Union State Literature and Art Award winners to get RUB5m

        The amount of the Union State Literature and Art Award will make up RUB5 million. This amount is formalized in the amendments to the regulations on the award adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Union State, we learned from the Union State Permanent Committee.
The award winner shall be also awarded the badge of the winner of the Union State Literature and Art Award, a certificate to the badge and a diploma signed by the Chairman of the Supreme State Council of the Union State.
        The Union State Literature and Art Award was established in 2001. Three prizes are awarded once every two years. The main criterion for selection of applicants is the importance of the contribution of artistic works to the strengthening of relations of brotherhood, friendship and cooperation between Russia and Belarus.
The award was first presented in 2002. Among the first awardees was Russian actor Alexei Petrenko, Belarusian playwright Alexei Dudarev, and People's Writer of Belarus Ivan Shamyakin, and other well-known cultural figures of Belarus and Russia.