The National Award of the Russian Federation for 2004 in the Field of Literature and Art is conferred on architects and restorers Leonid Yegorovich Krasnorech’ev and Ninel’ Nikolaevna Kuz’mina for their outstanding contribution to preserving the world cultural heritage, and reconstructing the unique monument of national architecture of the 14th century, the Church of the Assumption on Volotovoe Field by Novgorod the Great, which was destroyed during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945.
Leonid Krasnorech’ev and Ninel’ Kuz’mina are the authors of a reconstruction of a masterpiece of 14th century Russian architecture, one of the most famous old churches of Novgorod – the Church of the Assumption on Volotovoe Field, destroyed during the Great Patriotic War in August 1941.
The destruction of the church was regarded by the scholarly community as one of the most serious, truly irreplaceable losses suffered by world culture during the Second World War.
The scholarly preservation work carried out by Leonid Krasnorech’ev in 1955 made it possible to preserve the unique monument for several decades until it became possible to conduct thorough scholarly restoration, restoring the losses caused by the war.
Ninel’ Kuz’mina was the author of the project for restoring the Assumption Church and the academic director of restoration works.
The colossal research work carried out in gathering and analysing historical material concerning the church along with independent research made it possible to solve the issue of the genuine appearance of the monument in the 14th century with all its components.
The restoration of the church, financed by a major German company, was an act of good will after the Russian side handed over stained glass windows from the Marienkirche (Frankfurt-am-Oder).
The restoration in 2001–2003 of the Assumption Church on Volotovoe Field received wide public and political resonance in our country and abroad as one of the most fruitful international projects which help to bring nations closer together.
The National Award of the Russian Federation for 2004 in the Field of Literature and Art is conferred on poet Izabella Akhatovna Akhmadulina (Bella Akhmadulina) for promoting and developing the great traditions of Russian poetry.
Bella Akhmadulina was born on 10 April 1937 in Moscow.
She is a member of the Russian Writers’ Union, the Russian PEN-centre, and the Society of friends of the Pushkin Museum of Art. She is an honorary member of the American academy of art and literature.
Bella Akhmadulina became famous as a poet from the moment she wrote her first line. Her fame has continued to grow for over 40 years.
Akhmadulina’s entire path in literature is a consistent creation of a unique artistic world, which stands out for its particular elegance and sophistication of its poetic lines, the musicality and emotion of the poetic voice, filled with kindness towards people, spirituality and inner tact.
Bella Akhmadulina is the author of over 40 books of poetry, including “The String”, “Music Lessons”, “The Snowstorm”, “The Candle”, “Dreams of Georgia”, “The Secret”, “The Garden”, “The Shore”, “The Casket and the Key”, “The Pushkin Foundation”, “Indicating Sound”, “The Ridge of Stones”, “Contemplation of a Glass Ball”, “Beautiful Images of My Friends”, “An Ancient Style Entices Me”, “Once in December..” etc. In recent years, several collections of Akhmadulina’s prose have been published – stories, sketches, memoirs, essays, including “An Instance of Being” and “A Poet’s Prose”, which reveal new facets of the author’s talent.
Bella Akhmadulina’s poems have been translated into many of the world’s languages: English, German, Italian, Polish, Armenian, Georgian etc. She herself translates poets from France, Italy, Poland, the Czech Republic, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Georgia and Armenia.
Although a poet’s true place in the history of literature is finally determined only from the historical perspective, it is already clear that Bella Akhmadulina is a major poet of the 20th century. This is shown not just by her numerous awards and prizes, but equally importantly by the interest of readers in her work that has not decreased over the years.
The National Award of the Russian Federation for 2004 in the Field of Literature and Art is conferred on Anna Yur’evna Netrebko for talented portrayal on the opera stage of characters from Russian and world classics, and for glorifying the great traditions of the Russian vocal school.
Anna Netrebko was born on 18 September 1971 in Krasnodar.
Leading opera soloist of the State academic Mariinsky Theatre.
Winner of the Glinka Russian vocalists’ competition, the 2nd International competition of young opera singers, the Baltika award (1997), the Russian musical award Casta diva (1998), and the St. Petersburg theatre award Golden Sofit (1999).
The harmonic combination of a rare beauty of voice and artistic charm, lively stage temperament, superb personal appearance and the necessary actor’s will allow Anna Netrebko to create impressive stage characters. Her soprano, recognised as one of the best in the world, miraculously combines a radiant heart-felt timbre and powerful dramatic energy, which allows her to take a wide range of opera parts.
Despite her youth, she has over 20 leading opera parts in her repertoire.
Anna Netrebko performs on the major opera and concert stages of the world – the San Francisco opera theatre, the Washington Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Royal Festival Hall, Covent Garden in London etc.
International music critics note the unique combination of the rare beauty of Anna Netrebko’s soprano and high professionalism in interpreting music by composers of different national singing schools, and the major contribution made by the young singer to preserving true musical values, which are an imperishable legacy of many centuries of civilisation.