The annual national competition was established in 1992 by the Ministry of Education and Science, the Russian Trade Union of Education Workers and The Uchitelskaya Gazeta newspaper. Eighty-five teachers competed in this year’s final. For the first time in the history of the contest, the participants represented all regions of the Russian Federation.
On October 3, during the awards ceremony at the State Kremlin Palace, it was announced that Alexander Shagalov, a Russian language and literature teacher from the Krasnodar Territory, was the overall winner.