Russian PEN Center

Russian PEN Center is a non-governmental organization that promotes literature, freedom of speech, and human rights in Russia. The center is affiliated with PEN International, a global organization that connects writers, poets, and journalists from over 100 countries, including United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany. The Russian PEN Center was established in 1989, during the Perestroika era, by a group of prominent Russian writers, including Andrei Bitov, Bella Akhmadulina, and Yevgeny Yevtushenko, who were inspired by the works of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Mikhail Bulgakov, and Vladimir Nabokov. The center's activities are supported by Russian Ministry of Culture, Moscow City Government, and Institute of World Literature.

● History

The Russian PEN Center was founded in 1989, during a time of significant social and political change in Russia, marked by the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Dissolution of the Soviet Union. The center's early years were marked by a focus on promoting Russian literature and supporting writers who had been persecuted or censored during the Soviet era, including Osip Mandelstam, Anna Akhmatova, and Boris Pasternak. The center also worked to establish connections with PEN International and other PEN centers around the world, including PEN America, English PEN, and PEN Canada. In the 1990s, the Russian PEN Center played a key role in promoting freedom of speech and human rights in Russia, working with organizations such as Memorial Society, Moscow Helsinki Group, and Human Rights Watch. The center's members, including Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Boris Strugatsky, and Arkady Strugatsky, were influenced by the works of George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and Ray Bradbury.

● Organization

The Russian PEN Center is a non-profit organization that is governed by a board of directors, which includes prominent Russian writers, poets, and journalists, such as Dmitry Bykov, Mikhail Shishkin, and Viktor Erofeev. The center is headed by a president, who is elected by the membership, and has included notable figures such as Andrei Bitov, Bella Akhmadulina, and Yevgeny Yevtushenko. The center has a secretariat that is responsible for the day-to-day operations, and is supported by Russian Foundation for Humanities, Open Society Foundations, and Ford Foundation. The Russian PEN Center is also a member of PEN International, and works closely with other PEN centers around the world, including PEN International's Writers in Prison Committee, which monitors the cases of imprisoned writers such as Liu Xiaobo, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Salman Rushdie.

● Activities

The Russian PEN Center engages in a range of activities to promote literature, freedom of speech, and human rights in Russia. The center hosts literary events, such as book festivals, readings, and conferences, which feature prominent Russian writers, poets, and journalists, including Vladimir Sorokin, Zakhar Prilepin, and Sergei Lukyanenko. The center also publishes a literary magazine, which showcases the work of Russian writers and translators, and has featured translations of works by William Faulkner, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Haruki Murakami. In addition, the Russian PEN Center works to support imprisoned writers and journalists in Russia and around the world, including Pussy Riot, Alexei Navalny, and Khodorkovsky, and has partnered with organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Committee to Protect Journalists.

● Notable Members

The Russian PEN Center has a diverse membership that includes many prominent Russian writers, poets, and journalists, such as Andrei Bitov, Bella Akhmadulina, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Boris Strugatsky, and Arkady Strugatsky. The center's members have included Nobel laureates such as Joseph Brodsky, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and Svetlana Alexievich, as well as Russian Booker Prize winners such as Vladimir Sorokin, Zakhar Prilepin, and Sergei Lukyanenko. The center's members are also active in other literary organizations, such as the Union of Russian Writers, Moscow Writers' Union, and St. Petersburg Writers' Union, and have been influenced by the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy, and Anton Chekhov.

● Awards and Recognition

The Russian PEN Center has received numerous awards and recognition for its work promoting literature, freedom of speech, and human rights in Russia. The center has been awarded the PEN International's Freedom to Write Award, as well as the Russian Government's Award for Contributions to Literature. The center's members have also received numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in Literature, Russian Booker Prize, and Pushkin Prize, and have been recognized by organizations such as UNESCO, European Union, and Council of Europe. The Russian PEN Center has also partnered with other organizations to establish awards and prizes, such as the PEN Russia Prize, which recognizes outstanding contributions to Russian literature and freedom of speech, and has been supported by Russian Ministry of Culture, Moscow City Government, and Institute of World Literature.

Category:Russian literature