The best and brightest of Petersburg society
Petersburgers have until Sunday evening to vote for their favorite local celebrities.
Published: June 1, 2011 (Issue # 1658)
Portraits of some of the nominees in this year’s Sobaka awards.
For almost two months, Petersburg residents have been voting on the Internet to select the 50 most outstanding people in the city. Voting stops on the evening of Sunday, 5 June — the same day that the official awards ceremony takes place in the Mikhailovsky Theater.
The list of nominees was compiled in early April by Sobaka.ru magazine and a panel of experts. There are ten categories: Theater, art, literature, film, music, business, social sciences, media, sport and fashion/lifestyle.
The expert panel consists of representatives of various spheres of city life. This year’s panel includes Culture Committee head Alexei Gubankov, director Dmitry Meskhiev, gallery owner Marina Gisich, boxing world champion Nikolai Valuev, writer Ilya Stogov, actress Yelizaveta Boyarskaya and other specialists in their fields.
“The award is unique as it unites ballet dancers and businessmen, scientists and writers, sportsmen and musicians,” said Anna Veklich, media manager of the Sobaka.ru. Top 50 awards. “Every candidate has made a breakthrough in their field during the previous year.”
In the list of nominees, the mathematician Stanislav Smirnov, who won the Fields Medal, features alongside opera diva Anna Netrebko and showman Ivan Urgant, while football player Alexander Kerjakov is listed alongside director Alexei Uchitel and businessmen who launched new gold mining or created an Internet project through which parents can monitor their children’s marks at school.
The awards are now in their sixth year. More than 800 guests are expected to attend the official awards ceremony at the Mikhailovsky Theater on Sunday. The event will also be transmitted via the Internet.