100 Young Russians to Watch

Russian Life: Jan/Feb 2001
Department: Features
Page: 19   ( 16) pages

Summary: In this, the first in our nine-part series of articles, we profile 15 Russians whose ideas and actions will shape Russia in the 21st century. Meet businesspeople, actors, singers, and scientists, all representatives of the new Russia. Link through the title of the article for a list of all 100 of the individuals.

From January 2001 to June 2002, Russian Life magazine published a series of nine articles on 100 Young Russians to Watch in the Coming Century. The intent was to focus on hope, not hype, on promise, not profligate corruption. There are plenty of places to read stories about what is "wrong" in Russia today. But very few places to read about the things that are going right, the people who are trying to make a difference.

We did not undertake this huge effort alone. Together with the not-for-profit Russian Arts Foundation, and in consultation with numerous Russian and international experts and public figures, we sought out uniquely talented Russians we felt our readers should know more about.

We did not pretend to any kind of omniscience of finality. By no means do we feel that these are the "only" 100 young Russians to watch, or, by some metaphysical yardstick, the top 100 individuals in Russia. Instead, we present 100 very interesting, very exceptional individuals. By themselves, they are individuals who will surely make a difference in the future of Russia. But they are also representatives of the millions of young Russians who must inherit Russia's past and invent its future.

To be selected as one of our 100 Young Russians, individuals must meet the following criteria: the individual is a citizen of Russia; the individual has made a significant, positive contribution to his or her sphere of activity and shows particular promise for a lifetime of achievement; the individual's achievement and promise is recognized by Russian and/or international observers.

The following individuals, listed in alphabetical order, have been featured in full-page biographies in the issues of Russian Life indicated.Back issues can be ordered securely on this site.

1. Maria Alexandrova, ballet dancer at the Bolshoi and with the Eifman ballet (March/April 2001)
2. Viktoria Andreyanova, designer, focusing on fashion for real life (January/February 2001)
3. Dmitry Azarov, photographer (May/June 2002)
4. Valery Babanov, alpinist and restorationist (September/October 2001)
5. Arkady Babchenko, writer (May/June 2002)
6. Timur Bashkaev, architect, sought after designer of Moscow residences and office buildings (July/August 2001) 
7. Nikolai Baskov, singer, tenor for the Bolshoi Theater and in solo concerts (January/February 2001)
8. Anna Belova, neurologist from Nizhny Novgorod (January/February 2002)
9. Ilya Bezugly, publisher, Men's Health Magazine (September/October 2001)
10. Valery Bliznyuk, photographer of the North, whose photos comprise the Russian Life 2002 Wall Calendar (May/June 2001)
11. Sergei Boyarsky, doctor (May/June 2002)
12. Yuri Borzakovsky, athlete, one of Russia's fastest men (May/June 2001)
13. Olga Brusnikina, athlete, Gold Medal synchronous swimmer (July/Aug 2001)
14. Olga Budina, actor, multi-talented star of Russian cinema (July/August 2001)
15. Mikhail Butov, author and editor (January/February 2002)
16. Igor Chapurin, designer of haute couture (January/February 2001)
17. Yulia Chepalova, athlete, Olympic Gold Medalist in Nordic Skiing (May/June 2001)
18. Vladimir Chuprov, activist and environmentalist (November/December 2001)
19. Yelena Dementieva, athlete, rising tennis star (January/February 2001)
20. Olga Dergunova, manager, General Director of Microsoft Russia (July/August 2001)
21. Pavel Fomenko, activist, savior of the Far Eastern Tiger (January/February 2001)
22. Maxim Galkin, comedian, impressionist extraordinaire (January/February 2001)
23. Vitaly Gashin, historic preservationist (November/December 2001)
24. Vera Grigorieva, neurologist in Nizhny Novgorod (January/February 2002)
25. Dmitry Gudanov, ballet dancer for the Bolshoi Theater (March/April 2001)
26. David Ian, entrepreneur, innovator behind Fine Reader OCR software and the Sibeko pocket computer (May/June 2001)
27. Mikhail Ivanov, athlete (May/June 2002)
28. Marat Izmaylov, athlete, soccer superstar (January/February 2002)
29. Tatyana Kalinina, architect, renowned both in Russia and abroad. (July/August 2001)
30. Chulpan Khamatova, actor (March/April 2002)
31. Svetlana Khorkina, ballerina extraordinaire (January/February 2002)
32. Maria Kiselyova, television personality (March/April 2002)
33. Alexander Klimov, mayor (January/February 2002)
34. Andrei Korkunov, chocolatier (March/April 2002)
35. Andrei Korolyov, artist (March/April 2002)
36. Igor Koshelev, scientist, young scientist working on ecological issues (July/August 2001) 
37. Alexandra Kosteniuk, chess grandmaster (March/April 2002)
38. Ilya Kovalchuk, athlete, rising hockey star (September/October 2001)
39. Boris Kozulin, teacher (May/June 2002)
40. Vladimir Kramnik, chess grandmaster and World Champion (January/February 2001)
41. Sergei Krikalyov, cosmonaut, one of the world's most famous and accomplished space engineers (July/August 2001) 
42. Maxim Larin, entrepreneur, general director of Afanasy brewery (May/June 2001)
43. Artemy Lebedev, web designer (May/June 2002)
44. Vladimir Legoshin, rescue worker (May/June 2002)
45. Dmitry Lipskerov, writer, author of The Forty Years of Chanchzhoe (March/April 2001)
46. Dmitry Liss, conductor, with the Russian National Orchestra and Ural Philharmonic Orchestra (March/April 2001)
47. Nikolai Lugansky, pianist (January/February 2001)
48. Sergei Makarenkov, publisher, founder of the successful Ripol publishing house (July/August 2001) 
49. Father Mark, priest, deputy foreign minister of the Russian Orthodox Church (May/June 2001)
50. Alexander Mikhailin, athlete, wrestler (November/December 2001)
51. Masha Mironova, actor in the film Svadba and many stage productions (March/April 2001)
52. Yevgeny Mironov, actor, star of His Wife's Diary and many other films (January/February 2001)
53. Amalia Mordvinova, actor, on both the big and small screen (January/February 2001)
54. Yelena Morozova, actor of stage and screen (March/April 2001)
55. Karinna Moskalenko, defense attorney (March/April 2002)
56. Yelena Myasnikova, editor, Cosmopolitcan (November/December 2001)
57. Yevgeny Nabokov, athlete, top NHL goalie (November/December 2001)
58. Vyacheslav Nikonov, political scientist (January/February 2002)
59. Anton Nosik, entrepreneur, internet pioneer (September/October 2001)
60. Igor Ovchinnikov, restauranteur and entrepreneur (March/April 2001)
61. Valentin Padalka, pilot (November/December 2001)
62. Sergei Pashin, lawyer, legal reformer (January/February 2002)
63. Vera Pavlova, poet (May/June 2002)
64. Marina Pisklakova, activist fighting domestic abuse (September/October 2001)
65. Olga Pleshakova, airline director (March/April 2002)
66. Yevgeny Plyushchenko, athlete, gold medal figure skater (March/April 2001)
67. Denis Provalov, spelunker, holds the world record for deepest cave dive (May/June 2001)
68. Zemfira Ramazanova, musician and pop star (January/February 2001)
69. Alexei Ratmansky, choreographer, sought after from the Bolshoi and beyond (July/August 2001)
70. Nikolai Repin, entrepreneur, founder of MTU-Inform, Russia's largest internet ISP (March/April 2001)
71. Yuri Rodionov, border guardian (March/April 2002)
72. Marat Safin, athlete, rising tennis star (March/April 2001)
73. Alsu Safina, singer and pop megastar (September/October 2001)
74. Aidan Salakhova, art gallery owner (March/April 2002)
75. Zhanna Semenova, neurosurgeon (March/April 2002)
76. Kirill Serebrennikov, director (May/June 2002)
77. Natalia Shishlina, archaeologist (May/June 2002)
78. Nikolai Shuvalov, artisan, bellmaker (September/October 2001)
79. Dmitry Slepushkin, artist (May/June 2002)
80. Roman Sludnov, swimmer, gold medalist (September/October 2001)
81. Maxim Sokolov, journalist and political columnist at Izvestia (March/April 2001)
82. Maxim Svistunov, publisher, world record chronicler (January/February 2002)
83. Nikolai Tsvetkov, banker (January/February 2002)
84. Galina Tyunina, actor, widely-honored star of stage and screen (January/February 2001)
85. Alexander Vedernikov, orchestral conductor (September/October 2001)
86. Yuri Vizilter, scientist, expert in computer vision and photogammetry(May/June 2001)
87. Anastasia Volochkova, prima ballerina (January/February 2002)
88. Arkady Volozh, entrepreneur, head of the popular Yandex online portal (July/August 2001)
89. Natalia Vorobyova, entrepreneur, owner of Natalie Tours (May/June 2001)
90. Konstantin Vorontsov, scientist, doing path-breaking research in artificial intelligence (January/February 2001)
91. Tagir Yapparov, entrepreneur, founder of IT, a computer systems integrator (January/February 2001)
92. Anastasia Yefimenko, scientist, winner of the international prize, Best Young Scientist (January/February 2001)
93. Maria Yeliseyeva, teacher of children with special needs (March/April 2001)
94. Olga Yeliseyeva, historian, specializing in Russia's 18th century (March/April 2001)
95. Aydyn Zeynalov, sculptor and artist (May/June 2001)
96. Marina Zhgivaleva, artist, painter from the Volga region (March/April 2001)
97. Sergei Zhilin, musician, jazz pianist and musical event organizer (September/October 2001)
98. Artyom Zhizhkin, musician, oboist (November/December 2001)
99. Sergei Zobnev, musician, founder of the popular folk band Myllarit (March/April 2001)
100. Mikhail Zrelov, restauranteur and entrepreneur (January/February 2001)