The SHUM Award to identify Russia’s most media-active region and name the country’s best young media specialists
The third season of the All-Russian Youth Award in Media and Journalism SHUM has been launched. Applications can be submitted from 27 May to 17 August on the contest website. This is the flagship project of the SHUM Youth Media Development Centre of Rosmolodyozh, aimed at supporting and encouraging talented young media specialists from across Russia. The season was launched at a press conference at the National Centre RUSSIA.
The event was attended by Head of Rosmolodyozh Grigory Gurov, Head of the SHUM Centre Tatyana Mandrykina, Deputy Director General of the National Centre RUSSIA Anastasia Zvyagina, as well as last season’s SHUM Award winners Evelina Sairanova, Yevgeny Shmatko and Alexander Kravchenko. This year, the SHUM Award includes ten main categories, as well as one special category for regions, which will identify Russia’s most media-active region.
"Over two seasons of the SHUM Award, we have received more than 25,000 applications from media specialists, journalists and bloggers from across Russia. The Award makes it possible to support those who create vibrant and socially significant media projects. For the first time this year, foreign citizens can take part in all categories of the Award. We see young people from all over the world showing interest in Russia. This year, Yekaterinburg will host the International Youth Festival, which will bring together 10,000 young leaders from 190 countries. They will include journalists and bloggers who will also be able to take part in the SHUM Award. Also in the third season, children aged 8 to 13 who create content, popularise our culture and speak about their regions will be able to take part in the 'Bright Start' category for the first time," said Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Grigory Gurov.
The SHUM Award will be held at the National Centre RUSSIA for the third time, Deputy Director General of the National Centre RUSSIA Anastasia Zvyagina noted. She added that the venue was happy to open its doors to participants and launch the new season together.
"Our President, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, is creating a huge number of opportunities for children and young people. There is the SHUM Award, which is supported by the state, Rosmolodyozh, the Movement of the First, and the National Centre RUSSIA, which was established by order of the head of state. There are all the conditions here for young people to fulfil their potential. We have the Space of Opportunities, the Young Journalists School and the tour guide school. I invite you to use all these tools. There is no need to be afraid of publishing, even if at first it seems that you are doing something 'for the drawer'. Many great artists first created for themselves, and writers also did not receive recognition straight away. So do not stop, and be sure to use the opportunities that the country and the President are giving you today," Anastasia Zvyagina said.
Participants in the SHUM Award will be able to present media projects dedicated to family values, a healthy lifestyle, heroes of the special military operation, the unity of Russia’s peoples, the country’s economic achievements, the development of urban and rural territories, students and other significant topics. This year’s nomination areas were developed in co-authorship with the finalists of the SHUM Award 2025, taking into account their feedback and suggestions. Participants’ works will be evaluated by an expert council: 60 leaders in media and journalism, experienced correspondents, specialised lecturers from prestigious universities, and heads of news agencies and media holdings.
The SHUM Award consists of five stages. During the application stage, anyone interested will be able to submit their projects for the SHUM Award. During this period, the SHUM Award blog tours will also take place. This will be followed by the remote stage, during which the expert council will evaluate the works. It is the experts who will determine the SHUM Award finalists. After the remote stage, public voting will open, allowing all residents of Russia to vote for their favourite project. At the in-person stage, the finalists will meet experts in Moscow, where they will present their projects live. The winners will be announced at a ceremony, which will also be held in Moscow in autumn 2026.
"Over five years, we have managed to build a strong media community of young specialists who create media products and use them to influence the development of their regions and the whole country. Year after year, we receive works for the SHUM Award from young people from across Russia about what resonates in everyone’s heart: documentary films about the heroes of our time, materials about the unique cultural code of regions, science show formats, podcasts and articles about Russia’s achievements. The SHUM Award provides an opportunity not only to support and recognise media specialists, but also to create a space for professional dialogue and cooperation. The true value of the Award lies in the people who, after the award ceremony, continue to unite while living in different parts of the country," Head of the SHUM Centre Tatyana Mandrykina noted.
The winners and prize-winners of the SHUM Award will receive cash prizes, as well as special prizes from partners in the form of internships, participation in special projects, educational courses and other rewards. Winners of the special age category in the "Bright Start" nomination will receive vouchers to one of Russia’s best children’s educational centres.
The winners will be able to use the cash at their own discretion: to buy professional equipment, spend it on promoting their project, pay for studio rental, travel around the country or even make a charitable donation. For example, Evelina Sairanova, winner of the SHUM Award 2025 in the "Native Land" category, donated all her prize money to support families in the Belgorod Region by buying generators for them.
"The SHUM Award is an amazing opportunity for young specialists. And it was important for me to express my gratitude and support my compatriots. That is why I sent all the prize money to the Belgorod Region — we bought generators for families left without electricity. I am very grateful to the Award for this opportunity, for the chance to be useful and provide financial help to those who need it especially now. For me personally, the victory itself and taking part in the Award are already a huge resource and inspiration that no money can buy," Evelina Sairanova shared.
Also during the press conference, the head of Rosmolodyozh announced three blog tours, which are traditionally held during the SHUM Award application campaign. The first destination will be the Arkhangelsk Region, where participants will discover the region’s unique nature, agricultural facilities, cultural spaces and main attractions. The second and third blog tour destinations will be announced very soon on the SHUM Award social media pages.
For the third year in a row, the blog tours have remained one of the brightest events of the SHUM Award. In 2024, participants visited the Beloyarsk Nuclear Power Plant in the Sverdlovsk Region, saw the launch of a Soyuz-2.1a rocket at Baikonur with their own eyes, and visited the Lugansk People’s Republic and the Donetsk People’s Republic. Last season, the blog tours focused on specific industries: an industrial tour was held in the Chelyabinsk Region, where young media specialists filmed content about heavy industry and metallurgy; in the Moscow Region, participants learned about the region’s agricultural sector; and in North Ossetia — Alania, they immersed themselves in the culture, traditions and everyday life of the local population. As a result of the blog tours, participants produce unique content about Russia’s regions and speak about their identity, achievements and tourist appeal from a new perspective.
The All-Russian Youth Award in Media and Journalism SHUM is implemented by the ANO "SHUM Youth Centre" with the support of Rosmolodyozh and the Government of the Kaliningrad Region as part of the national project "Youth and Children".
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