The State of the Union Prize is awarded every two years to works of art that contribute greatly to the strengthening of relations of brotherhood, friendship and all-round cooperation. A total of three prizes of five million Russian rubles are awarded.
- The decision of the Expert Council is of an advisory nature. We vote: to admit or not to admit the candidates, which were determined by our ministries, – explained the First Deputy Minister of Culture of Belarus, co-chairman of the Expert Council Valery Gromada. – Then there will be a public debate, which we will consider, I think, in September, and only after that we will vote for three specific candidates.
The final decision on awarding the prizes is made by the Supreme State Council of the Union State. The award ceremony will take place in 2024 on the stage of the Slavianski bazaar in Vitebsk. Deputy Minister of Culture of Russia, co-chairman of the Expert Council Andrey Malyshev said that the prize is unique, it shows that the creative intelligentsia of our two brotherly countries is one community.
- Valentin Nikolaevich, – he addressed the last winner of the prize, People’s Artist of the USSR, artistic director of the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater of Belarus, member of the Expert Council Valentin Elizariev, – did you pass the price?
- No, – answered Elizariev. – Troshki left for Moscow …
The final decision on awarding prizes is made by the Supreme State Council
This time, two Russian candidates were nominated for the prize: Viktor Zakharchenko, general director of the Kuban Cossack Choir, and the team of authors of the project “Smolensk Fortress in Artifacts of Libraries and Archives of the Union State”. There are three applications from Belarus: the team that created the museum in the “Khatyn” memorial complex: the chief architect of the “Belgosproekt” institute Viktor Skrobot, the muralist Andrei Petkevich and the director of the National Historical Museum from Belarus Alexander Khramoy; conductor of the Belarusian State Academic Symphony Orchestra Alexander Anisimov for a series of concerts devoted to the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War; member of the Writers’ Union of Belarus, historian Vladimir Likhodedov – for the creation and implementation of the historical-educational project “Batskashchyna” and the publication of the author’s books-albums.
– The conductor of the Belarusian Symphony Orchestra Alexander Anisimov, – commented on the theater and film director, member of the Council of Experts Alexander Yefremov, – revives interest and respect for the military theme. Each year the award becomes more and more important as our union grows stronger.
- The memory of the Great Patriotic War is unshakable and sacred to us. Our history goes back thousands of years, but it could have ended in the forties of the last century, had it not been for the heroism of the Soviet soldier. All our projects aim to support our common cultural and historical heritage, underlined Valery Hromada.
The prize celebrates major projects of cultural significance, – says professor of architecture, member of the Council of Experts Inessa Slyunkova. – People’s Artist of Russia, its artistic director and conductor Viktor Zakharchenko absorbed Cossack traditions from childhood. Zakharchenko has published more than ten publications with unique materials and folk art research with the involvement of photographs and videos. There is now an integrated approach to the preservation of historical memory and cultural heritage. These priorities come first when considering applications. I would also like to note the “Khatyn” project, it is interesting for the amount of information and knowledge that we have accumulated on the subject of Khatyn. We will be led to evaluate how the renovation of Khatyn took place, to evaluate the attitude of our time towards history. I really want to compare how the current Khatyn differs from the Soviet.
We asked Inessa Slyunkova if this price should be updated.
- Not all renovation ideas bring a positive result, – the expert believes. – A certain conservatism is appropriate and necessary. Smarter established practice. It is better to add new ones aimed at young people to the traditional rewards. The State of the Union Award is given for great merit. This award is solid, for those who have already made a fairly serious contribution to literature and art, and now we can talk about a broader aspect – to culture, since many nominations for the award are related to memorials and catering. It is a sign of our times.
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