KRONIKA: Against
Oblivion Journalism Award
For journalism that revives lost stories, preserves fragile evidence, reflects
on traumatic pasts, and documents
the present.
Quarterly award
July 1 — Winner Announcement
KRONIKA: Against
Oblivion Journalism Award
For journalism that revives lost stories, preserves fragile evidence, reflects
on traumatic pasts, and documents
the present.
Quarterly award
Open call: May 18 – June 1, 2026
Submit a nomination
About the Award
About the Award
In a time when erasing memory has become a tool of authoritarian politics, archival journalism is an act of resistance.
In a time when erasing memory has become a tool of authoritarian politics, archival journalism is an act of resistance.
WE AIM TO
Support authors who preserve
testimony under censorship,
war, and repression.
Support authors who preserve testimony under censorship, war, and repression.
Support authors who preserve testimony under censorship, war, and repression.
Highlight memory work as activism
and commemoration.
Highlight memory work as activism
and commemoration.
Russian-language journalism focused on the post-Soviet period (1990–present): authors, editors, newsroom teams, and individual journalists may apply. Both self-nominations and third-party nominations are welcome.
Russian-language journalism focused on the post-Soviet period (1991–present)
OPEN TO
Text, multimedia, podcasts, documentaries, data investigations, archival storytelling, digital repositories, and interactive or experimental projects.
Authors, editors, newsroom teams, and individual journalists may apply. Both self-nominations and third-party nominations are welcome.
Text, multimedia, podcasts, documentaries, data investigations, archival storytelling, digital repositories, interactive and experimental formats.
ACCEPTED FORMATS
Russian-language journalism focused on the post-Soviet period (1990–present): authors, editors, newsroom teams, and individual journalists may apply. Both self-nominations and third-party nominations are welcome.
Russian-language journalism focused on the post-Soviet period (1991–present)
OPEN TO
Text, multimedia, podcasts, documentaries, data investigations, archival storytelling, digital repositories, and interactive or experimental projects.
Authors, editors, newsroom teams, and individual journalists may apply. Both self-nominations and third-party nominations are welcome.
Text, multimedia, podcasts, documentaries, data investigations, archival storytelling, digital repositories, interactive and experimental formats.
ACCEPTED FORMATS
Russian-language journalism focused on the post-Soviet period
(1991–present)
OPEN TO
Text, multimedia, podcasts, documentaries, data investigations, archival storytelling, digital repositories, interactive and experimental formats.
ACCEPTED FORMATS
Russian-language journalism focused on the post-Soviet period
(1991–present)
OPEN TO
Text, multimedia, podcasts, documentaries, data investigations, archival storytelling, digital repositories, interactive and experimental formats.
ACCEPTED FORMATS
Selection Criteria
Submitted work should focus on the post-Soviet period and do at least one of the following:
Revive forgotten or erased stories and return them to the public sphere
Document materials at risk of disappearance, including testimonies, fragile archives, and vulnerable online content
Examine how facts, names, archives, and evidence are erased or lost
Create tools of memory, such as databases, repositories, films, podcasts, or digital archives
Open access to closed, inaccessible, or vulnerable sources
FAQ
What language should the project be in?
The award is open to Russian-language journalism.
Can I nominate someone else’s work?
Yes. You may submit your own project or nominate work by other authors, teams, or newsrooms.
When can I submit?
Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis. At certain times, we also run open calls with fixed deadlines.
What materials are eligible?
Projects published since January 1, 2025.
Selection Criteria
Projects should focus on the post-Soviet period and do at least one of the following:
Revive forgotten or erased stories
and return suppressed topics to the
public sphere.
Document what may soon disappear — fragile materials, testimonies, online content at risk of erasure.
Analyze mechanisms of forgetting: how facts, archives, names, and evidence vanish.
Create tools of memory: databases, repositories, films, podcasts, digital archives.
Open access to closed archives, testimonies, or vulnerable sources
How the Award Works
The award is presented quarterly. Each cycle may recognize one or several laureates.
The Kronika team reviews submissions and continuously monitors relevant work in the field. A longlist is compiled for each cycle, and the winner or winners are selected by an independent jury of journalists, archivists, historians, and human rights researchers.
The prize is USD 1,000.
Anna Nemzer
Journalist and writer; founder of the Russian Independent Media Archive and Kronika.
Ilya Veniavkin
Historian; co-founder of RIMA and Kronika, specializing in memory studies and post-Soviet history.
Vera Shengelia
Journalist and human rights advocate; Director of Institutional Partnerships at Kronika.
From 2026 onward, the award is presented quarterly, and winners are selected by an independent jury.
2025
23 NOV —
FIRST AWARD
2026 -
ONWARD
23 NOV —
FIRST AWARD
How the Award Works
The inaugural award is selected by the internal Kronika team jury:
Anna Nemzer
Journalist and writer; founder of the Russian Independent Media Archive and Kronika.
Ilya Veniavkin
Historian; co-founder of RIMA and Kronika, specializing in memory studies and post-Soviet history
Vera Shengelia
Journalist and human rights advocate; Director of Institutional Partnerships at Kronika
2026 -
ONWARD
The award becomes regular
and quarterly (four times a year).
Winners are selected by an independent jury of journalists, archivists, historians, and human rights defenders.
🏆 Winner JULY 2026
Russian-language journalism focused on the post-Soviet period
(1991–present)
Russian-language journalism focused on the post-Soviet period (1991–present)
A multimedia project examining how legislation adopted in Russia over the past eight years has contributed to the closure of national-language schools and reduced opportunities for children to learn Indigenous and minority languages.
Text, multimedia, podcasts, documentaries, data investigations, archival storytelling, digital repositories, interactive and experimental formats.
Text, multimedia, podcasts, documentaries, data investigations, archival storytelling, digital repositories, interactive and experimental formats.
Laureates
Laureates
Alexey Ponomaryov
Alexey Ponomaryov
Podcast: “The War That Didn’t Happen” (with the Holod team)
Podcast: “The War That Didn’t Happen” (with the Holod team)
For bringing the suppressed history of the Chechen wars back into the public sphere and for extensive work with documentary evidence.
For bringing the suppressed history of the Chechen wars back into the public sphere and for extensive work with documentary evidence.
Natalia Rostova
Natalia Rostova
“The Rise of Russian Media. The Yeltsin Era, 1992–1999”
“The Rise of Russian Media. The Yeltsin Era, 1992–1999”
For reconstructing the history of post-Soviet Russian media and preserving a key period of journalistic development through archival work.
For reconstructing the history of post-Soviet Russian media and preserving a key period of journalistic development through archival work.
Mediazona — Dmitrii Shvets and Mika Golubovsky
Mediazona — Dmitrii Shvets and Mika Golubovsky
“The rise and fall of the ‘Heroes of the Surgut Land’. How the Russian state works with memory of soldiers who died in the war with Ukraine”
“The rise and fall of the ‘Heroes of the Surgut Land’. How the Russian state works with memory of soldiers who died in the war with Ukraine”
An investigation into how Russian authorities construct and control public memory about soldiers killed in the war against Ukraine.
An investigation into how Russian authorities construct and control public memory about soldiers killed in the war against Ukraine.
Anna Kuzmina —
Anna Kuzmina —
The podcast “She Said: No”
The podcast “She Said: No”
A documentary podcast exploring the history of women’s anti-war resistance—from the Soviet war in Afghanistan to contemporary movements in Russia and Belarus.
A documentary podcast exploring the history of women’s anti-war resistance—from the Soviet war in Afghanistan to contemporary movements in Russia and Belarus.
🔵 Echo — Putin's First "Special Operation"
A historical project revisiting the First Chechen War and its lasting impact on contemporary Russia.
🔵 Committee Against Torture — Crossing the Line
A podcast about the organization's work documenting torture, violence, and human rights abuses in the North Caucasus.
🔵 Archive of Resistance: How Activists Are Preventing the Kremlin from Erasing Russian Queer History
A project about efforts to preserve Russian queer history amid growing censorship and repression.
🔵 Ivan Tea Blooms on the Ashes
A story about memory, loss, and the consequences of war.
🔵 Archive of Russian School Propaganda and Indoctrination
A public archive documenting propaganda and militarization in Russian schools.
🔵 If I Hadn't Taken the Documents, They Would Have Burned Them
A story about rescuing historical records from destruction.
🔵 PADLA BEAR OUTFIT as a Mirror of Russian Liberalism
An exploration of contemporary Russian culture through the history of one influential music project.
🔵 We Had Sex (podcast)
A documentary podcast about sexuality, intimacy, and social norms.
🔵 From Tragedy to Oblivion: How Unprocessed Chernobyl Trauma Creates New Threats
An investigation into how the legacy of Chernobyl continues to shape society today.
🎉SHORTLIST JULY 2026
Russian-language journalism focused on the post-Soviet period
(1991–present)
Russian-language journalism focused on the post-Soviet period (1991–present)
JURY
JUNE 2026
Dmitrii Shvets
Russian journalist and reporter at Mediazona covering political repression, court cases, law enforcement agencies, and the social consequences of war and state violence. He was a winner of the Kronika: Against Oblivion Award in March 2026 for “The Rise and Fall of the ‘Heroes of the Surgut Land’. How the Russian State Works with Memory of Soldiers Who Died in the War with Ukraine” — an investigation into how Russian authorities construct and control public memory about soldiers killed in the war against Ukraine.
Varvara Preter
Anthropologist and media researcher. PhD in Cultural Studies (2015). Until 2019, she worked at the Faculty of Media Communications at the HSE University; she is currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Author of the book The Eye of the Cyclone: Marshall McLuhan’s Tools for Analyzing Media Environments. Her research focuses on Russian emigration and transnational public spheres.
Natalia Kolyagina
Researcher, doctoral student at the Sorbonne University, EUR'Orbem.
Vladimir Sevrinovsky
journalist, photographer, and documentary filmmaker known for his reporting on Russia’s regions. A two-time recipient of the Redkollegia award, he has also received the Iskra Yug, Unknown Russia, and other journalism prizes. In 2025, he won the Profession — Journalist Award in the “Country” category for his article “Neither Morality nor Principles Matter Here,” published in Novaia Vkladka. He collaborates with television companies in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Author of the books “Living Dagestan” and “People on the Map: Russia from One Extreme to Another”.
Sergey Bondarenko
Screenwriter, historian, and member of the Memorial society.
Dmitrii Shvets
Russian journalist and reporter at Mediazona covering political repression, court cases, law enforcement agencies, and the social consequences of war and state violence. He was a winner of the Kronika: Against Oblivion Award in March 2026 for “The Rise and Fall of the ‘Heroes of the Surgut Land’. How the Russian State Works with Memory of Soldiers Who Died in the War with Ukraine” — an investigation into how Russian authorities construct and control public memory about soldiers killed in the war against Ukraine.
Varvara Preter
Anthropologist and media researcher. PhD in Cultural Studies (2015). Until 2019, she worked at the Faculty of Media Communications at the HSE University; she is currently a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Author of the book The Eye of the Cyclone: Marshall McLuhan’s Tools for Analyzing Media Environments. Her research focuses on Russian emigration and transnational public spheres.
Natalia Kolyagina
Researcher, doctoral student at the Sorbonne University, EUR'Orbem.
Vladimir Sevrinovsky
journalist, photographer, and documentary filmmaker known for his reporting on Russia’s regions. A two-time recipient of the Redkollegia award, he has also received the Iskra Yug, Unknown Russia, and other journalism prizes. In 2025, he won the Profession — Journalist Award in the “Country” category for his article “Neither Morality nor Principles Matter Here,” published in Novaia Vkladka. He collaborates with television companies in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Author of the books “Living Dagestan” and “People on the Map: Russia from One Extreme to Another”.
Sergey Bondarenko
Screenwriter, historian, and member of the Memorial society.
MARCH 2026
Alexey Ponomaryov
Journalist and podcaster; co-founder of Holod Media. Former editor at Lenta.ru and Slon (Republic). Author of narrative and documentary podcast projects.
Natalia Morozova
Co-chair of the Memorial Human Rights Center. Philologist, historian, and human rights researcher focused on political repression and historical memory.
Andrey Zavadsky
Researcher, editor, and curator. Affiliated with TU Dortmund University. Co-founder and editor of The February Journal. Works on media, memory, and post-Soviet culture.
Alexandra Polivanova
Translator and educational curator. Longtime collaborator with Memorial. Co-author of the documentary theatre project Second Act. Grandchildren.
Elena Korchmina
Economic historian and Assistant Professor at the University of Bologna. Former Marie Curie Fellow and researcher at NYU Abu Dhabi and the Higher School of Economics.
Alexey Ponomaryov
Journalist and podcaster; co-founder of Holod Media. Former editor at Lenta.ru and Slon (Republic). Author of narrative and documentary podcast projects.
Natalia Morozova
Co-chair of the Memorial Human Rights Center. Philologist, historian, and human rights researcher focused on political repression and historical memory.
Andrey Zavadsky
Researcher, editor, and curator. Affiliated with TU Dortmund University. Co-founder and editor of The February Journal. Works on media, memory, and post-Soviet culture.
Alexandra Polivanova
Translator and educational curator. Longtime collaborator with Memorial. Co-author of the documentary theatre project Second Act. Grandchildren.
Elena Korchmina
Economic historian and Assistant Professor at the University of Bologna. Former Marie Curie Fellow and researcher at NYU Abu Dhabi and the Higher School of Economics.
Submissions are open for materials published since January 1, 2025. If you’re unsure whether your project fits the criteria, contact us at katerina.g@kronika.technology.
Submissions are open for materials published since January 1, 2025. If you’re unsure whether your project fits the criteria, contact us at katerina.g@kronika.technology.
CURRENT CYCLE: JULY 2026
CURRENT CYCLE:
JUNE 2026
CURRENT CYCLE:
JUNE 2026
Submissions are open for materials published since January 1, 2025. If you’re unsure whether your project fits the criteria, contact us at katerina.g@kronika.technology.