The prize "for a socially significant civic position in the protection and preservation of the cultural heritage of Russia" is awarded for the fourth year in a row, but for the first time there are two laureates. Vladimir Pluzhnikov, an architectural historian, has worked for over forty years on the creation and publication of the Code of Monuments of the Architectural Heritage of Russia. He pioneered the heritage conservation movement back in the 1970s, although few people now know about it. The Arkhnadzor movement, on the other hand, is relatively young, very well-known and popular. Many of its activists are journalists for major publications; not a week goes by without Arhnadzor coming up with a statement, a rally, or at least a single picket; it can be said without exaggeration that this movement, founded 2 years ago (at the beginning of 2009) through the merger of several public initiatives, is becoming more and more influential.
The discussion of the nominees this year was very lively - the chairman of the jury of the award Lev Lifshits told the Archi.ru correspondent, - however, the award was received by those who, according to experts, really meet the established criteria best of all, which are equally applicable to both city protection organizations and to individual figures. The activities of "Arhnadzor", according to Lifshits, could not be ignored in any way, since this organization has achieved amazing results in a short period of its existence, and the last year is especially indicative in this respect: the Arkhnadzor employees are engaged in "all-round" security activities, among them are professional historians, art critics, journalists; they are able not only to assess the significance of the legacy, but also to conduct a dialogue with the authorities; legally savvy and this is different from their predecessors. The Komech Prize and the Arkhnadzor Prize even have the same mottos: “Felix, qui quod amat defendere fortiter audet”, although it sounds in different translations.
It should be reminded that the award was established in 2008 in memory of the historian of Byzantine and Old Russian architecture, an active defender of the legacy of Alexei Komeche (1936-2007). Its founders are the State Institute of Art Studies (of which Aleksey Komech was director in 1994-2007), a library of foreign literature, and the Northern Pilgrim publishing house. Natalia Dushkina became the first laureate of the prize in 2008; in 2009, the award was received by the director of the Simbirsk Museum-Reserve, Alexander Zubov, and last year - by Alexei Kovalev, a member of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg.
The award ceremony will take place on 12 May in the Oval Hall of the Foreign Literature Library. On the same day, laureates, experts, representatives of public and professional organizations will take part in a round table on the topic “How the state fulfills its constitutional duty in relation to cultural heritage”.
