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The 2015 Russian Federation National Award in Literature and the Arts is conferred to Lev Dodin for his contribution to the development of Russian and global theatre art.

Lev Dodin was born on May 14, 1944 in Novokuznetsk, Kemerovo Region. He is the Art Director and Director of the Maly Drama Theatre – Theatre of Europe. People’s Artist of the Russian Federation (1993). Russian Federation National Awards in Literature and the Arts (1992 and 2003); winner of the Russian Federation Presidential Prize in Literature and Art (2001). Order for Service to the Fatherland, IV degree (2004), Order for Service to the Fatherland, III degree (2009), and the Order of Honour (2015). Russian Federation Government Prize in Culture (2014).

In 1966 Dodin graduated from the Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography. He headed the Maly Drama Theatre in 1983. Fifteen years later this theatre received the status of the Theatre of Europe – the third in Europe and first and the only one in Russia. Developing the traditions of Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vsevolod Meyerhold, Dodin created a Russian psychological theatre of a new type. Plays based on Fedor Abramov’s “Brothers and Sisters,” Fedor Dostoyevsky’s “Demons,” Andrei Platonov’s “Chevengur,” Vasily Grossman’s “Life and Fate,” and Anton Chekhov’s works created a theatre of the Russian epic, a theatre of national self-discovery. Dodin focused on the evolution of the Russian character and the Russian national idea.

Since 1967 Dodin has been a lecturer at the Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinematography. At present he is the head of the stage direction department at the State Academy of Theatre Art.

The Maly Theatre’s company mostly consists of his students and is considered one of the best in the country in terms of actors and ensemble.

Dodin has staged over 70 dramas and operas in Russia and abroad.

The 2015 Russian Federation National Award in Literature and the Arts is conferred to Viktor Zakharchenko for his contribution to preserving and developing the traditions of Russian music.

Viktor Zakharchenko was born on March 22, 1938 in the Cossack village of Dyadkovskaya in Krasnodar Territory. He is the Artistic Director and Director of the Kuban Cossack Choir, People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1984) and winner of the RSFSR State Award in Literature and the Arts (1991). Order of Service to the Fatherland, IV degree (2004), the Order for Service to the Fatherland, III degree (2009), the Order of Friendship (1998), the Order of the Badge of Honour (1981), the Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1987), the Russian Federation Government’s Certificate of Honour (2003) and international, public and church awards and prizes.

In 1967 Zakharchenko graduated from the Mikhail Glinka Novosibirsk State Conservatory and became head of the Kuban Cossack Choir in 1974.

The Kuban Cossack Choir is Russia’s only professional folk ensemble whose history dates back to the beginning of the 19^th century. Since 1990 it has united under its aegis the Kuban Traditional Culture Research Centre, the Cultural and Educational Centre, music bands, a concert hall, a video recording studio, a sound recording studio, and a school of folk art for gifted children.

Zakharchenko is a composer with a distinctive style, the author and arranger of over 1,000 choir pieces. He has compiled a number of collections of Russian folk songs, collected and popularized Russia’s folk songs and authored musicology studies.

He initiated the Veche Bell International Orthodox Cinema Festival and established the Russian Association of Folk Choirs and Ensembles.

His multifaceted creative and educational activities contribute to the revival and development of Russia’s cultural legacy, and promote spiritual and patriotic values.

The 2015 Russian Federation National Award in Literature and the Arts is conferred to Sergei Ursulyak for his contribution to the development of Russian cinema art.

Sergei Ursulyak was born on June 10, 1958 in Petropalovsk-Kamchatsky. He is a filmmaker, winner of the Russian Federation Government Award in Culture (2015), the Moscow Award in Literature and the Arts (2014) and a number of awards and prizes at film festivals.

In 1979 Ursulyak graduated from the Boris ShchukinTheatre Institute and in 1993 from the Higher Courses for Scriptwriters and Film Directors. In 1993 he made his debut as a film producer of the life-action film “Russian Ragtime.” His films addressed to the current generation of spectators reveal the profound meaning of historical landmarks in our country’s life.

Screen versions of key pieces of 20^th century Russian literature (Vasily Grossman’s “Life and Fate,” Mikhail Sholokhov’s “And Quiet Flows the Don,” the films “Summer People,” “Composition for the Victory Day,” “A Long Farewell,” and series “Liquidation” and “Isayev” raise the eternal problems of choice, and the relationships between the individual and the government, state and homeland.