A significant event took place in November 18, 2009, at the Na Strastnom theater center in Moscow: the handing of the "Prosvetitel" (Educator) literary award—the only one in Russia accorded for the popular science genre. Art critic Andrey Miroshkin tells details of this ceremony in his report to the Nezavisimaya gazeta newspaper.

The award, he says, was instituted in 2008 by Dmitry Zimin, Dr. Sc. (Tech.), a scientist, businessman and ardent bibliophile, within the framework of his Fund of Noncommercial Programs "Dynasty" that supports fundamental science and education in our country. The jury of 2009 included the Chairman of the "History of World Culture" Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences Academician Yuri Ryzhov, Pro-Rector of the Russian State Humanities University, philologist Dmitry Bak, as well as the poet, teacher of mathematics Yevgeny Bunimovich, also, Alexei Semikhatov, Dr. Sc. (Phys. & Math.), leading researcher of the Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and other scientists and scholars.

The "Prosvetitel" award is a sign of the time. The Soviet Union once led the world in popular science literature. But in the 1990s, the perestroika years of transition, the interest in it waned, and there came a substantial decrease in circulations. Yet in the beginning of the 2000s the situation began to change: in bookshops there appeared fascinating translated editions about the universe: A Brief History of Time... and the World in a Nutshell by the physicist of Cambridge University Stephen Hawking. "Life as It Is" by the British biologist and Nobel prizewinner of 1962 Francis Crick and many others. Off the press were perfectly illustrated books for young readership, including domestic authors, in different fields of knowledge-from astronomy and paleontology to physics history. There appeared a multimedia form of literature facilitating new knowledge learning and making it less routine. In short, considerable progress is on hand in this sphere. And the new literary award of the "Dynasty" Fund should draw attention of authors and readers to the popular science genre, it will create conditions for expansion of the educational literature market, and last, it will support those wishing to spread ideas born in the scientific community.

As of this year the "Prosvetitel" award is handed over in two nominations—for natural science and the humanities. Both are equivalent in prestige and in renumeration (600,000 rbl to each winner).

Award for the best popular science book in physics, mathematics and natural sciences went to physicist Leonid Ponomaryov, the author of the book "Under the Sign of Quantum".

The shortlist of the competition includes more than 60 books, though the natural science list has only four: How to Understand Difficult Laws of Physics (Eterna, 2008) by Alexander Dmitriev; The Disobedient Child of the Biosphere (the Moscow Center of Continuous Mathematical Education, 2009) by Viktor Dolnik; Stories About Physicists and Mathematicians (the same publishing house, 2006) by Simeon Gindikin and Under the Sign of Quantum (Phizmatlit, 2007) by Leonid Ponomaryov. The latter was recognized by the jury as the best in this cohort. This work, written in the best traditions of the Russian popular science genre, first appeared on sale in 1971 under the name On the Other Side of Quantum in a print of 100,000 copies, and since then has been published time and again acquainting readers with secrets of the physical phenomena. Addressed to all those interested in the root sources, ideas and achievements of quantum physics, and also its role in the formation of modern culture, it has been translated into 16 languages and has been in use for a long time as a manual.

Leonid Ponomaryov, a well-known expert in physics of mesoatomic and mesomolecular processes, a department

Award for the best book in the humanities went to art critic Grigory Kozlov for his book "An Attempt on Art".

head at the Russian Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", and Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, has for many years been lecturing at the Chair of Theoretical Physics of the Moscow Physico-Technical Institute. That is why he, an experienced lecturer, managed to give a simple and interesting explanation to the common reader of the complexity of laws of quantum mechanics. Leonid Ponomaryov, describing the advancement of science since the great Albert Einstein (1879-1955), Niels Bohr (1885-1962), Werner Heisen-berg (1901-1976) of Germany, and Erwin Schrodinger (1887-1961) of Austria, takes up the present condition of science. He lays out the basic principles of the theory of microparticles and the field quantum theory. His book, on the one hand, is a captivating story of the beginnings of our civilization, and on the other, it is "a quantum physics textbook coming alive," packed with the basic concepts, names, events, discoveries. "The abundance of formulas and equations with which the educational literature in this section of natural sciences usually bristles, Leonid Ponomaryov says, is the necessary, but not the most difficult part of the atom science. It is much more difficult to understand their physical meaning." So his book "Under the Sign of Quantum" is an aid on this problem.

In the humanities 4 nominees struggled for the award: History of Russia. The 20th Century (Astrel, 2009) by Doctor of History, Professor of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations Andrey Zubov; Russia and Europe. 1462-1921 (New Chronograph, 2008) by historian and political scientist Alexander Yanov; An Attempt on Art (Slovo, 2009) by art critic Grigory Kozlov; and Oil: a Treasure and Monster (Amphora, 2009) by publicist Andrey Ostalsky. It was Grigory Kozlov who won the "Prosvetitel" award in this group.

Still and all: if the preference given by judges to Ponomaryov's book was in no doubt, Kozlov's victory came as a surprise to many, the winner including. Everybody had been expecting the humanities award was due to Andrey Zubov as editor-in-chief of the two-volume book History of Russia. The 20th century. After all, its recent publication had broad public repercussions: this work is quite a timely attempt to interpret Russian history from new positions, proceeding from interests of the individual, not the state. The book was written by a large collective of authors, forty-two in all. They include prominent Russian and foreign scientists, representatives of different generations and cross-sections of Russian society. Such a universal and detailed work has appeared here for the first time since the perestroika days, it is indeed the first "non-Soviet" history of Russia of the 20th century. At any rate, such major works on this period were not published in our country before. However, the jury has chose another, undoubtedly, worthy edition. Grigory Kozlov, the author of the book An Attempt on Art has defined the award-winning genre as art detective. Written in an original provocative manner, it comprises 12 cases based on falsifications and deceits in the world of big painting. The reader will find answers to many tantalizing questions: why "La Gioconda" of Leonardo da Vinci (c. anno 1503) kept in the Louvre, has become a picture of pictures of all times and peoples; how the obscure Dutch artist Khan van Meegeren (1889-1947), became notorious for his imitation of pictures of one of the greatest painters of the Golden Age of Dutch art Jan Vermeer (Vander Meer) (1632-1675) so as to dupe the Nazi leader Hermann Goering; how one of the most impudent robberies of the 20th century-the theft of 13 exhibits from the Museum of Isabella Gardner (Boston, USA) was staged, and how the most valuable pictures from Russian museums were sold.

Grigory Kozlov's name is well-known in the literary circles. He is the author of books about European museums in the days of the Second World War, a member of the Editorial Board of the magazine "Art News" (New York), moderator of the Secret History of Art series on the First Channel of Russian TV. At the presentation ceremony the winner confided that for many years he had been working like "an archival rat" in the scientific sector of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow), and that during his hours the idea to describe a few scandalous affairs occurred to him. At first he worked on these plots as a historian, then described them as a journalist, and then the text became a screenplay (several years ago the film was shown on the "Culture" Television Channel); and last, there came a book, in 2009.

The work of the well-known political scientist Alexander Yanov Russia and Europe. 1462-1921 in three volumes was noted in particular. Devoted to one of the classical themes of historico-philosophical discussions, it deals with the Russian way as compared with that of "Western civilization". Proceeding from many indisputable facts, the author infers: our country has not one, but two equipollent ancient political traditions—the European and the Asian; today it should make a crucial choice. Yanov is convinced: Russia has no worthy prospects without Europe. This trilogy was chosen from the humanities list by the founder of the "Dynasty" fund and the award sponsor Dmitry Zimin who, though he did not participate in the work of jury in 2009, reserved the right to name his favorite.

The winners and other finalists in the competition for the award will travel across Russia to meet readers, and their books will be dispatched to 125 libraries of the country.

A. Miroshkin. Amusing Thefts, "Nezavisimaya gazeta ", November 26, 2009

Prepared by Marina KHALIZEVA