Press Release, 10.06.2025

Citizens of Russia and other countries aged 18-35 who write in Russian may participate in the competition.

Requirements for works:

– Both published and unpublished essays are permitted, including series;
– Each work must not exceed 20,000 characters;
– No more than three works per participant will be accepted;
– A letter of recommendation from an editor or colleague with contact details is mandatory.

Applications will be accepted until 15 June 2025 inclusive.

Email address for applications: fond-sh@mail.ru (subject line: Competition “Young about Young”).

Winners will receive cash prizes of 100,000, 75,000 and 50,000 roubles, respectively. Their materials will be published in magazines and posted on the websites of the Shchekochikhin Foundation and the “Happy Stories” foundation.

The announcement of results and awards ceremony for winners and diploma recipients will take place in Kazan during the final days of August 2025.

The complete competition regulations and application form can be obtained via the link.

Yuri Shchekochikhin was an investigative journalist, deputy editor-in-chief of the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, and a State Duma deputy from the Yabloko party. He died on 3 July 2003 following poisoning by a radioactive substance. Yuri Shchekochikhin’s case remains uninvestigated to this day.