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Alexander Galibin, winner of the 2022 Presidential Prize for Writing and Art for Children and Young People

The prize was awarded for his contribution to the development of Russian children’s films.

Alexander Galibin was born on September 27, 1955, in Leningrad. He is a director who holds the title People's Artist of the Russian Federation (2006) and the Order of Friendship (2017). Alexander Galibin has received many professional awards and prizes. He is one of the most versatile and popular actors of Soviet and Russian stage and screen, as well as a director and a teacher. During his more than 40-year-career, he has played more than 100 roles in films, shows and theatre productions, and has staged performances in theatres of Moscow and St Petersburg.

In 2016, Alexander Galibin made his first film for children, Goldfish, dedicated to the memory of his father, who survived the siege of Leningrad as a child. Since then, the director has shot four more films that explore a child’s relationship with the world of adults: Little Sister, Marusya Foreva!, My Terrible Sister, and The Adventures of Little Bakha, in which lyrical stories are mixed with deep reflections, and touching moments with subtle humour. The director is interested in the inner world of a child, and the formation of worldview and personality. His films return deep, meaningful and socially significant children’s films to the screens.

Viktor Gotsulenko, winner of the 2022 Presidential Prize for Writing and Art for Children and Young People

Larisa Feoktistova, winner of the 2022 Presidential Prize for Writing and Art for Children and Young People

The prize was awarded for their contribution to the aesthetic and patriotic education of children and young people in Navy base areas.

Viktor Gotsulenko is the Director of the Radost (Joy) Folk Dance Ensemble of the Radost Sevastopol Dance Centre.

Larisa Feoktistova is the Artistic Director of the Radost Dance Ensemble of the Kirov Murmansk Regional Palace of Culture and Folk Art.

Viktor Gotsulenko was born on December 8, 1953, in Dneprodzerzhinsk. He won the Soul of Russia Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation (2015) and the Excellence in Public Education Award of the Ukrainian SSR (1991). He has received awards and honorary titles of Ukraine.

Larisa Feoktistova was born on December 21, 1948, in Dimitrovgrad, Ulyanovsk Region. She is a Merited Culture Worker of the RSFSR (1989) and the winner of the Soul of Russia Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation (2016).

Viktor Gotsulenko and Larisa Feoktistova have created and always headed the Radost dance ensembles founded over 40 years ago. They have educated over 6,000 pupils. Both Viktor Gotsulenko and Larisa Feoktistova created ensembles that are centres for preserving and developing folk dances, a true school of choreography, a creative brand and the pride of the Crimean and Kola peninsulas. Many years of creative friendship and joint projects connect the ensembles with the creative teams of the Black Sea and Northern navy fleets.

While located in different geographic latitudes, the ensembles led by Viktor Gotsulenko and Larisa Feoktistova successfully fulfil the same great mission: the aesthetic education of thousands of children and young people through choreographic art. Since the ensembles’ founding, thousands of boys and girls have gone through an important school that has shaped their character, taught team spirit, and instilled the best moral principles through daily creative work.

Inessa Kovalevskaya, winner of the 2022 Presidential Prize for Writing and Art for Children and Young People

The prize was awarded for her contribution to the development of Russian animation art, the creation of the musical animation genre, and educational activities.

Inessa Kovalevskaya was born on March 1, 1933, in Moscow. She is a director, a Merited Culture Worker of the Russian Federation (2002) and the winner of the Master prize of the Icarus Animation Awards.

According to Inessa Kovalevskaya, a prominent figure in the Russian animation industry, animation is a synthesis of arts, with which a child learns to explore the world. Thanks to her, music has become the most important part of Russian children’s animation.

Inessa Kovalevskaya became widely known for creating the first animation musical, the Town Musicians of Bremen, which is a musical fantasy based on the fairy tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm. Later, she made several more films in this genre: How the Lion Cub and the Turtle Sang a Song, A Small Cutter, and In the Port.

Continuing her work of introducing children to the world of music, Inessa Kovalevskaya created a series of unique cartoons using folk songs and masterpieces of world classical music such as Russian Tunes, Kostroma, Children's Album, Pictures at an Exhibition, and Puppet Dances.

Inessa Kovalevskaya wrote several books, including fairy tales for children and memoirs about the history of making her famous cartoons.