Winners of Dmitry Zimin's “Enlightener” awards announced

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Winners of Dmitry Zimin's “Enlightener” awards announced

The best popular science books of this season are:

PROSVETITEL AWARD

1) Nomination: Natural and Exact Sciences

— Nadezhda Pankova. About Wild Boars, Beavers, and Desman — Moscow: Albus Corvus, 2025.

2) Humanities category

— Yaroslav Shimov, Andrei Shary. “For Nation and Order!” Central Europe and the Balkans between the World Wars. — Chișinău: The Historical Expertise, 2025.

THE “ENLIGHTENER.TRANSLATION” AWARD

1) Nomination: Natural and Exact Sciences

— Mary Roach. Hair-Raising: Burglar Bears, Looting Macaques, and Other Criminals of the Wild / Translated from English by Galina Borodina; scientific editor Mikhail Nikitin, editor Oleg Bocharikov. — Moscow: Alpina Non-Fiction, 2025.

2) Humanities category

— Giorgio Agamben. Pinocchio: A Philosophical Analysis / Translated from Italian by Marina Kozlova; Scientific Editor Stanislav Mukhamedzhanov, Editor Alina Klimkina. — Moscow: Led, 2024.

SPECIAL AWARD “POLITICAL EDUCATION”

Ксения Лученко «Благими намерениями: Русская православная Церковь и власть от Горбачева до Путина» — Алматы: «Эхо книги» / StraightForward, 2025.

Также специального упоминания жюри спецнаграды «ПолитПросвет» удостоилась работа Команды против пыток «Анатомия распада. Как и почему права человека перестали быть ценностью в современной России».

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Questions and answers

What Are the Objectives of the Award?

The primary goal of the Award is to support authors and promote Russian-language literature worldwide. We welcome all who write and read in Russian, regardless of citizenship or place of residence. We aim to foster a Russian-language culture free from political and imperial influences.

How Is the Award Process Conducted?

The Prize is awarded annually. The Jury holds a vote in which each member selects between one and three works. The author whose work receives the highest number of votes becomes the winner.

What Awards Are Provided?

The Prize winner receives a grant for the translation of their work into English, French, and German.

When Does the Submission Period for the Competition Start and End?

Submissions for the third season of the prize will open on July 15, 2026, and close on October 15, 2026.

When will the list of finalists and winners be announced?

On January 20, 2027, the Council of Experts will announce the shortlist. The Independent Jury will announce the winner on May 25, 2027.

What are the conditions for the nomination of a book for the award

Works published in 2025 are eligible for the third season of the competition. Eligible works (novels, novellas, short story and essay collections, documentary prose) may have been published either as standalone editions or in literary magazines. Nominations may be submitted by publishing houses and magazine editorial boards, as well as by the authors themselves or third parties (with the author's consent and written confirmation). Texts must be submitted for consideration in electronic format. The DAR Prize is open to all authors. Given the prize's main goals — promoting contemporary Russian-language literature outside of Russia — and the nature of the award itself (a translation grant), priority will be given to authors whose works have not previously been translated into English, French, or German.