Our Moscow 30 under 30 power list ignited a heated debate about what it means to be young and powerful in Russia’s capital today.
Recognising that one list can never be definitive we turned it over you to curate a complementary one: the people’s power list.
Keeping to the themes of politics, media, culture and business we asked you to tell us who you think has influence in city today and why.
Here are the results:
Politics
1. Liubov Sobol: Anti-corruption lawyer, blogger and member of the Progress party. You said she was “the leader of a new generation: she is young, but has enough courage and knowledge to enter the command of the opposition.”
2. Alexey Mityaev: Cycling activist turned transport adviser to the city government. Accredited with playing a key role in Moscow’s “bike revolution”.
3. Maria Baronova: Anti-government activist, journalist and coordinator of the human rights division at Open Russia. “Superstar of the opposition,” according one of her supporters.
4. Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova: Vladimir Putin’s daughter, who works at Moscow State University. Her identity was a closely guarded secret until January this year when it was revealed by opposition bloggers.
5. Dmitriy Enteo: An outspoken radical Orthodox activist behind a series of anti-Pussy Riot stunts. One of his backers said he was the “most popular Orthodox Christian in social life” today.
6. Mark Shein: Describes himself as the “last national socialist”. Editor at Lentach, a 750,000 strong news community hosted on VKontake.
Culture
7. Pavel Arseniev: Poet, activist and literary critic. Infamous for a protest art piece which coined the slogan “you don’t even represent us”.
8. Anton Belov: Creative director of the Garage contemporary art centre, “the most dynamic and lively art venue of the city”.
9. Alisa Ganieva: Moscow-born writer and winner of the 2009 Debut Prize for long prose for her novel Salaam, Dalgat! You said she was “one of the most interesting writers in Russia right now”.
10. Alexey Kio: “The number one, in-the-moment graffiti writer in Moscow,” according to supporters.
11. Maria Kovalevskaya: Responsible for “the first affordable, accessible source of artwork for Muscovites keen to brighten up the white walls of their apartments”.
12. Arseniy Zhilyaev: Contemporary artist lauded as “one to watch” at the Venice Biennale 2015.
13. Alex Frukta: Motion designer, typographer and illustrator of ideas. “Nobody knows what he looks like, but lots of people know his projects,” said one of his fans.
Frukta Alex (@MRfrukta)
Check out new work "Paris - NewYork" http://t.co/zd8m1p1ACu pic.twitter.com/QXXQK2pj6n
April 16, 2015
14 and 15. Stepan Lipatov and Maria Ignatieva: “Moscow graphic design geniuses” who worked on the Jewish Museum and Toleration Centre, the Pioneer Cinema and Respublica bookshop.
Media
16. Ilya Azar: Special correspondent for the news website Meduza. Was GQ journalist of the year in 2014 and is an outspoken critic of Russia’s involvement in Ukraine.
17. Roman Anin: Award-winning investigative journalist, special reporter at Moscow-based news weekly Novaya Gazeta.
18. Egor Prosvirnin: Editor-in-chief of nationalist news site Sputnik I Pogrom. His site suggested alternatives to the Guardian’s power list earlier this week:
Sputnik & Pogrom (@sputnikipogrom)
30 самых влиятельных москвичей моложе 30 лет: список реальный и список Guardian http://t.co/KqEp7T0cIG pic.twitter.com/COA1RM6UWL
June 10, 2015
19. Zalina Marshenkulova: Founder of Breakingmad, an online aggregator for news, pop culture and entertainment.
20. Nikita Kovalchuk: Russian football blogger and YouTube star. Also a presents a show on 360 TV.
21. Ilya Meddison: Also know as Maddyson Twitch. Russian YouTuber famous for “all kinds of funny videos”.
22. Yuniya Pugacheva: journalist at Super.ru, a Russian celebrity news site specialising in paparazzi photographs and gossip.
Entrepreneurs
23. Lisa Kologreeva, 22: Fashion PR, writer and former Wonderzine stylist. You described her as “the vanguard of Moscovite fashion”. She claims to love “grime and sneakers”.
24. Alexander Elzesser: Behind Heart of Moscow, a project hoping to rebrand the city for tourists. The company sells a range of alternative souvenirs “for people who are proud of the city and its history”.
25. Olga Zinovyeva: Set up Elementaree, an app, website and food delivery service designed to help Muscovites get into shape.
Others
26 and 27. Nadya Tolokonnikova and Masha Alyokhina, Pussy Riot: punk duo, activists and founders of MediaZona, an alternative media agency covering the penal system and prisoners rights.
28. Lidia Moniava: Uses her big social media presence to raise awareness, support and funds for the Hospice Foundation: “a guardian angel of very sick children”.
29. Olga Nikolaenko: Head of the Moscow Educational Centre for Children of Refugees, who support their assimilation into the school system. The group was recently declared a foreign agent by the authorities.
30. Mitya Aleshkovskiy: Works at Nuzhnapomosch.ru, a foundation attempting to ignite the charity sector in Russia. He has “real power, not some editorial job in a comfy chair”, you said.
Who’s missing?
Tell us in the comments below or on Twitter using #GuardianMoscow
Since you’re here…
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comments (57)
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Although obviously not for the majority of Russians who neither speak English nor read the Guardian.
It's interesting to ask why the Guardian has taken such a sudden interest in Russia and why such a strong favouring of anti-government views. (This is a rhetorical question). Which is not to say that Putin is anything other than a dubious character, but the West's attempts to instigate political changes in Eastern Europe are largely to blame for our current situation. It's a shame the Guardian is not providing fair and balanced reporting.
Nah, the Graun's started publishing a lot of stuff in Russian. Here:
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jun/12/-breaking-taboo-moscow-women-domestic-violence-russian-version
FYI: There have been quite a few significant political changes in E. Europe since USSR collapsed.
With all of its countries becoming independent, joining EU and NATO.
From Bulgaria to Poland.
And TG, I hate to tell you that, having nothing with that.
It's just that people having any freedom of movement always vote with their feet.
While there's hardly anyone from the West moving to Russia, but more&more Russia's trying to move to the West.
Learn Russian and then you'll feel the difference.
The guy probably tries to say that patriotism is when one loves enemies of one's country. He apparently does.
I love my country, I don't support my government (more often than not), I'm opposed to the west, and I basically deny the existence of a coherent thing you could call "liberal thinking" in a 21st-century Russia context. The self-appointed opposition has a very convenient back-and-forth going on with the government. They're both equally interested in shouting down the rest of us and locking us out of the discourse.
I guess their employers from the Dept. of State can tell a lot more about that so-called "opposition". No need to visit Moscow. They are only known because of the efforts of the Western media. This is idiotic: media are supposed to report real events, not their own activity.
the Guardian is very US mainstream point of view.
Congrats to Russians with Day of Russia!
And what's there to congratulate? Specifically?
He means an Independence Day. The crap invented by the traitors who destroyed the country in 1991.
What about those who created a holiday called CHEKIST Day?
Moscow is now like Rome in the last period of Empire, with crowds of useless parasites hanging around in search of free drinks and entertainments from sponsors. This is one group of these parasite. One interesting question would be to find out who pays for their living.
Congrats, 4 out of the 6 commenting the article are actually paid pro-Kremlin trolls from this infamous enterprize:
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/06/07/magazine/the-agency.html?referrer=
Says someone with an account registered today.
Would you prostitute yourself for 40-50 thousand worthless roubles per month?
No, I didn't think so. It would take a really desperate whore to do that.
Vassily Brovko – founder of the Apostol Agency, now head of communications of the Rostec corp
Dmitriy Enteo is politic? okay
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