Дамы и господа, ladies and gentlemen, товарищи and товарищи, friends and colleagues! 

Welcome to our Workshop Awards Ceremony! 

First of all, we want to thank you for your participation in this workshop. We, the team of the organizers and experts, have truly appreciated your dedication, your professionalism and your interest in Vladimir Vysotsky’s life and work. Hopefully, all of you who served as the participants, the commentators or discussants, have also enjoyed the flexible on-line format we have created, as well as the friendly support of our team. 

Admittedly, it wasn’t easy to identify the authors of the three best translations. Each of the submitted translations had its own obvious strengths, and the Vysotsky texts you chose varied dramatically in genre, length, and linguistic complexity. However, with some objective criteria and lots of time spent in argument, we’ve managed to select several winners. 

But prior to naming the winners, we have to remind you that there will be no losers or people left behind in this creative marathon. Why? - First, our Workshop was a real success and as participants you may certainly share that success. We (or perhaps it was Vysotsky?) were really lucky to attract a group of very enthusiastic translators from as many as four countries: Russia, Italy, Great Britain and USA. You all have demonstrated a genuine interest in Russian culture and we hope you have learned a lot in the process. Second, the skills you have acquired and/or polished in the process of working on your translations and the networking that occurred should prove useful in your future endeavors. Finally, all of the participants, even those who chose to withdraw from the competitive part of the workshop, will receive a Certificates of Record from the Russkiy Mir Foundation along with a little gift. 

And now, with the sound of drums in the background, please meet the authors of the 

three BEST translations! 

I – Nora Margaret Moseman (“White Silence”). 

II – “Russian Dinosaur” (“I Never Put My Faith in Mirages”). 

III – Brunilda Amarilis de Fabritz (“I Love You Now”) and Tabitha Walquist (“They Light Me Candles Every Night”). 

It should be noted that the translation of "She Was in Paris" didn't get any spot on the winners podium only because it was a group project.  

As promised, we have added one extra category to our winners’ podium, “The Most Active and Insightful Commentator”. And it deservingly goes to… Benjamin Phinney!

Please, cheer for your colleagues who worked shoulder-to-shoulder with you during these three months, cheer for Vysotsky who provided us so much inspiration and food for thought, and from now on count yourself as a part of the large international family of Vysotsky-lovers. 

Please, keep in touch and don’t hesitate to use this blog in the future as your teaching/learning resource, a networking playground, or a publishing platform. 

До новых встреч!

Yours truly,

The Workshop organizers: 

Natalia Krylova | "Russkiy Mir" Center at American Councils for International Education;

Alexander Matyushkin | Гуманитарно-экономический и информационного-технологический институт (Russia). 

The Workshop Team of Experts:

Anthony Qualin | Texas Tech University;

Sibelan Forrester |  Swarthmore College;

Jill Neuendorf | Georgetown University;

George Tokarev | Tsfat College (Israel).