English

Russia's First Channel, Belarusian Association of Journalists announce three Belarusian journalists to be presented with Zavadski Prize

Russia's First Channel and the Belarusian Association of Journalists (BAJ) have announced three Belarusian journalists who will be presented with the annual Dzmitry Zavadski Prize for Courage and Professionalism.

This year's prize recipients are Henadz Barbarych of the Minsk private newspaper Belorusy i Rynok, Hrodna-based journalist Natallya Makushyna and Homyel-based journalist Anatol Hatowchyts.

"The Zavadski Prize carries no prize money; it's a kind of moral support for journalists for persevering and adhering to journalist standards," BAJ Chairwoman Zhanna Litvina told BelaPAN on Wednesday.

She noted that the presentation ceremony would be held on September 8, International Day of Journalists' Solidarity.

The prize was instituted six years ago to commemorate Dzmitry Zavadski, a Belarusian cameraman with the Russian television network who disappeared in Minsk in 2000 under mysterious circumstances. The idea was supported by the network's director general, Konstantin Ernst, and the BAJ.

The prize is in recognition of courage and professionalism of journalists who achieved outstanding results despite difficult working conditions and authorities' pressure. Nominees are selected by the BAJ, which sends the list to Moscow.

In 2006, the prize was awarded to Andrey Dynko, editor-in-chief of the Minsk private newspaper Nasha Niva; Yuliya Darashkevich, a photographer with the weekly; and Aleh Ulevich, a staff writer with the Belarus version of the Russian tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda.

The first Dzmitry Zavadski Prize went to cameramen Syarhey Helbakh, Syarhey Pushkin, Kanstantsin Marozaw, Uladzimir Andronaw and Uladzimir Babaryka in 2002.

In the following years, the First Channel honored journalists of BelaPAN and the private newspapers Belorusskaya Delovaya Gazeta and Narodnaya Volya, as well as photographers for Reuters and the Associated Press.