The Expert Council for the Union State Literature and Art Award under the Standing Committee of the Belarus-Russia Union State has announced the nominees for the award for 2021-2022, BelTA learned from the Standing Committee.

Nominated from Belarus os Irina Yeromkina, ballet dancer, leading master of stage of the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater, was for her works in the play Anastasia to the music by Viacheslav Kuznetsov, as Anna Karenina in the ballet Anna Karenina to the music by Peter Tchaikovsky and as Eva in The Creation of the World by Andrei Petrov; concert programs of the international arts festival Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk in 2020 (a team of authors: Leonid Bogorad, Aleksandr Vavilov, Irina Kovlena, Gleb Lapitsky, Sergei Petrov, Marina Romanovskaya).

Nominations on Russia's behalf include the publishing project dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the victory of the peoples of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War, Historical Memory of the Union State (team of authors: Ivan Antonovich, Sergey Kandybovich, Pyotr Klimuk, Aleksandra Kozopolyanskaya, Oksana Solopova, Yekaterina Royeva-Mkrtchyan, Nikolai Chekhlov) and the authors of the Rzhev memorial to the Soviet Soldier sculptor Andrey Korobtsov and architect Konstantin Fomin.

“Cultural contacts within the framework of the Union State are expanding significantly thanks to the interest of our governments and ministries. Presenting the Union State Literature and Art Award is one of important events,” Belarus' Deputy Culture Minister Valery Gromada said at the meeting of the expert council.

Alla Manilova, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, noted that since it was instituted the Union State Literature and Art Award has become one of the most remarkable events in the cultural life of the two countries. According to her, the discussion of Russian nominees took four months, a record number of applications – 13 - was submitted.

The awards are presented for services to the relations of brotherhood, friendship and all-round cooperation between the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, said Aleksandr Shundrik, the head of the Department of Social Policy and Information Support of the Union State Standing Committee. The awards are given every two years. Each of the awards is as large as RUB5 million. The awards were first presented in 2002. Back then, the winners were actors Aleksei Petrenko, Alexander Kalyagin, Rostislav Yankovsky and Valery Gostukhin, composer Alexandra Pakhmutova, playwright Aleksei Dudarev, writer Ivan Shamyakin, artists Mikhail Savitsky and Georgy Poplavsky. The decision to present the awards is approved by the Supreme State Council of the Union State. The awards are presented by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko during the Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk festival of arts.

A council of 17 experts is set up to select nominees. It comprises artists, representatives of creative unions, government bodies. At the first meeting, they select a list of works to be published in the media for public discussion. After this discussion is over, the nominees are determined by secret ballot.

Written by: belta.by