Winners of the 2014 Young Foreign Affairs Journalist Awards

On February 13б 2015 Digital October Center played host to the 2014 Young Foreign Affairs Journalist Awards Ceremony organized by the Russian International Affairs Council in conjunction with International Affairs magazine and the Russian Union of Journalists. The Russian International Affairs Council would like to thank all the journalists who took part in the 2014 Young Foreign Affairs Journalist Awards, congratulate the winners and laureates and invite them to work with us within the framework of our analytical website.

On February 13б 2015 Digital October Center played host to the 2014 Young Foreign Affairs Journalist Awards Ceremony organized by the Russian International Affairs Council in conjunction with International Affairs magazine and the Russian Union of Journalists.    

The jury for the contest was made up of RIAC President Igor Ivanov, Editor-in-Chief of International Affairs Armen Oganesyan, RIAC member and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation Pyotr Stegny, RIAC Director General Andrei Kortunov, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Russia Today International News Agency Dmitry Gornostaev, and Press and Deputy Director of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova.

Best Foreign Affairs Interview

Presenting the awards, Igor Ivanov noted that interest in the contest continued to grow, as did the quality of the materials submitted: “Winners were determined by a vote of the jury, with almost every category being decided by a single vote…”

Winner: Darya Morozova (Interfax) – “Australian Ambassador in Moscow: Russia will Experience Problems with Food Supplies in February–March 2015”, (in Russian).

Laureates:

• Andrei Baranovsky (Interfax) – “Zamir Kabulov: It’s Impossible to have Normal Presidential Elections in Afghanistan Now” (in Russian)
• Yulia Kartashova (Rostov Ofitsialny) – “Ukraine as the Bridge between East and West” (in Russian)
• Artyom Kobzev (Lenta.ru) – “They Really Wanted to Rub it in the Cocky Russians’ Faces” (in Russian)
• Ilya Kobal (Nevskoye Vremya) – “Произошло A Change in Thinking has Taken Place” (in Russian)
• Nina Leontyeva (Notum) – “Russia and Iran: A View from Tehran” (in Russian)
• Galina Nazarova (Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti) – “The Australian Prelude to Russian Gas” (in Russian)
• Irina Polina (TASS) – “Marek Belka: We are not as Enthusiastic as we were about the Introduction of the Euro, but it Remains our Goal” (in Russian)
• Chang Shiu (St. Petersburg State University – Pervaya Linia) – “ПоследствиеThe Consequences of War are Disappearing” (in Russian)
• Polina Shkividorova (Vertikalny Mir) – “Pemberton Aerosports on a High” (in Russsian)

Best Foreign Affairs Analytical Article

In his presentation speech, Andrei Kortunov talked about the importance of taking an analytical approach to modern journalism: “Unfortunately, the amount of trash in contemporary international journalism has increased significantly over the past year. Dumbing down the level of discourse is a dangerous phenomenon that influences public opinion and has a negative effect on the decision-making processes in the sphere of international relations.”  

Winner: Igor Okunev (Vice-Dean, School of Political Affairs and World Politics, MGIMO University, for Russia in Global Affairs) – “Different Realities. Why the Crimean Crisis has exposed the Decline of the World Order” (in Russian)

Laureates:

• Vladimir Avatkov (Svobodnaya Mysl) – “Neo-Ottomanism” (in Russian)
• Areg Galstyan (Russia in Global Affairs) – “The Energy Aspect of the Ukrainian Crisis” (in Russian)
• Oleg Golishnikov (Russia in Global Affairs) – “China has Central Asia in its Sights: What this means for Russia” (in Russian)
• Sergei Ermak (Ekspert) – “Backup of the USSR” (in Russian)
• Anton Lestev (National Strategy Issues) – “The Use of Manipulation Technologies in the Ukrainian Coup dʼÉtat and the Information War against Russia”
• Gevorg Mirzayan (Ekspert) – “Iranian Fairy Tales” (in Russian)
• Igor Putintsev (Center for Scientific and Political Thought and Ideology) – “Russia, Iran and the U.S.: A Geopolitical Game” (in Russian)
• Sarkis Tsaturyan (IA Rex) – “Turkey in a ‘Non-violent Siege’” (in Russian)
• Mikhail Shcherbakov (TASS) – “The Iranian Nuclear Dossier” (in Russian)

Best Foreign Affairs Reporting

Noting the exceptional quality of this year’s entries, Pyotr Stegny emphasized the fact that the difficult international situation over the past year has provided a great number of opportunities to produce news report projects. In doing this, many journalists also exhibited their literary prowess. “Perhaps in a few years’ time the young journalists who took part in this contest will become writers…”  

Winner: Sergei Khazov-Kassia (The New Times): “The People of the War” (in Russian)

Laureates:

• Ekaterina Bodyagina (Snob) – “Consumer Nothing. How to Live without Money, Eat from the Rubbish and Be Happy” (in Russian)
• Sergei Bykovsky (Pervy Molodyezhny) – “Arkatov: IMHO. No. 59. On Sport, Politics and War” (in Russian)
• Darya Danilova (Russky Reporter) – “The Smell of Popcorn” (in Russian)
• Maria Demochkina (Rabochy Put) – “Brest. Street. Lamp.” (in Russian)
• Viktoria Ivanova (RIA Novosti) – “Rebel Island: Corsica’s 200-Year Struggle for Independence” (in Russian)
• Pavel Nikulin (Colta.ru) – “I’ll Call you Back, Honey. We’re Off to Attack the Mind” (in Russian)
• Dmitry Okrest (The New Times) – “If You Didn’t Hide, You’re Dead” (in Russian)
• Arina Puchkova (TV2 – Mesto Vstrechi) – “Shiraz, Iran” (in Russian)
• Yaccarino Mikela (The New Times) – “Journals from a Frontline City” (in Russian)

Best Up-and-comming Foreign Affairs Journalist

The award was presented by Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Russia Today International News Agency Dmitry Gornostaev, who agreed that the standard of this year’s entries was extremely high: “Naturally, not all of the contestants have acquired the full skill set of the modern journalist yet; nevertheless, on the whole they are well-deserving of roles within the leading Russian news media.”

Winner: Yulia Titova (Banki.ru): “Business for the Sake of Allah” (in Russian)

Laureates:

• Mirilyas Agaev (IA Rex) – “Russia and Turkey: A Bifurcation Point?” (in Russian)
• Elena Vilshanskaya (Profil) – “Does the End Justify the Means?” (in Russian)
• Pavel Dursh (St. Petersburg State University – Pervaya Linia) – “We are Victims of Media Stereotypes” (in Russian)
• Tatyana Kalmykova (RIA Novosti) – “EU Ambassador to Russia: Moscow and Brussels have Become Hostages of the Crisis in Ukraine” (in Russian)
• Tatyana Kataeva (Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics, and Informatics– LOOK IN) – “Asia is Different”
• Lilia Kizilova (Tomsk State University) – “Shanghai Megacity”
• Vladimir Koryagin (Gazeta.ru) – “Vietnam will never Make Peace” (in Russian)
• Darya Tsoi (Izvestia) – “The Buyer of Russia’s Trade Delegation Office in Sweden Plans to Rent it Out”
• Aleksandr Shipolov (Institute of Strategic Studies and Analysis) “Are we Seeing Signs of a Warming of Relations between the U.S. and Iran?”

Deputy Director of the Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova, who served on the 2014 Young Foreign Affairs Journalist Awards jury, presented a special Ministry of Foreign Affairs award to Darya Danilova for her article– “The Smell of Popcorn” (Russky Reporter) (in Russian).

During her speech, Ms. Zakharova shared her assessment of the current state of Russian foreign affairs journalism. Noting the exceptional quality of the entries, she noted that, “overall, Russian foreign affairs journalism lacks aggressiveness. We are lagging behind our foreign colleagues in terms of searching out exclusive topics for research and making use of unique facts. Russian journalists and their work should be cited more in international media.”   

At the awards ceremony, the members of the jury shared their opinions on the results of the competition and the state of Russian foreign affairs journalism at the beginning of 2015.

Editor-in-Chief of International Affairs magazine Armen Oganesyan noted that a new generation of foreign affairs journalists was being raised in Russia, one that had surpassed yesterday’s “school of sobriety” and formulating their own style of analytical work. Komsomolskaya Pravda’s political observer Alexei Pankin talked about the difficult situation with regard to the high level of political bias amongst the Western media that Russia has to face. Russian Orientalist and political observer for Russia Today Dmitry Kosyrev shared his rule of professional journalism – first look at and analyse the verifiable facts and only then check them against one’s personal ideology. 

The Russian International Affairs Council would like to thank all the journalists who took part in the 2014 Young Foreign Affairs Journalist Awards, congratulate the winners and laureates and invite them to work with us within the framework of our analytical website.

Background Information

A total of 158 entries were received in 2014, up 35% from the previous year. Journalists from Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Latvia, Greece, China and Italy took part in the competition. 

2014 Young Foreign Affairs Journalist Awards Ceremony