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The 2024 Russian Federation National Award in literature and art has been given to Yury POLYAKOV for his contribution to the development of Russian literature.

Yury Polyakov was born on November 12, 1954 in Moscow. He is writer and playwright. He was awarded the Order for Merit to the Fatherland, 3rd class (2022), 4th class (2015); an Order of Honour (2010), Friendship (2005); and received gratitude from the President of the Russian Federation. He is the holder of regional, public and professional awards. He also chairs the National Association of Playwrights, and is Candidate in Philology. Mr Polyakov is member of the Presidential Council for State Policy on Promoting the Russian Language and Languages ​​of the Peoples of the Russian Federation.

For over four decades, Yury Polyakov’s works have remained popular among readers. His novels Emergency of a District Scale, Correction Work, One Hundred Days Before the Order and many others are distinguished by their accurate observations of the life of today’s society and have been reprinted many times. His works have been translated into many languages ​​of near and far abroad countries, included in school and university courses on contemporary Russian literature. His works have been adapted for screen, and his plays are staged in Russian theatres. In 2020, a collection of the writer's works in 12 volumes was published.

Mr Polyakov’s fruitful art is inseparable from an active civil patriotic position, and his journalistic works have always responded to the most acute problems of our time, calling for the protection of truth and justice.

The 2024 Russian Federation National Award in literature and art was presented to Tamara PURTOVA for her contribution to preserving and promoting folk arts and crafts.

Tamara Purtova, born on September 1, 1958 in Novoaltaisk, theAltai Territory, is Director of the Polenov State Russian House of Folk Arts, Honored Artist of Russia (1999). She was awarded with the Order of Honour (2016), the Order of Friendship (2008), a Certificate of Honour of the President of Russia (2018) and his letters of commendation (2012, 2021, 2023). She won the Russian Government’s Prize in Culture (2005, 2023) and was presented with ministerial and regional awards. She is member of the Russian Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations and the State Council Commission on Culture and Traditional Spiritual Values, chair of the Russian Committee on the Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage at the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO. She has PhD in the History of Arts and is a professor.

Tamara Purtova’s many years of work have turned the intangible cultural heritage and folk arts and crafts into significant components of the national culture again assisting in preserving morality and spirituality in society. Tamara Purtova is among the main proponents of the federal law On Intangible Ethnocultural Assets of the Russian Federation, an initiator of the adoption of the Presidential Executive Order On Holding the Year of Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of Russia. She came up with the idea of establishing a Russian electronic registry of intangible folk culture objects.

Since 2014, a system of support for folk arts and crafts is being developed under Tamara Purtova’s supervision, folk arts centres are being established in Crimea and Novorossiya. Proposals by the national congresses of directors of culture establishments, collected at her initiative, have become the basis for the Rural Culture Worker programme. An unparalleled festival of amateur art groups with grants distributed has been set up within the Culture national project. At her behest, in 2021, the 6^th World Folkloriade with 3,000 participants from 37 countries was held, hosted by Russia for the first time.

Under Tamara Purtova’s guidance, the Russian State Folk Arts House, which marks its 110^th anniversary this year, has become an authentic creative laboratory of folk arts a leader in preserving and popularising intangible cultural heritage, a vehicle of humanistic and patriotic education.

The 2024 Russian Federation National Award in Literature and Art has been given to the staff of the Moscow State Academic Philharmonic Hall, its General Director Alexei SHALASHOV, and composer, Artistic Director Alexander CHAIKOVSKY for their contribution to the development of Russian musical culture and educational activities.

Alexei Shalashov was born on September 15, 1952 in Vologda. He is Distinguished Artist of the Russian Federation (1997), Distinguished Culture Figure of the Russian Federation (2007), and was awarded an Order of Honour (2017), Friendship (2011), and the Russian Government Prize in Culture (2014). He is president of the Union of Concert Organisations of Russia and member of the Presidium of the Presidential Council for Culture and Art.

After becoming the head of the Moscow Philharmonic Hall in 2003, Alexei Shalashov started reforms that have completely changed both Moscow and Russian philharmonic life. As one of the creators of the Concept for the Development of Academic Music Concert Activities, Alexei Shalashov created a modern philharmonic model and united the philharmonic societies of Russia into a single concert space.

Thanks to Alexei Shalashov, several years ago, a modern concert complex, Philharmonic-2, opened in the southwest of Moscow and became one of the largest musical and cultural centres in the capital. The complex offers a wide range of musical and educational programmes for children and young people, representing an academy of philharmonic listeners unparallelled in the world. The rehearsal base of the Russian National Youth Symphony Orchestra, the largest youth domestic orchestral culture project, created in 2018 at the initiative of the President of the Russian Federation, is also located there.

Alexander Chaikovsky was born on February 19, 1946 in Moscow. He was awarded the title of People's Artist of the Russian Federation (2005) and an Order of Friendship (2016). He won the Russian Government Prize in Culture (2017). He is also winner of Russian and international competitions. He serves as Acting Head of the Composition Department of the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory. He is also chairman of the Council of the Union of Composers of Russia and of the Public Council under the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

Alexander Chaikovsky is a recognised leader of the Russian composition school. He is among the contemporary composers whose works are performed most often. In terms of the breadth of genre and artistic richness, Alexander Tchaikovsky’s work has few parallels in contemporary Russian music. A central theme throughout his oeuvre is the history of Russia, its remarkable figures and revered saints.

For nearly half a century, Alexander Tchaikovsky has dedicated himself to teaching, nurturing, and promoting young creative talent within the profession. Among his students are composers who continue the tradition of Russian academic music and help shape the country’s current musical landscape.

At his initiatives, composition festivals and competitions are held, such as the Other Space Festival of the Moscow Philharmonic Hall, the Myaskovsky Contest for Young Composers; and Philharmonic subscriptions and contemporary music programmes are being formed.

Led by Alexander Tchaikovsky and Alexei Shalashov, the Moscow Philharmonic Hall has become a centre of Moscow’s cultural life, combining an innovative approach with the preservation of long-standing traditions of high-quality concert activity. The Philharmonic annually hosts large-scale educational initiatives, the most prominent being the Russian Philharmonic Seasons. A carefully developed programme supports the promotion of young performers and contemporary Russian composers.

The Philharmonic also operates a unique subscription model, offering around 250 subscription series across a wide range of genres, catering to diverse audiences. One of the most popular and fast-growing areas of its activity is the online streaming of concerts, accompanied by a publicly accessible catalogue of recordings derived from these performances.