Best of Russia’16 photo project: the start of accepting works for participation has been announced

An Instagram blogger or a famous photographer, a laureate of World Press Photo or a person who recently picked up a soap dish — pictures of such different authors have repeatedly appeared on the same wall among the winners of the Best Photos of Russia project. Over the almost 9-year history of Best of Russia, we have become convinced that it is the personnel who decide, not the profession.

Every year we want to live together with you, each of the 146 million inhabitants of our vast country is important to us. How is your day going? What did you remember this summer? What moments do you strive to keep in your memory in order to preserve forever? What feelings have you experienced and what could you not pass by? In the photos that you send us, you can find answers to all these questions: so, every year at the Best of Russia project, a whole story about the country is born out of many private stories.

(6 photos in total)

Since 2013, a "special topic" has become an integral part of the project — every year we formulate a question that we consider important for the study of our country — it is primarily about a very personal perception of certain life moments, phenomena, definitions.

Photo: Vladimir Astapkovich, winner of 2015, "Full Moon in Moscow".

During this time, the special topics of the project were: "Weddings and funerals", "Such work", "War and peace within us". This time, together with the official partner of the project, S7 Airlines, we ask photographers to reflect on what happiness is: this year's special theme is "Take care of happiness!".

What is happiness? Happiness is perhaps the most difficult feeling to formulate. A well—known wisdom says: be able to find joy in life - that's the best way to attract happiness. Great happiness for someone is in a small, momentary, but the whole life is in it – each of us has his own idea of it, his own happiness.

Photo: Anton Shvain.

The subject of photos for the topic can be places taken while traveling in Russia, the sight of which takes your breath away, and a working moment captured in the picture that makes you happier for a moment, and a musical concert when the whole stadium breathes happily in unison, and a goal scored by your favorite team, and a meeting with a stranger on the street, and bare feet running in the rain.

Photo: Andrey Golovanov.

We want to find out what makes you happy people and encourage you to engage in happiness and share your happiest moments with us. Photos can (and even should) be accompanied by descriptions, your thoughts and stories. Engage in happiness — seize the moment!

Photo: Alexander Sidontsev.

Basic conditions of participation:

Project nominations:

Photo: Alexander Anufriev, "Buranovskiye babushki".

Until December 31, 2016, the winners are selected by an expert jury by voting, and in the spring of 2017, the best photos will be presented at an exhibition at the VINZAVOD Center for Contemporary Art, and at the end - in the largest Russian museums. The project partners award special prizes to the authors, and each winner receives an album with photos of the Best of Russia winners, which guarantees that these pictures will forever remain in history.

Among the winners of Best of Russia, many famous photographers have repeatedly turned out to be: winner of the Sony World Photography Awards, photo reporter of MIA "Russia Today" Ilya Pitalev; photojournalist of the Moscow Bureau of the Associated Press (AP), Interphoto prize-winner Mikhail Japaridze; photo reporter of MIA "Russia Today" Vladimir Fedorenko, who worked in many hot spots; photographer Mikhail Rozanov, whose works are in the collection of the largest Russian museums and personal collections; TASS photojournalists Sergey Bobylev, Artem Geodakyan, Sergei Savostyanov; fashion photographers Marat Mukhonkin and Danil Golovkin; blogger Ilya Varlamov and others.