To victories with the "Star". The best authors of the oldest literary magazine named

ST. PETERSBURG. "Star" does not give up and rewards the best.

A paradoxical and encouraging event was the presentation of the annual Zvezda magazine prize in early February. Despite the crisis, tightening the belts and forcing a tightening of needs, the refusal of the Ministry of Culture to allocate funds to the regional libraries for subscription, the magazine is not going to give up. It is enough to get acquainted with the biography of Jacob Gordin, one of the permanent co-editors of Zvezda, to understand: a way out will be found in any situation.

Friendship with Brodsky, a letter in his support, refusal to repent, remove his surname under this letter. Refusal to sign slander against other worthy people. Presence of one’s own position regarding resonant events, even if it does not completely coincide with public and higher opinion. Maintaining a journal that even went into blockade, a publication headed by such worthy people, is more than a noble cause. Even a six-month subscription issued by three to four hundred people would be a guarantee of the survival of the oldest literary publication. In 2024, he will definitely turn 100 years old.

In this situation, the expanded composition of the awarded participants has become a pleasant paradox. The prizes were awarded not only to the best poet, prose writer, essayist and novice writer, but also to authors of reviews placed in a section specially created for this purpose. The main prize in the essay nomination was awarded to the famous historian Vladimir Lapin for essays on the military history of Russia. Vladimir Vikentievich is one of those professionals whose goal is to educate, rather than participate in the propaganda militarization of the consciousness of fellow citizens.

The jury could not ignore the study of Eleanor Shafranskaya, dedicated to the fate of the artist Nikolaev, who changed his name and faith after moving to Central Asia, with the name of which there are many mysteries, myths, and omissions. This interesting work received a special prize. Vyacheslav Tomilov with the story "Sick" won in the category "Debut". Alexander Vadimovich Frolov, a member of the informal association Pensil Club, achieved well-deserved success in a poetic nomination. In the past, a hydraulic engineer, restorer, director of creative festivals, the Book Theater, a well-known St. Petersburg publishing house, turned out to be a deep, extremely talented poet and prose writer. The novel by the writer and artist Yulia Kisina, "Elephantine, or the Shipwreck of Dostoevtsev" seemed to the jury the most convincing in the prose category.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru