Stars of the Commonwealth awarded

By Vestnik KAvkaza

The award ceremony for the International Prize of the CIS “Stars of the Commonwealth” took place in the Bolshoi Theatre. The prize is 2 million rubles. It is awarded for success in the humanitarian sphere, which “suits the level of international achievements and contributes to development of every member of the CIS and the Commonwealth in general.” There are three nominations –science and education, culture and art, and humanitarian activity.

This year the awards went to:

Daler Pechadjanov – a chemist from Tajikistan,

Boris Paton – an academician from Ukraine,

Oganes Chekidzhyan – a conductor from Armenia,

Oleg Tabakov – an actor and director for Russia,

Alexander Karlyukevich and Alexander Badak – writers from Belarus,

Bibigul Tulegenova – a singer from Kazakhstan,

Yuristanbek Shygayev – an artist from Kyrgyzstan,

Omar Eldarov – an artist from Azerbaijan.

The prize winner Omar Eldarov told Vestnik Kavkaza: “Even though our republics have become independent states, we should develop our ties like it used to be in the USSR, when we had the common Academy of Arts of the USSR and the common Union of Artists of the USSR. We had common arrangements, we met a lot, we cooperated, we lived as a unity. Today it is broken, and arrangements organized by the CIS for reconstruction of the contacts are very important, as culture is our future. I appreciate the award so much for its content, its goals, and prize winners. In our republic these are prominent people: an artist Tair Salakhov, Mrs. President Mekhriban Aliyeva. It is a prestigious award from all points of view.”

The head of the International Fund for Humanitarian Cooperation, the ambassador of Azerbaijan to Russia, Polad Byul-Byul Ogly, agrees with Eldarov: “The fact that prominent people of the CIS are awarded means that we respect each other, treat each other with tolerance. It is very important in the context of the modern world.”

Anatoly Iksakov, the executive director of the MFGS, spoke about casting of candidates for awards: “Unique people are gathered in the Bolshoi Theatre. They are the pride of our states. The process was difficult. We chose 8 candidates from 17. They were selected by the international jury which included experts from various spheres – science, culture, humanitarian sphere. These are real stars of the Commonwealth. It doesn’t matter where a person lives, but his potential and skills are important. The South Caucasus, Russia, Central Asia are full of talents. It is necessary to establish conditions for their realization.”