The solemn award ceremony for the winners took place on November 10 at the A.S. Pushkin State Museum in Moscow.
- Our competition is primarily aimed at preserving and promoting the Russian language abroad, because Russian culture and language will always remain a connecting link among our compatriots, wherever they may be, - stated Elena Sutormina, Chair of the Commission of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation for the Development of Public Diplomacy and Support for Compatriots Abroad, at the award ceremony. - We have seen that there is talented youth in the CIS countries! We received an incredible number of works! The winners were invited to Moscow for the award ceremony, and we are very happy that we can support them on their creative path!
The competition featured young prose writers and poets from the CIS and neighboring countries who write their works in Russian. The first place in the "Prose" category was awarded to Artyom Hegai from Kyrgyzstan, second place went to Levon Shakhnazaryan from Armenia, and third place was awarded to Sasha Mindorian from Moldova. In the "Poetry" category, the best were Tatiana Kupriyanets from Belarus, Elina Ermilova from Latvia, and Kanat Kulakhmetov from Kazakhstan. A special prize was awarded to Ukrainian writer Svetlana Medvedeva.
As Artyom Hegai told "AiF," he submitted five stories of various genres to the competition, but the best among them were the works "Onion," written in the genre of social fantasy, and "Magic Root" in the fantasy style.
- The "Russian Speech" competition was held at the highest level. The jury included such authoritative figures as Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration, and Relations with Compatriots Abroad, Alexander Brechalov, Secretary of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Elena Sutormina, Chair of the Commission of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation for the Development of Public Diplomacy and Support for Compatriots Abroad, poet and State Prize laureate Andrei Dementyev, as well as Anatoly Salutskiy, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the International Public Fund "Russian Peace Fund," writer, and academician of the Academy of Russian Literature, - said Artyom Hegai, the writer. - I am very glad that I had the opportunity to express myself and share my creativity. This is very valuable for young writers!
Tatiana Kupriyanets, a poetess and participant in the competition, also spoke about her work.
- My poems are mainly about the Great Patriotic War.
- A young girl - and suddenly such a serious, heavy topic. Why?
- First of all, my grandfather fought. He reached the suburbs of Berlin! Secondly, I somehow feel this war. In a special way. Even being here, walking the streets of Moscow, I imagine what these places were like during the war years, how people lived here?
Of course, I have not been to war, but I know a lot about it from my grandfather's stories. Also from songs, books, movies…
- When did you start writing?
- Some "poetic" things started to appear in my school years. But I wrote my first real poem at 17. I sent it to a university competition - I became a laureate. That's how a new period in my life began.
- A university competition is one thing, but "Russian Speech" is a completely different scale. Over 600 works participated in it.
- To be honest, I am overwhelmed. And I am very nervous. I imagine how happy my parents, my loved one, friends, the Union of Writers of Belarus, and the University Club of Literary Art "Klumba" will be. I didn't talk much about my trip to Moscow. I'll return and then I'll tell.
- Have you thought about how you will spend the prize money?
- I want to visit Karelia: I have read a lot about the Karelian front. I dream of walking through the places of military glory! By the way, in Valentin Pikul's novel "Ocean Patrol," the war in the north, particularly in Karelia, is described very interestingly. There is a cape called Musta-Tunturi. I read about a soldier who fought there. He fought in extremely harsh conditions. Just imagine: stones, rocks, moss, and snow - nothing else! By the way, I named one of my first poems "Musta-Tunturi."
Silver prize winner Levon Shakhnazaryan from Armenia also spoke about his work. In the conversation, he admitted that he often writes under the pseudonym Shakhnur in his homeland.
- I submitted a story titled "The Baby Who Swallowed the Moon" to the competition. It is a work about war, but the enemies are depicted, first and foremost, as ordinary people. And I am not writing about heroism, but about how war devastates a person.
Initially, my story was published in the Russian magazine "Neva," then in "Belskie Prostory" in Bashkortostan. Then I thought: why not try to send it to the "Russian Speech" competition?
- What was your first reaction to the invitation?
- I deleted the email. Without reading it.
- Why?
- I thought it was some spam. When the organizers called me, I also had doubts: I thought my friends in Russia were playing a prank. But the organizing committee was persistent: they called me back twice. And then we finally talked.
- In Armenia, they must be waiting to congratulate you?
- Yes, everyone at home is happy. By the way, my father is also a writer. Even our president's wife published his book about Armenian mothers.
- So, you are continuing your father's legacy?
- Yes. But we have different approaches to writing. He has short and deep stories. Only three or four paragraphs, but very concise! And I usually choose a larger form.
- What would you like to wish to those participants who did not pass the selection?
- Don't get discouraged! After all, in all competitions, there is a degree of the jury's tastes. But these tastes are not universal, not global, but still subjective. Therefore, I am sure that those who did not pass the selection simply did not meet these tastes. And among such participants, there are surely true, great writers!
It should be noted that the winners of "Russian Speech" were awarded diplomas and cash prizes.
After the solemn part, the guests of the event enjoyed a classical music concert performed by the Symphony Orchestra of Radio and Television, soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre, the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre, as well as the Chamber Musical Theatre named after Pokrovsky.
Artyom Hegai, Alexander Shabalin