Dmitry Chernyshenko announced the winner in the "Mentor of the Year" category of the #WEARETOGETHER Prize

The award ceremony of the International Prize #WEARETOGETHER 2025 was held at the National Centre RUSSIA on 3 December. The winner in the "Mentor of the Year" category was announced by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Chernyshenko. The award was given to Anatoly Zamyatin, an employee of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations from the Altai region, who heads the council of mentors at the fire and rescue unit. Almost 5,000 people from across the country competed for the award in the "Mentor of the Year" category.

"It is no coincidence that our President, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, says that Russia is truly a country of volunteering, as more than 9 million participants are registered on the Dobro.rf platform. This prize is very important, and that is why from this year it is part of the National Project 'Youth and Children'. This project contains a wide range of tools that you must be able to use. But most importantly, it includes measurable indicators. And by 2030, our President has tasked us with ensuring that more than 45% of our youth regularly participate in volunteer and civic activities. I hope you are ready to help them and share your experience," noted the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Chernyshenko.

During the ceremony, he thanked all volunteers for their work and contribution to the development of the country, emphasising that volunteering is indeed a calling not available to everyone: "Almost 5,000 applications is a good result. And however banal it may sound, each one of them is a winner. But the public vote and the experts have, of course, identified the main one, whom we will regard as a role model for this year."

Anatoly Zamyatin has organised more than 200 events to support the adaptation of new employees. Under his guidance, 20 groups of cadets completed their practical training, many of whom have now become specialists and mentors themselves.

"I would like to thank everyone for their support in the public vote — my colleagues, first of all, the residents of the Altai region and all compassionate citizens of our country. This year marks the 5th anniversary of the #WEARETOGETHER Prize, and on 27 December the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations celebrates its 35th anniversary. Without my work, I probably would not have become who I am today," said the laureate of the "Mentor of the Year" category, Anatoly Zamyatin.

The second-degree laureates were Olga Antonova from the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area – Yugra and Natalia Tolmacheva from the Orenburg region. Olga brought together around 100 "silver" volunteers to help participants of the special military operation and their families, as well as to contribute actively to the public life of the district, and trained 10 volunteer mentors among pensioners. Thanks to the project, five teenagers were removed from the police prevention register. Natalia Tolmacheva became a mentor for NGO leaders. As Head of the charitable foundation "Centre for NGO Development", she helped create more than 70 NGOs in the region, including the successful foundation "Zemlyaki" ("Fellow Countrymen"), which raised more than 5 million rubles for rural development.

The third-degree laureate was Valery Vazhenin from the Krasnoyarsk region. A combat veteran, he created the project "Patriot School" for girls aged 14–18, where they could learn first-aid skills, tactical medicine and drill training. He also secured targeted support from the Government of the Krasnoyarsk region for a unit involved in the special military operation, totalling 60 million rubles.

The #WEARETOGETHER Prize is established by Rosmolodezh. The organiser is Dobro.rf. The general partner of the Prize is Alfa-Bank, and the strategic partner is Rosatom State Corporation.