February 16, 2020

Competing for Leadership Prizes is a Family Affair


Competing for Leadership Prizes is a Family Affair
The toddler is already working on perfecting his serious business leader expression to match the achievements of mama and papa. The Government of Kaliningrad Oblast

Russia’s latest power couple, from Kaliningrad, is headed to the semifinals of the Leaders of Russia contest.

Yekaterina Solomatina, a businesswoman and professor, has made it to the semifinal round three times. Third time’s the charm: with her encouragement, this year her husband Maksim entered the contest and also successfully entered the semifinals.

Along for the ride is their year-old son, who is already a veteran of the contest after joining his mother last year. The family isn’t worried about competitiveness destroying their relationship. On the contrary, as Yekaterina put it: “Leadership is about a team, which is why in our teams we strive to work not in competition with each other, but collaboratively. And our family is also a team.” Best of luck to the "they're so dreamy!" team, baby and all. 

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The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.
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