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Russian writers and Korean study specialists on main topics: Guzel Yakhina and Alisa Ganieva, Ekaterina Pokholkova and Maria Soldatova discussing their creative works, the current global situation, and what makes them who they are.

Dear friends! Last year during the Moscow International Book Fair and the Seoul International Book Fair we unveiled the joint project of the Institute for Literary Translation and LTI Korea, dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea – “Series 5+5”. Let us now reminisce on how this came about with the Director of the Russian Institute for Literary Translation, Evgeny Reznichenko.

Let us continue our conversation that we began in the “presentations” section about the Russian book market. Please allow us to present to you Evgeny Viktorovich Kapyev, general director of the Eksmo Publishing House LLC, who will tell you many interesting things about modern-day book publication in Russia.

In the section “PRESENTATIONS” you can read all about important Russian literary prizes such as “Lycée” and “Read Russia”. And now we would also like to introduce you to a third literary prize – “The Yasnaya Polyana” – and we also invite you to virtually walk around Yasnaya Polyana itself, the estate of the most famous Russian writer himself: Leo Tolstoy. This year marks a hundred years since the famous Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy’s estate and memorial museum were nationalised. We invite you to join his great-great-granddaughter, Anastasia Tolstoy, as she walks around the places where the great author once walked, and see where he lived, reflected, and penned his greatest works.

The Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award

Since its inception in 2003, the Yasnaya Polyana Literary Award has been presented to writers whose works continue the traditions of classical literature and follow the latest trends of contemporary Russian literature. Indeed, its longlist is often viewed as a guide to the best of modern Russian and translated fiction. It was founded by the Leo Tolstoy Museum Estate in partnership with Samsung Electronics and is named after Tolstoy’s country estate south of Moscow.

The award’s jury, which is headed by Vladimir Ilyich Tolstoy (the great-great-grandson of the renowned writer and Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation on Cultural Matters), consists of famous Russian authors, literary critics, and public figures. It includes:

• Pavel Basinsky, Russianliterature theorist and literary critic;
• Aleksei Varlamov, writer and researcher of the 20th-century literature;
• Evgenii Vodolazkin, writer, Doctor of Philology;
• Vladislav Otroshenko, writer and script-writer.

The Yasnaya Polyana is split into two main categories: ‘Contemporary Russian Fiction’ and ‘Foreign Literature’. The ‘Contemporary Russian Fiction’ category commemorates authors whose works carry philanthropic and humanitarian ideals. Its former laureates have been Evgenii Chizhov, Sergei Samsonov, Olga Slavnikova, Andrei Rubanov, Narine Abgaryan, Guzel Yakhina, Aleksei Ivanov, Zakhar Prilepin, and Mikhail Tarkovsky. The winning author is awarded 41,000 dollars and the shortlisted authors share 14,000 dollars.

The ‘Foreign Literature’ category chooses the most influential translated work of the 21st century and awards its author and translator. The winner receives 16,500 dollars and their translator is awarded 7,000 dollars. Laureates in this category have been Patricia Duncker, Ruth Ozeki, Orhan Pamuk, Mario Vargas Llosa, Amos Oz, and Hernán Rivera Letelier.

For 14 years the Yasnaya Polyana ‘Modern Classics Award’ commemorates those Russian writers whose work was extremely popular in Soviet times but is increasingly forgotten nowadays. There is also an ‘Events’ category, where the jury selects the most important cultural event of the past year.

The special Samsung ‘Readers’ Choice’ award celebrates the author whose book has gained the most reader votes based on the results of an open internet poll. The poll comprises of the shortlisted works from the ‘Contemporary Russian Fiction’ category. The chosen writer wins a trip to South Korea.

The total amount in the award fund is 90,000 USD.

Shall we talk in Russian?

In order to understand the literature and culture of any country, its native language can help. Russian is one of 2,796 languages and is in the top ten for languages according to the number of its speakers.

Around 300 million people worldwide speak Russian, including almost 150 million in Russia. So, do you speak Russian?

A leading publishing house in Russia, Zlatoust, has spent the last 30 years specialising in the development of Russian educational materials for foreigners, and is now the undisputed leader in the development and production of new educational materials for those learning Russian as a foreign language. The Russian cultural and educational centre Pushkin House in Seoul invites you to travel around the Russian-speaking world, do some online quizzes, check your knowledge of Russian, attend a master class and improve your knowledge of Russian by talking to a Russian person “live” on the instant messaging chat service Telegram.

SEOKYEONG UNIVERSITY PRESENTS: BOOK TALK about the works of Russian writers

서경대학교 러시아어전공 학생들의 동영상 프로젝트
“내가 가장 좋아하는 러시아 문학 작품”.
설명: 서울 국제 도서전에서 러시아 작가들의 작품에 대한 북 토크(책에 대한 생생한 대화)
형식의 영상 콘텐츠
프로젝트 지도: 잔나 발로드 교수, 서경대학교

Welcome to Russia!

In Russia we have a saying: it’s better to see it once than to hear about it a hundred times. We invite you to virtually travel around Russia with us – to get to know its capital Moscow, its cultural capital Saint-Petersburg, and the capital of the Far East, Vladivostok.

We hope that the Russian program at the Seoul International Book Fair will allow you to better understand our country, its literature, and its culture. We hope that in the near future life will go back to being off-line. When it does it will be our pleasure to see you in Russia! Welcome to Russia!