Authors of best projects for creating a comfortable urban environment awarded at the National Centre RUSSIA
The three-day XI All-Russian Forum "Development of Small Towns and Historic Settlements", whose main events took place at the National Centre RUSSIA on 10 August, concluded with a grand awards ceremony. The ceremony honoured winners of three competitions at once, with one of these contests being held for the first time this year. These competitions were: the XI All-Russian Competition for the Best Projects for Creating a Comfortable Urban Environment, the VI All-Russian Competition for the Best Projects for Creating a Comfortable Urban Environment for Municipalities in the Far Eastern Federal District of the Russian Federation, and the I All-Russian Competition for the Best Projects for Creating a Comfortable Urban Environment for Municipalities of the individual constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
Renewed and improved public spaces are not only about convenience, comfort and creating points of attraction for local residents, but also about attracting tourists — and, consequently, preserving unique cultural and historical legacy, boosting the economy, creating new jobs, improving safety, attracting additional investment and actively developing cities and territories. The All-Russian Competition for the Best Projects for Creating a Comfortable Urban Environment is also developing actively and becoming increasingly important. Since the competition was launched, its winning projects have helped create more than 30,000 jobs across the country, while small towns have demonstrated by their own example that a comfortable and high-quality life is possible not only in major cities. This year, the organising committee received a total of 582 applications from 82 regions. The prize fund is also growing: in 2026, it amounted to 25 billion roubles.
This year, Russia's historical regions took part in the competition for the first time — those that were reunited with the country relatively recently, as well as those ensuring stability along our borders. The winners of the I All-Russian Competition for the Best Projects for Creating a Comfortable Urban Environment for Municipalities of the individual constituent entities of the Russian Federation were presented with their awards by Alexei Yeresko, Deputy Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation.
"We are happy that the competition is bringing together an increasing number of professional project teams that are genuinely committed to developing the urban environment and, at the same time, are gaining invaluable experience in interdepartmental cooperation and coordinating efforts across different sectors. I would like to thank everyone who prepared applications for the competition, and ask those who did not win not to be discouraged, but to draw the right conclusions. We are ready to help you correct the weak parts and refine your projects so that you can confidently aim for victory next year. Those who won today have an even greater responsibility. Because after winning, implementation is what matters, and here, believe me, friends, we will keep a close eye on how you carry it out and what results you achieve. And then we will come to the opening ceremonies for your projects and to the events you will hold at these sites," Alexei Yeresko promised the competition participants and winners.
Twenty-six projects from border and reunified territories were named winners. Support was awarded to initiatives from the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions, as well as the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions. The projects include the improvement of parks, embankments, public squares, public gardens and public spaces in Stary Oskol, Gubkin, Kurchatov, Melitopol, Genichesk, Rovenky, Amvrosiyevka and other cities and towns.
The competition has acquired particular significance in the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia, declared by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The competition projects demonstrated how different cities and their residents' ideas can be, while also showing how accurately they all reflect the spirit of Russian unity and shared values, despite the enormous scale and vast distances of our country. The awards for the authors of the most outstanding projects submitted as part of the V All-Russian Competition for the Best Projects for Creating a Comfortable Urban Environment for Municipalities in the Far Eastern Federal District of the Russian Federation were presented by Elvira Nurgalieva, Deputy Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic of the Russian Federation. She noted that over the five years of the competition, the number of improved public spaces had grown from 10 to more than 50 per year, and, most importantly, that the regions had developed their own school of architecture. According to her, the competition had given an impetus not only to cities, but also to local communities, while residents' participation had proved even higher than the national average.
"Over the five years of the competition, which we are holding jointly with the Ministry of Construction, Far Eastern teams have made a breakthrough. Whereas previously there were literally 10 projects a year, today there appear more than 50 spaces annually. The number of architects, teams and design institutions has increased several times, and today more than half of the applications are designed not by architects from the capital, but by our own Far Eastern architects. We have nurtured an entire architectural bureau. The competition has given a major impetus to the transformation of cities, and it is gratifying that our residents are becoming involved in this process: 40% of city residents took part in the vote this year — significantly higher than the national average. And it is highly symbolic that, right now, as we present these awards, our President is meeting with urban planners, city planners and public figures — people who are changing cities — in Buryatia," Elvira Nurgalieva said.
In the Far Eastern Federal District, 56 projects from 11 regions were named winners. The winning initiatives came from the Amur Region, the Jewish Autonomous Region, Trans-Baikal, Kamchatka and Primorye Territories, the republics of Buryatia and Sakha (Yakutia), the Magadan and Sakhalin regions, and the Khabarovsk Territory, as well as the Chukotka Autonomous Area. They include projects to improve parks, embankments, squares, public gardens and other public spaces.
The ceremony also honoured the winners of the XI All-Russian Competition for the Best Projects for Creating a Comfortable Urban Environment. They represented 56 regions of Russia and encompassed 217 projects to improve public spaces in small towns, historic settlements, urban and rural areas. Among these projects were initiatives from the Altai Territory, Krasnodar Territory, Arkhangelsk, Vladimir, Volgograd and Chelyabinsk regions, the Chechen Republic, the Yaroslavl Region and other regions. All these projects have also demonstrated that a strong and happy country begins with a place where people want to live, and that there should be as many such places in Russia as possible.
The All-Russian Competition for the Best Projects for Creating a Comfortable Urban Environment is organised by the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation as part of the federal project "Formation of a Comfortable Urban Environment" under the national project "Housing and Urban Environment". The competition was initiated by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in 2018.
The competition is open to projects offering concepts for creating public spaces. Small towns and anchor settlements, regardless of whether they have official town status, with populations of up to 300,000 people, as well as historic settlements of federal and regional significance, except cities of federal significance, are eligible to participate. On behalf of Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin, a separate competition has been held since this year for the Bryansk, Belgorod and Kursk regions, as well as the four reunified regions.
Competition entries are assessed according to the extent and diversity of forms of public participation and the sociocultural programming of the territory, the quality of architectural and planning solutions, the rationale for the choice of location, demand for the territory, coordination with other projects, preservation of the historical urban-planning and natural environment, and projected economic and social effects.
The All-Russian Forum "Development of Small Towns and Historic Settlements" is organised by the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation with the support of the Government of Moscow and the DOM.RF company. The eleventh forum took place from 8 to 10 August. On the final day, the National Centre RUSSIA hosted plenary and strategic sessions, discussions, as well as youth and educational tracks. It also featured the exposition "The Great Street of Small Towns on the Russian Frontier", showcasing the best practices in urban environment development, improvement projects and the potential of Russian territories.
