Read Russia Prize


The Read Russia Prize awards are made every two years for outstanding translations of Russian literature into foreign languages.

About the prize

Established in 2011 by the Institute for Literary Translation, the awards are supported by the Federal Agency for Press and Mass Communication and the Boris N. Yeltsin Presidential Center. They are awarded to a translator for works published in translation by a foreign publisher during the previous two years. There are four categories of awards. The winner receive an award of up to $10,000, divided between the translator of the work and the publishing house.The prize aims to popularize works of Russian literature, encourage foreign translators and publishers, and strengthen cultural ties between Russia and other countries.

Jury and Board of Trustees

The jury for the Read Russia Prize is composed of leading translators, scholars, and literary critics. The Board of Trustees includes well-known Russian government, cultural, and public figures, such as Petr Aven, Naina Yeltsina, Mikhail Piotrovsky, and Natalia Solzhenitsyna.

First Session 2010–2012

19th-C Classic Russian Literature: Victor Gallego Ballesteros's translation of Leo Tolstoy's novel Anna Karenina 20th-C Russian Literature : John Elsworth's translation of Andrei Bely's novel Petersburg Contemporary Russian Literature : Hélène Henry-Safier's translation of Dmitrii Bykov's Pasternak Poetry: Alessandro Niero's translation of Dmitrii Prigov's ''Thirty Three Texts''

Second Session 2012–2014

19th-C Classic Russian Literature: Alejandro Ariel Gonzales's translation of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novella The Double 20th-C Russian Literature : Alexander Nitzberg's translation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel Master and Margarita Contemporary Russian Literature : Marian Schwartz's translation of Leonid Yuzefovich’s novel Harlequin’s Costume'' Poetry: Liu Wenfei's translation of poetry by Alexander Pushkin

Third Session 2014–2016

19th-C Classic Russian Literature: Joaquin Fernandez-Valdes's translation of Ivan Turgenev's Fathers and Sons 20th-C Russian Literature : Selma Ancira's translation of stories by 20-C writers titled Paisaje caprichoso de la literatura rusa Contemporary Russian Literature : Lisa Hayden's translation of Eugene Vodolazkin’s Laurus Poetry: Claudia Scandura's translation of Sergei Gandlevsky's ''Rust and Yellow. Poems of 198–2011''

Fourth Session 2016–2018

19th-C Classic Russian Literature: Marta Sánchez-Nieves's translation of Leo Tolstoy’s Sevastopol Sketches 20th-C Russian Literature : Anne Coldefy-Faucard with Geneviève Johannet's translation of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s April 1917 Contemporary Russian Literature : Oliver Ready's translation of Vladimir Sharov’s The Rehearsals Poetry: Kiril Kadiysky's translation of Fyodor Tyutchev’s ''Selected Poems''

Read Russia Prize for Russian-English Translation

Jury: Kevin M. F. Platt, Donald Rayfield and Anna SummersWinner: Robert and Elizabeth Chandler, Anne Marie Jackson, and Irina Steinberg's translation of Teffi's autobiographical Memories: From Moscow to the Black Sea Special Mention: Thomas J. Kitson's translation of Rapture, written by Iliazd's Rapture Special Mention: Karetnyk, Maria Bloshteyn, Robert Chandler, Justin Doherty, Boris Dralyuk, Rose France, Dmitri Nabokov, Donald Rayfield, Irina Steinberg, and Anastasia Tolstoy's translation of Russian Émigré Short Stories from Bunin to Yankovsky, edited by Bryan Karetnyk

Fifth Session 2018–2020

Read Russia Prize for Russian-English Translation

Jury: Bryan Karetnyk, Muireann Maguire and Anastasia Tolstoy.
Shortlist:
Winner: Antony Wood's translation of Alexander Pushkin's Selected Poetry
Special Mention: Robert and Elizabeth Chandler's translation of Vasily Grossman's ''Stalingrad''