Celebrations for the awarding of the National Literary Award named after the writer began with a lithium at the grave of Valentin Grigorievich Rasputintranslated

On Russia Day, June 12, 2026, a solemn ceremony of awarding the laureates of the National Literary Prize named after V.G. will be held in Irkutsk. Rasputin, which was attended by the President of the Russian Book Union, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Prize Sergei Vadimovich Stepashin. Before the start of the celebration, the guest of honor of Irkutsk, accompanied by the Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Irkutsk Region Andrei Vladimirovich Yuzhakov and the Minister of Culture of the Irkutsk Region Olesya Nikolaevna Polunina, visited the Znamensky Monastery, where he met with Metropolitan Maximilian of Irkutsk and Angarsk, venerated the relics of St. Innocent, the First Bishop of Irkutsk, and prayed for the repose of the soul of Valentin Grigorievich Rasputin at his grave. The litiya at the grave of the great Russian writer was performed by Bishop Maximilian, who in his welcoming speech called Valentin Rasputin “a patriot of his Motherland” and a “great prophet”, “defender of the piety of the Russian people” and expressed the hope that “such talented and patriotic people will continue to be born in our land, so that the Russian land will live with its traditions and shrines; so that joy and happiness in our land have our spiritual basis.”…