Russian Publishers Association

Results of the first in the history of our country contest "The most reading region" among the subjects of the Russian Federation were summarized. The winners were determined, as well as the region, which was awarded the title "Literary flagship of Russia" and called the literary capital of Russia in 2016.

On november 27 in the framework of the International Book Fair of Intellectual Literature non/fiction №17 awarding ceremony for the winners of "The most reading region" was held. 83 out of 85 regions have confirmed their participation in the contest. 75 regions of Russia have sent their materials and fought for the title of "Literary flagship of Russia". The jury, which included representatives of the book industry, journalists, writers, did a great job rating the infrastructure of books and reading in the regions, as well as unique creative innovative literary projects implemented in 2014-2015. The materials which regions have submitted to the contest include: a questionnaire with statistical data, an action plan for the Year of Literature, a presentation of the literary flagship project. Russian Federations regions demonstrated the systematic support of literary traditions, culture and education, the serious approach by the authorities to develop a culture of reading and book infrastructure.

Opening the award ceremony, the head of the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications Mikhail Seslavinskiy expressed his gratitude to the people, who are making great efforts to promote the culture of reading in the regions. "Traveling through the Russian regions, I see the enthusiasm with which our colleagues in libraries and literary museums are coming up with a variety of interesting activities. Of course, we have compiled a short list of 10 regions and determined the top three winners, but, in fact, many Russian regions are worthy of these awards, "- said Mikhail.

The short-list of "The most reading region" contest includes: Vologda region, Moscow, Nenets Autonomous District, Novgorod region, Orel region, Republic of Bashkortostan, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), St. Petersburg, Saratov region, Ulyanovsk region.

By the totality of the data, the third place was awarded to St. Petersburg, one of the most important, not only Russian, but also the worlds cultural centers. City demonstrated impressive results in the preservation of their historical and cultural heritage, which constitutes its main value. Thanks to its citizens, today St. Petersburg is not only the city that once was the foundation for the blossoming of Russian culture and science, but also the center and the driving force behind the development of modern culture in our country. Two key literary project were presented for "The most reading region" contest: Saint-Petersburg International Book Fair and Book Alleys. The Book Fair is known by the book industry professionals, as well as the general audience. Fairs 10th year anniversary was attended by 20 countries, 350 events took place at 17 sites, it was visited by more than 200 thousand people. It is noteworthy that the organizer of this important for the development of the book industry in Russia project is the Government of St. Petersburg, and not only literary platforms are involved in the activities of the Fair, but also museums and public urban space.

Book Alleys - socio-cultural project, launched at the initiative of the Committee for press and cooperation with the media, with the participation of the Russian Museum and writers unions in order to promote reading in Saint Petersburg. This year, when the whole country celebrated the Year of the literature, it was decided to extend the book selling outdoors during the summer, taking part of the fall - from June to October - in the heart of St. Petersburg. A convenient platform near the Mikhailovsky Castle was selected, where a few dozen bookstalls were built, as well as the stage for performances. But the project was not limited to only book trade. By the walls of the Engineers Castle a "Guide Park" came to life, where next to the bookstalls the writers presented their new books, poets read their poems, creative discussions on topical problems of literature and live chat between authors and readers were held, famous singers and musicians played their music.

Received from the hands of the President of the Russian Book Union, Sergei Stepashin award, the first deputy head of the Administration of the Governor of St. Petersburg - Head of the Delegation of the Government of St. Petersburg, in Moscow, Sergei Borkowski on behalf of the governor of the city of Gregory Poltavchenko, expressed his gratitude to the jury for their appreciation.

Second place went to the Nenets Autonomous District. Given that this region is the most sparsely populated - 43 373 people, regional authorities pay great attention to the development of culture and infrastructure of the book and reading. The jury also noted significant efforts to preserve the regions cultural traditions and heritage of indigenous peoples. It was also noted that regional authorities give a lot of attention to the education and the promotion of reading among children. Year of Literature in Russia coincided with the Year of the Child in the Nenets Autonomous District. Therefore, the main event of the Year of literature is also associated with children. The main one - the district festival "New books - to our children", including the edition of the "Governors library": a set of 50 books, including those recommended by the Governor of the NAD, send to each school. Publication of the book "Friends of the Arctic," which included stories and travel notes of Russian childrens writers of the Far North, its nature, places and people, addressed the children of the NAD and distributed in schools and libraries of the region, and the presentation of the book, which was attended by the authors: writers and illustrators. The presentation was visited by every fifth child of the NAD.

In his speech, the Governor of the NAD Igor Koshin said that he was proud of his countrymen. "In the Nenets Autonomous District it is almost polar night and the part of the settlements can only be reached by air. However, modern technology and advanced library system gives residents the opportunity to develop spiritually. During the long winter evenings people continue to read. It is a merit of our best specialists in the field of education and culture, whose efforts carry out a large number of events", - said Igor.

First place and the status of "literary flagship of Russia" was awarded to the Ulyanovsk region. This region is famous for its rich literary and cultural heritage, and is making significant efforts to conserve it. The council on reading promotion and support of book publishing in the Ulyanovsk region is headed by the Governor Sergey Morozov. Substantial circulation of books is published on a regular basis, modern technologies are being used with the support of the regional government to promote books and reading. The region demonstrates a systematic, regular and effective approach to the development of this sphere of culture, which manifested itself, including the flagship project submitted to the contest "The most reading region" - "Twelve Simbirsk literature apostles." The purpose of the project - promoting the art of 12 Simbirsk-Ulyanovsk citizens, including well-known across the country writers, such as N.Karamzin, S.Aksakov, I.Goncharov and several lesser-known, but important for the development of literature in the region of names. Each of them was allotted a month of the year, during which the region held numerous events dedicated to the "heros" art and honored his name. Multicompound, difficult to organize project of the Ulyanovsk region is of an impressive scale - within it 700 events were held on a monthly basis covering 10 to 25 thousand participants. This region is fully in line with the most important criteria of the All-Russian contest "The most reading region": a creative approach to the project, a high degree of integration and the focus of the project on maintaining or creating a new literary traditions of the region, a significant level of involvement and outreach in the region, serious development and originality of the projects idea and its implementation.

First Deputy Prime Minister of the Ulyanovsk region, Alexander Smekalin, receiving the award from the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation - Head of the Government Staff Sergei Prikhodko expressed confidence that in the future the Ulyanovsk region will confirm its title as the Literary capital of Russia. "Thanks to the book, a man studies the world, gets acquainted with the history and acquires useful skills. We, Ulyanovsk citizens, try to maximize the use of this important source of knowledge and use it to develop our cultural and economic potential ", - said Alexander.

Among the winners included in the short list of the contest, there are two very important for our country regions, who have played the role of literary champions in its history. They are Moscow and Veliky Novgorod. The most important for our countrys regions according to their significance for Russian literature. Therefore, the jury decided to emphasize it with the honorary diplomas for Moscow city and Novgorod region.

A separate Russian Library Association prize - a diploma and a right for one library specialist to participate in the 21th Annual PAR Conference "Russian Library Congress" to be held in May 2016 in the city of Kaliningrad, was awarded to the Krasnoyarsk region.

Publishers Association of Russia presented their special diplomas to Nizhny Novgorod region and the Republic of Tatarstan.

Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communications noted the Voronezh region with a special diploma for active participation in the contest and special merits in maintaining the literary tradition and progress and increasing the availability of reading.

At the end of the awards ceremony of All-Russian contest "The most reading region" Sergei Prikhodko summed up the results: "The Government of the Russian Federation highly appreciated the results of the competition "The most reading region." It is worthy to continue this noble undertaking and give the contest a regular basis. I congratulate all of us with the appearance of a great tradition! ".

Website of the contest:

http://литфлагман.рф/