Russian Award Ceremony 2015
On 29 April 2015 the Russian History Competition "Man in History - Russia in the 20th Century” celebrated its 16th award ceremony in the “Theatre of Young Spectators” in Moscow. The jury selected 53 finalists out of a number of 2,024 authors. Prior to the award ceremony the finalists gathered for a five day intensive workshop about “Memorials to Victims of political Repressions in Russia”. The Russian competition has been conducted by the eldest Russian non-governmental organisation MEMORIAL International since 1999.
The award ceremony was moderated by Tatyana Lazareva and Mikhael Schatz. Representatives of different non-governmental organisations as well as famous writers and journalists came to congratulate the finalists. Some of the tutors were also able to travel to Moscow to participate in the ceremony. Furthermore Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, Polish Ambassador in Russia, and Georg Birgelen, Permanent German Deputy Ambassador in Russia, took part in the event.
Prior to the award ceremony the finalists gathered for a five day intensive workshop in Moscow. From 25 to 30 April 2015 they worked together on the topic of “Memorials to Victims of Political Repressions in Russia”. This workshop has also been organised and conducted by MEMORIAL. The participants presented their working results during the ceremony and shared their visual reflections about the topic with the audience.
A lecture followed by a guided tour through Moscow was the first step to get the participants acquainted with the topic. The aim was to draw attention to existent monuments focusing on the following questions: How are the monuments perceived and reflected by the citizens? What was the political and historical background of their establishment?
One day of the workshop was especially devoted to historical debates. This workshop section was conducted in cooperation with the Yegor Gaidar Foundation. Divided into four groups the participants had to find arguments for and against the following topics: Are Soviet named streets and towns in Russia to be renamed to fit modern society or not? Are places where acts of terror have occurred to be marked by the society or not? Those places could be the houses where people got arrested by the KGB, the railway stations where people were deported to camps or the prisons and former KGB buildings for example.
The debates ended with a presentation of a new project held by MEMORIAL International. This project is called "The Last Address". Places where people got arrested in Soviet times by the NKVD (“People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs”) or the KGB (“Committee for State Security”) are going to get marked.
The day prior to the ceremony all participants worked in groups on their own monuments. They were supported by young artists from the “Museum of Modern Art Moscow”. Different techniques, such as graffiti, installation, collage and video presentation were used by the participants to express their ideas of a monument for victims of political repressions. Along with their monuments the participants had to prepare an explication as well as an artistically manifest in which they explained their ideas and thoughts about the project they created.
The works were exhibited in the hall of the “Theatre of Young Spectators” together with a placard created by the “Museum of Modern Art Moscow”.
Now all the works are presented in the conference hall of MEMORIAL International. Later on this year they will be exhibited in the GULAG Museum of Moscow.
Please find the complete agenda of the academy here.
Please find a brochure with the results and information about the Russian Competition 2015 here.