Welcome to the twenty-seventh edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. My guest today is Mikhail Shishkin, a Russian writer who has resided outside Russia for almost 30 years. Last September, Mikhail Shishkin announced a new literary prize  –  “ Dar” [“The Gift”]. The press release about the new prize states:

“The Russian Federation’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine, in addition to its primary goal – the destruction of a neighbouring state – is directed against the humanitarian values of world culture that unite us, and. of which the culture of the Russian language is part.. […]  “Dar” Prize […] is for all those who write and read in Russian, regardless of passport and country of residence. The Russian language belongs not to dictators, but to world culture”.

The principle prize is in the form of a grant to cover translation costs for the winning work into English, German and French. Mikhail Shishkin’s own books have been translated into 30 languages, and he himself is the winner of a number of major Russian-language literary awards, including the Big Book Prize, the Russian Booker Prize and the National Bestseller. Shishkin’s most recent book is “My Russia: War or Peace?”.  In this work Shishkin makes clear his attitude towards the Putin regime and its criminal war against Ukraine. As someone who writes in Russian and of Russian origin, Shishkin has never lost the burden of responsibility he feels for his country of birth. But today, his feelings of despair or alienation with regard to Russia have turned into action.  In this episode, we talk about the point of the “Dar” Prize and why the prize is so important today. This podcast was recorded on 13 January 2025.