The Nizhny Novgorod Prize is an annual municipal award given to individuals for outstanding projects that have made a significant contribution to the development of Nizhny Novgorod and brought the city renown beyond its borders.[1] It is presented by Mayor Yury Shalabaev at a ceremony held City Day, which is celebrated on the third Saturday of August.[2] A single prize is worth 1 million rubles; only individuals may apply, and the maximum size of an author's collective is 10 people.[3]

Awarding Procedure

Applications are accepted from May 10 to May 31.[1] Competition entries are sent to the mayor's office email address; questions about participation can be directed to the phone number 8 (831) 435-69-54.[3] Expert panels evaluate the projects against six criteria with a maximum total of 60 points: effectiveness, relevance, scale, uniqueness, image value, and the project's legacy.[1] The panel of experts includes leading Nizhny Novgorod architects, teachers, doctors, members of creative unions, and journalists.[4]

In 2021, the number of nominations was increased from eight to twelve, and the number of prizes awarded from ten to fifteen; new nominations were introduced at the same time — "Science, Innovation and IT Technologies," "Literature," "Mass Events," and "Medicine." That year's laureates received 100,000 rubles each.[4] The 2021 competition received 97 applications, of which 36 reached the final.[4] In 2025, 127 applications were submitted; awards were presented to the authors of 20 projects.[3]

In connection with the Kstovo, the mayor's office issued an updated regulation on the prize.[1] In 2026 the prize is awarded in 16 nominations:[3]

  • education;
  • science and higher education;
  • parental education;
  • medicine;
  • entrepreneurship and industry;
  • innovation and digital technologies;
  • original work of art;
  • cultural outreach;
  • local history (kraevedenie);
  • tourism;
  • architecture, design, and improvement of public spaces;
  • ecology and environmental protection;
  • mass media and social media;
  • social projects: volunteering and charity;
  • sport and a healthy lifestyle;
  • event in the field of culture and art.

2021 Laureates

On August 16, 2021, laureates were announced in all 12 nominations.[4] In the "Education" nomination, the award went to the author collective of Kindergarten No. 116 (Marina Filippovna Sokolova, Olga Vladimirovna Krymova, Olga Alexandrovna Filippova, Albina Alexandrovna Reshchikova) for the project "800 Steps to the Anniversary of the Beloved City."[4]

Two winners were named in the "Medicine" nomination. The first was the author collective of City Hospital No. 33 (City Endocrinology Center), comprising chief physician Pavel Zubeev, deputy chief physician Igor Motylev, head of the endocrinology center Natalia Podprugina, head of the ophthalmology department Tatiana Sokolova, and head of the surgery department Yulia Shcherbakova — for the project "Organization and Experience of the Nizhny Novgorod City Endocrinology Center." An additional prize was awarded to City Clinical Hospital No. 5 for "Unique Technologies for Organizing Medical Care for COVID-19 Patients with Concurrent Cardiovascular Disease and Surgical Pathology."[4] The prizes in this nomination were presented by the deputy governor, Minister of Health of Nizhny Novgorod Region David Melik-Guseinov.[4]

In the "Science, Innovation and IT Technologies" nomination, the laureate was the author collective of the Volga Research Medical University (Irena Leonidovna Shlivko, Irina Alexandrovna Klemenova, Oksana Evgenievna Garanina, Ksenia Alexandrovna Uskova) together with Veniamin Dardyk, an expert at LLC "Aimed" — for creating the app "Pro Rodinki" ("About Moles") for diagnosing skin lesions from photographs.[4] In the "Literature" nomination, the prize was awarded to the Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, and chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod Local History Society Seleznev Fyodor Alexandrovich for the book "The History of Nizhny Novgorod."[4]

In the "Culture and Art" nomination, the award went to Ivan Mikhailovich Stolnikov, artistic director and chief conductor of the Nizhny Novgorod Chamber Choir, for a series of educational online concerts titled "Choral Premieres"; an additional prize was awarded to sculptor Alexey Shchitov and architect Sergei Timofeev for the monument "To the People of Gorky — Valiant Home-Front Workers" in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin.[4]

Examples of Recognized Projects

Among the projects that Mayor Yury Shalabaev has named as vivid examples of recent years: the creation of an innovative infertility treatment method using scanner therapy, a project in the field of neural network optimization, work on the socialization of children with autism spectrum disorders, and the opening of a unique Maxim Gorky.[2]

Sources

  1. Nizhny Seychas — City hall re-approves the Nizhny Novgorod Prize
  2. Vremya N — Applications for the Nizhny Novgorod Prize close on May 31 (archive)
  3. Kommersant (Privolzhye) — Applications for the Nizhny Novgorod Prize open on May 10 (archive)
  4. NIA Nizhny Novgorod — Nizhny Novgorod Prize laureates announced (archive)