, the literary prize will move into the Alexander Nevsky Historical and Literary Prize. It will have 2 directions: literary and museum-memorial. Accordingly, the award budget will double.
Answering a question from journalists about how the idea of the prize was born and why Talion OJSC was its founder, Alexander Ebralidze noted that the company has always supported the direction of historical literature. Back in 1999, the company held an All-Russian meeting of writers writing in historical topics. Even then, the organizers of the event responded to the words of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, that Russian literature during the years of hard times, the dictatorship of the atheistic government affirmed the morality of the Russian people. For Russian Orthodox Church, which was under a ban, could not directly address the majority of the country's population, but the line of spirituality was maintained through Russian literature. JSC Talion fulfills its task of being a successor and collector of the best traditions of Russian literature.
In Russia there are many historical prizes and awards of a patriotic nature: “Prokhorovo Field”, “Stalingrad”, Prokofiev Prize and others. But there is no such large-scale, comprehensive, covering all layers of writers, the entire layer of Russia’s spiritual heritage, as the Alexander Nevsky Prize.
Journalists noted the fact that the prize was being awarded against the backdrop of difficult relations with Georgia (as is known, many Georgian cultural figures refused to have relations with Russia). General Director JSC Talion was asked to comment on why the organizers of the award not only did not abandon their cultural activities, but presented a book about a Russian military leader of Georgian origin for the award and envisage expanding the format of the award.
Alexander Iosifovich Ebralidze, answering this question, illustrated his attitude to the Russian-Georgian conflict, citing as an example the story of one of the Georgian writers “Eleanor”. His plot is like this. Aslan Giray, a rich, courageous leader of the Lezgins, asks for the hand of Eleanor, the daughter of one of the noble Georgian landowners. Father refuses Aslan Giray, since Lezgins are Muslims, and Georgians are Orthodox. The beautiful Eleanor declares that she agrees to marry someone who can prove with his blood how deep his love for her is. As a result of an instant battle that broke out, the leader of the Lezgins kills all the Georgian knights who were present here, challenging the right to become Eleanor’s chosen one. There was only one crippled groom left. He entered into single combat with Aslan Giray and defeated him. The groom could rightfully become the husband of the noble Eleanor. But he refused this offer with the greatest dignity, saying: « A Georgian woman who sacrifices the lives of her compatriots for the sake of her whim is unworthy to be the wife of a Georgian» .
According to Ebralidze, Georgian mothers raise their children on such legends. " A man who, no matter what circumstances force him, starts a fratricidal war, a man who has turned his beautiful country into a springboard for clarifying relations between East and West, is not a gruezine"- said Alexander Iosifovich. - " And the best thing he should do is resign».
« I was born in Georgia, lived there for 16 years, then lived in Russia. I am a Soviet, imperial man, everything I do, I do solely out of these ambitions and for this reason ", concluded A.I. Ebralidze.
Let us add that the Prize Fund is 900,000 rubles: 1st prize - 300,000 rubles, 2nd prize - 200,000 rubles, 3rd prize - 100,000 rubles. In addition, each laureate of the first three Prizes was awarded, respectively, a gold, silver and bronze sculpture of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky (sculptor Eduard Mkhoyan).
The monetary reward for the authors-winners of special prizes amounted to 50,000 rubles each. Publishing house "Veche", noted special prize“Gatherers”, awarded a bronze sculpture of Prince Alexander Nevsky and an honorary diploma. Journalists Anna Grushina and Alexey Oliferuk, who received the “Brothers” prize, were awarded a sculpture depicting a bronze ancient Russian bowl on a pedestal in the form of a book, as well as an honorary diploma.
The remaining authors nominated for the award received a monetary incentive in the amount of 25,000 rubles each.
According to a leading Russian publication, “ Russian newspaper", the Alexander Nevsky Prize is one of the largest in Russia and today stands on a par with such famous and influential awards as the Big Book, Russian Booker, National Bestseller and the Alexander Solzhenitsyn Prize.
The main advantage of the award is that it contributes to the establishment in society of the principles of spirituality and service to the Fatherland, teaches everyone, through the example shown in history by our ancestors, to act in their place for the sake of the greatness of our country.
Olga Tokareva, Anna Barkhatova