The best journalists of 2023 were awarded in Moscow

The Press Ball is organized annually by the Moscow Union of Journalists, and this one was the 34th. There was a surprisingly warm atmosphere in the Tchaikovsky Hall: it was a meeting of long-term friends, colleagues and partners. Many of those present came to this event for the 34th time. Those about whom they write came to congratulate and present awards to the brightest representatives of the journalistic community of our country in 2023.

First Deputy Head of the Moscow Media and Advertising Department Yulia Kazakova read a message from the mayor of the capital Sergei Sobyanin to the journalistic community. In it, he, in particular, thanked the journalists “for their great attention to the affairs and concerns of Moscow” and expressed confidence that, thanks to the fact that the city authorities will continue to implement large-scale projects to improve the metropolis, the capital’s journalists will continue to have many interesting stories, and Muscovites have good news.

Chairman of the Moscow Union of Journalists, head of Moskovsky Komsomolets gave his welcoming speech Pavel Gusev began by emphasizing that the coming year is very important for our country: “This includes the presidential elections in Russia in March, and, I am sure, this will be a victory for the Russian Armed Forces in the Northern Military District, it will be!”

The editor-in-chief of “MK” spoke about the achievements of Moscow journalists over the past year, including those who were awarded orders, medals and honorary titles in accordance with the Decree of the President of Russia (61 people in total), as well as prizes from the Russian government and the Moscow mayor’s office at the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, among whom were journalists from Moskovsky Komsomolets. He listed the important events of 2023 in the life of the Moscow media: the holding of educational and practical courses “Bastion” for journalists working in crisis situations, including the Northern Military District zone, the Metropolitan Press Festival on Poklonnaya Hill (together with the Moscow Department of Media and Advertising) , as well as the opening at VDNKh of an unprecedented scale exhibition “Russia”, which is covered by the media. The year 2023 was marked by a large number of anniversaries of leading publications, including “Evening Moscow” (it turned 100 years old), “Red Star” (100 years old), and the magazine “Smena”» (100 years), “Arguments and Facts” (45 years).

Those gathered observed a minute of silence in memory of the outstanding journalists who passed away in 2023, more than 20 of them in total, among them Eduard Sagalayev (National Association of Television and Radio Broadcasters), Lev Kolodny (MK), Olga Bozhyeva (MK), Olga Kuchkina (MK). Komsomolskaya Pravda”), publicist and TV presenter Maxim Sokolov, war correspondents who died in the line of duty – Vladlen Tatarsky, Rostislav Zhuravlev (RIA Novosti), Boris Maksudov (Russia-24).

After the official speeches, the award ceremony began. Diplomas and memorial signs of the Moscow Union of Journalists were awarded to the newspapers “Krasnaya Zvezda” and “Evening Moscow”, the magazine “Smena”, and the staff of the all-Russian information program “Reflection” OTR. TASS General Director Andrei Kondrashov and First Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Rossiyskaya Gazeta Igor Chernyak were awarded for their contribution to the development of domestic journalism.

And, of course, the main honors at the evening were given to correspondents covering the exploits of soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces in the Northern Military District zone and the work of our law enforcement agencies. In the category “Guardian of Peace and Prosperity” the awards were presented to representatives of this profession by the Secretary of State – Deputy of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation Nikolay Pankov. He noted that at these moments, 82 Russian journalists are on the front line and, at the risk of their lives, are delivering objective information about the heroism of the Russian Armed Forces. In 2023, 1,100 war correspondents worked in the combat zone. The Deputy Minister thanked the journalists covering the Northern Military District and noted that “it is truthful reporting from the ground that helps us not to doubt who is right, and, ultimately, to defeat the enemy.” Among those awarded in this category are RT TV channel producer Liliya Zaripova, Channel One correspondent Evgeny Lyamin, Rossiya-1 TV channel producer Oleg Dubinin, Izvestia correspondent Ksenia Soldatova, Krasnaya Zvezda correspondent Andrei Gavrilenko and the head of the Zvezda bureau in Murmansk Elena Sivonen.

Deputy Director of the Federal Service of the Russian National Guard Troops, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian National Guard Troops, Lieutenant General Alexey Vorobiev presented medals and badges to journalists “for providing assistance in carrying out the tasks of the National Guard troops.”

Head of the Department for Interaction with Civil Society Institutions and the Media of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, Major General of Internal Service Alexander Knyazev awarded media representatives from his department, including our colleague, Elina Moshkova, correspondent for the law enforcement department of the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper. She received a Certificate of Honor from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia “For significant contribution to objective and competent media coverage of the activities of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation.”

With the help of a teleconference, the event was attended by the editor-in-chief of the ZaTV channel and the first deputy chairman of the Union of Journalists of Zaporozhye Tatyana Kondrati and RT journalist Murat Gaziev, who is in the LPR.

“We feel the support of each of you, and we really need this support, it gives us strength to defend the interests of our country,” said Tatyana Kondrati. – Together we are a huge force! We can change lives for the better. And our strength lies exclusively in truth. That’s why the enemy is afraid of us and is trying to destroy us, carrying out terrorist attacks. But you attacked the wrong ones, because a Russian journalist is a person from a special alloy, and these are the people in the room now.”

“In the LPR a year ago the picture was not so rosy,” Murat Gaziev, in turn, noted via video link. – Since then, a lot, as you know, a lot has changed. Our valiant army survived and moved forward. This does not mean that there are no difficulties, they have been and will be, but progress is obvious: our people are united. And our path is only forward, and it is clearer than ever.”

Director of the Department of Information and Press of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova presented certificates to political commentator “News Front” Yulia Vityazeva and host of the “New World” program on the Soloviev.Line channel Marina Kim. Before this, Zakharova, in her speech, especially noted the work of women in our difficult times – nurses in the combat zone, female teachers and female journalists – staff reporters, correspondents, bloggers, who, risking their lives, “having given up their well-fed and successful life, crawl between the trenches, interviewing those people who experience shelling every day, and then return to normal life and try to reach all of us.”

In the category “Work for the benefit of the country and Muscovites”, letters of gratitude and memorable gifts were presented to journalists by the Chairman of the Moscow City Duma Alexey Shaposhnikov. “We, working in Moscow, are also on the ideological front, and our comrades – journalists, correspondents, cameramen – help us win on it,” he said.

Journalists from publications and television channels also received various awards from the director of the Department of the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation Vladimir Grigoriev, the general director of Moscow Metrostroy Sergei Zhukov, the deputy head of the Department of Education and Science of the City of Moscow Natalya Tsymbalenko, and the editor-in-chief of the Teacher’s Newspaper Arslan Khasavov. SJM diplomas “for assistance to journalists in covering the service and combat activities of the Russian Guard” were awarded to officers of the Federal Service of the National Guard of the Russian Federation: Colonel Sergei Likhtorenko, Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Shefer, Major Alexander Voroshilov.