Nikolai Didenko, winner of the 2023 Presidential Prize for writing and art for children and young people
The Presidential Prize was awarded for creating the Bely Parokhod (White Steamboat) charity festival for children.
Nikolai Didenko is a singer and president of the Bely Parokhod foundation to support creatively talented children and young people.
Nikolai Didenko was born on March 1, 1976, in Moscow. He is a member of the Presidium of the All-Russian Choral Society. Trained at the legendary Sveshnikov Moscow Choir School, he possesses a bass voice known for its rare beauty and strength. Since 2003, he has performed on the stages of the best opera houses and concert halls in Russia and worldwide, collaborating with prominent artists and conductors. Since 2013, he has worked as a guest soloist with the prestigious State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Russia.
Nikolai Didenko came up with the idea to establish a music festival for creatively gifted children in 2005. For nearly two decades, over 100 children from across Russia, showcasing exceptional vocal talents, participate annually in a free summer vocal and choir school. This programme blends intense rehearsals with diverse educational, patriotic, and fitness activities, along with creative sessions with renowned cultural icons. Under the guidance of vocal and choral masters, a one-of-a-kind choir is crafted, which is unmatched in its artistry.
The festival culminates in concerts held at the country’s top venues, bringing together children with disabilities, orphans, those from low-income, large, and single-parent families to form a close-knit community with a unique creative atmosphere. In 2017, Nikolai Didenko established the Bely Parokhod foundation to provide adequate everyday comfort and accessibility for children with severe motor, visual, and other impairments, and to create an environment that fosters creative, intellectual, communicative development, socialisation, and relaxation abilities.
The project continues to grow and explores new creative avenues. Emerging from young singers who were former festival participants and received training at the Popov Academy of Choral Art, the youth vocal ensemble Quartet Pro was formed. In 2022, the children’s music studio Bely Parokhod opened at VDNKh, offering free training sessions.
Konstantin Kirillov, winner of the 2023 Presidential prize for young culture professionals and for writing and art for children and young people
The Presidential Prize was awarded for a contribution to the development of Russian theatre art.
Konstantin Kirillov is director of the Ryazan State Regional Puppet Theatre, president of the Russian Centre of the International Union of Puppet Theatre Workers (UNIMA), secretary of the Union of Theatre Workers of the Russian Federation, and chairman of its Ryazan regional branch.
Konstantin Kirillov was born on April 3, 1971 in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. He has won regional and professional awards.
Konstantin Kirillov is an actor, producer, and director, who headed the Ryazan Puppet Theatre more than 20 years ago. Today, the theatre is among the leaders of the country, a role model, the most technically well-equipped puppet theatre in Russia, and participant in the TheaterVision nationwide project. As part of the project, the country’s first regional creative and technical TheaterVision centre was created at the theatre.
Several generations of audiences and professionals, for whom the Ryazan Puppet Theatre serves as a real compass, both in art and in life, have already grown up. The theatre’s playbill includes more than 45 performances, mainly for children of all ages.
The latest repertoire’s performances have won awards from the Russian Government many times, as well as the Golden Mask and Harlequin national theatre awards.
The Ryazan Puppet Theatre hosts the Ryazan Bride Show, the oldest and largest International Festival of Puppet Theatres; in 2023, it was held for the nineteenth time. In 2019, a unique international project was launched as part of the festival, on Konstantin Kirillov’s initiative: a school laboratory for young puppeteers: The Moon is the Same for Everyone. The project lives and develops, its geography is expanding.
Marina Leonova, winner of the 2023 Presidential Prize for Writing and Art for Children and Young People
This prize was awarded for her contribution to the preservation and development of the traditions of the Russian school of choreography.
Marina Leonova is acting rector of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography (the Bolshoi Ballet Academy or BBA).
Marina Leonova was born on February 18, 1949, in Moscow. She holds the title People’s Artist of the Russian Federation and the Order for Services to the Fatherland 3rd and 4th degrees, the Order of Honour, the President’s Certificate of Merit, the Government prize in the field of culture, other professional prizes and awards, as well as a PhD in the History of Arts.
Marina Leonova, who became head of the BBA in 2002, guided the academy’s continuing development as a unique international educational centre with all the basic levels of professional education and extended learning. In 2019, the BBA became one of the top ten Russian schools among the top 100 schools of higher education based on the QS World University Rankings. The same year, the academy opened branches in Vladivostok, Kaliningrad and Kemerovo.
Academy graduates almost always win prizes at major ballet competitions. As a teacher, Marina Leonova has trained over 100 students, who have won 27 international and Russian national ballet contests.
Marina Leonova has initiated and overseen over 100 creative projects, including ballet workshops and creative schools in Russia’s regions. She organised the Three Centuries of Ballet festival of international ballet schools and is a member of the Expert Council on Choreography at the Sirius Educational Centre.
Marina Leonova is a researcher with over 100 research books and teaching aids, including the multivolume edition on The History of the Moscow School of Ballet.
The students of the academy and its branches actively contribute to large-scale projects in Russia. The academy conducts socially significance events under Leonova’s guidance, including charity concerts, open ballet shows and trips, as well as provides charity and volunteer support.