1. General Terms
1.1. The Honest View Media Award for Foreign Journalists (hereinafter referred to as the Competition or the Award) is one of the initiatives of the Russian Federation in the field of building a friendly open dialogue with the international community by identifying, popularizing and promoting the best journalistic experience in covering the foreign humanitarian activities of the Russian Federation. The award is held within the framework of the implementation of the Concept of the State Policy of the Russian Federation in the field of international development assistance, approved by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, and is an information support tool for the state policy of the Russian Federation in the field of international development assistance.
1.2. This Terms regulates the purpose, objectives and procedure for conducting, the list of nominations, requirements for participants, competitive materials, the procedure for their provision, selection and evaluation criteria and the timing of the International Competition of information Projects for foreign media.
1.3. The official name of the Competition for public promotion: The Honest View Media Award.
1.4. The official Internet resource of the Contest (hereinafter referred to as the Website): https://honest-view.press.
1.5. The competition is a tool for identifying and encouraging authors of the best information materials with an independent point of view on Russia's foreign humanitarian, cultural and economic mission.

2. Terms of the Competition
2.1. Competition material is a publication containing information about a project/project with Russian participation aimed at expanding economic, social and cultural cooperation, contributing to strengthening Russia's influence in the world and strengthening its position in the international space.
2.2. The Competition application is information submitted electronically through a special section on the Competition Website about the Participant of the Competition / Applicant, the author (the author's team) together with text, graphic and other materials representing the content of the competition project.
2.3. The Participant of the Competition / Applicant is an individual who has filled out the electronic application form on the official website of the Competition in accordance with the stated requirements.
2.4. Competition Nominee – a Competition Participant who has been admitted to participate in the Competition based on the evaluation of their Application by the Expert Council of the Competition.
2.5. Competition Laureate – a Competition Nominee whose competition application has been recognized as one of the top three in one of the nominations based on the evaluation by the Jury and is eligible for victory.
2.6. Prize Winner – a Competition Laureate recognized as the Winner in their nomination based on the Jury's voting results.
2.7. The reporting period of the competition is the period of the competition materials' publication. The reporting period of the 2025 competition is from November 1, 2024 to September 26, 2025.
2.8. Organizing Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Org Committee) – the executive body of the Competition responsible for coordination, organizational and methodological support of the Competition, as well as organizational and technical support for the preparation and conduct of competition procedures and the Competition itself.
2.9. Expert Council – an expert-analytical body of the Competition that evaluates the applications submitted for the Competition in all nominations and determines the Nominees of the Competition.
2.10. Jury – a collegial body consisting of representatives from the expert and journalistic communities, heads and chief editors of media outlets, and experts in the field of international cooperation, responsible for evaluating the works of the Nominees and determining the Laureates and Winners in the nominations of the Competition.

3. Organizer and operator of the Contest
3.1. The organizer of the Competition is the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo), (hereinafter referred to as the Organizer).
3.2. The Operator of the Competition is the AGT Communication Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Operator).

4. The goals and objectives of the Competition
4.1 Objectives of the Competition:
- To identify and encourage representatives of foreign media – authors of television, radio, and print publications, as well as online materials – for their objective and comprehensive coverage of humanitarian projects with Russian participation aimed at expanding economic, social, and cultural cooperation, contributing to the formation of an objective and constructive image of the Russian Federation in the global information space.
- To support and expand Russia's economic and humanitarian presence abroad.
-  To promote a positive agenda aimed at strengthening Russia's positions in the international arena in both foreign and Russian media.
- To increase awareness among the populations of foreign countries through media, online publications, and social networks about Russia's role in joint economic, social, and cultural projects aimed at improving the quality of life for citizens.
- To facilitate the development of international cooperation and the implementation of joint projects with partner countries in various fields.

4.2 Tasks of the Competition:
- To identify and attract information projects (publications in mass media and social networks) that contribute to the development of Russia's relations with foreign countries.
- To inform representatives of foreign media about projects of the Russian Federation aimed at promoting international cooperation with foreign countries.
- To enhance the professional skills of representatives of foreign media who write about Russia.

5. The order of the Competition
- Participation in the competition is declarative in nature.
- Applications are accepted through the form on the Contest Website.
- To participate in the Competition, the Participant must fill out an electronic questionnaire on the official website of the Competition and attach the materials of the competition project.
- The Organizing Committee of the Competition has the right to submit a nominee for the Award based on information and projects available from open sources.
- The Organizing Committee of the Competition conducts the selection procedure for Competitive applications. The procedures for evaluating the submitted materials and determining the winners of the Competition are carried out by the Expert Council and the Jury of the Competition, which includes reputable experts in the field of media, economic, social, and cultural areas of international cooperation.

5.1 Stages and formats of the Competition
Until 01.10.2025: - Acceptance of applications on the Website
01.10.2025 – 05.10.2025 - Technical processing of received applications
06.10.2025 – 19.10.2025 - Evaluation of applications by the Expert Council
20.10.2025 – 31.10.2025 - Determination of winners by the Award Jury
November 2025 - Information and educational event (media school) for young journalists and authors participating in the Competition that will take place in Moscow
November  2025 - The solemn award ceremony for the winners that will take place in Moscow

5.2 The language of the competition
− Russian is the main language of the competition. The competition documentation, procedures, information, educational and festive events are conducted in Russian.
− The organizer of the competition provides translation of the main documents of the competition (Regulations on the competition, information materials, news and press releases, event programs) into English and/or Arabic, and/or Spanish and/or French, and also provides simultaneous or sequential translation for the participants of the competition during the event.
− The competition has no limit on the languages in which the competition materials (publications, information materials) of the participants of the competition are prepared.

6. Requirements for the participants of the Competition
The following are allowed to participate in the Competition:
6.1 Legal entities registered outside of the Russian Federation (media outlets, including television, radio, internet publications, and print media) are eligible to participate in the Competition.
6.2 Individuals residing outside of the Russian Federation (independent journalists, authors, bloggers) who are at least 18 years old, as well as representatives of foreign publications operating in the territory of the Russian Federation, are also eligible to participate.
6.3 The status of a Competition Participant is acquired after filling out the application form on the official competition website and receiving confirmation via email from the Organizing Committee regarding the compliance of the application content with the competition requirements.
6.4 The Participant's activities must not be suspended before the start of the preliminary selection of the Competition.
6.5 The contact information of the Participant (or their official representative) must be current (active) until the end of the Competition.

7. Requirements for the competition materials
7.1 Information materials published in the media or on social networks during the Reporting Period of the competition are eligible for participation. The Reporting Period for the 2025 competition is from November 1, 2024, to September 26, 2025. The information material submitted by the Participant must correspond to the themes and nominations of the Competition and have a journalistic, informational, or news character.
7.2 Scientific papers, dissertations, monographs, and studies are not eligible for participation in the competition.
7.3 Participants from print media must provide scanned copies of materials in electronic form, saved in chronological order. Scanned copies of print materials may be submitted as a single electronic document in PDF format. If the print material contains more than one page, all pages must be combined into a single electronic file of the scanned copy. The quality of the scanned copy must be sufficient for reading and unambiguous interpretation of the text.
7.4 Participants from television companies must provide video materials (videos) as separate files in .avi, .mov, or .mp4 format, or as links to a website or video hosting, with a duration of at least 150 seconds. Each video must be submitted as a separate file (blocks are not accepted). If musical accompaniment is used, the authors of the music and lyrics must be indicated, and copyright must be respected. A broadcast reference must be attached to the application, indicating the date, time of broadcast, title of the video material, and duration. The broadcast reference must be formatted on the organization's (radio company) letterhead with the signature and seal of the head of the radio company.
7.5 Participants from radio companies must provide audio materials from radio programs and radio reports in the form of separate sound files or links to materials published on the editorial websites or social media representatives, with a duration of at least 150 seconds, broadcast references, and textual transcripts of the audio materials. The broadcast reference must include the date, time, title of the audio material that aired on the radio station, and duration. The broadcast reference must be formatted on the organization's (radio company) letterhead with the signature and seal of the head of the radio company.
7.6 Participants from online publications must provide links to the internet pages of publications, projects, and materials, as well as screenshots of the internet pages with the posted material. The screenshot of the internet page must display the address of the internet page, the content of the material, and the date of its publication.
7.7 Photojournalists must provide at least 10 authorial works in .tiff, .jpg, or .png formats with a resolution of no less than 300 dpi and an image size of at least 3000 pixels on the wide side.
7.8  Participants with publications on social media (blogs, communities and groups, channels in messengers and video hosting) must provide links to electronic materials and screenshots of pages posted on the internet. The screenshot of the internet page must display the address of the internet page, the content of the material, and the date of its publication. Video files must be provided as separate files in .avi, .mov, or .mp4 format, or as a link to the file on video hosting.
7.9 All information materials submitted for the Competition must be original works of the Participants. Submissions that are encumbered with the rights of third parties are not allowed.
7.10 Information materials must not contain texts, video materials, and images of a sexual nature, violence, discrimination, vandalism, or that reflect the physical suffering of people and animals; information that, in any form, humiliates the dignity of a person or a specific national group of people.
7.11 The information materials submitted for the Competition, their content, plot, actions of individuals and characters must not contradict the current legislation of the Russian Federation. Excluded are: information about sponsors; names of political figures and parties; religious figures and movements; advertising.
7.12 Within the framework of this competition for the award, materials that in one form or another talk about the implementation of international initiatives of the Russian Federation in the following areas may be eligible:
- Eradication of poverty and promotion of sustainable socio-economic development of partner states, including post-conflict countries
-  Influence on global processes aimed at creating a stable and just world order based on universally recognized norms of international law and partnerships between states.
- Overcoming the consequences of natural disasters, technological accidents, and other emergencies.
- Supporting international efforts and initiatives to enhance transparency, quality, and effectiveness in providing international development assistance, and actively participating in developing common approaches to implementing agreed-upon solutions in this area.
- Strengthening the positive perception of the Russian Federation and its cultural and humanitarian influence in the world.
- Fostering good-neighborly relations with neighboring states, contributing to the elimination of existing potential hotspots of tension and conflict, sources of illicit drug trafficking, international terrorism, and organized crime, primarily in regions adjacent to the Russian Federation, and preventing their emergence.
- Contributing to integration processes in the Commonwealth of Independent States.
- Promoting effective governance based on the principles of the rule of law and respect for human rights in recipient states, encouraging these governments to independently resolve emerging issues while adhering to the international legal principle of state responsibility to their citizens and the international community for their domestic and foreign policies.
-  Promoting the development of trade and economic cooperation.

8. The nominations of the Competition
8.1During the Winner’s determining procedure, experts assess the significance of the Applicants' achievements in the following main nominations:

The Grand Prix
The Grand Prix is the main award of the year, awarded to an individual author or editorial team who has left the most noticeable mark in covering the foreign humanitarian activities of the Russian Federation

The best material in the genre of journalism and documentaries
The award goes to the material (project, film or series of publications) dedicated to topical socio-political issues of international partnership and interaction with the Russian Federation

The best material on international cultural, social or humanitarian partnership with Russia
The award goes to the material in any genre, published in any type of media or social networks, dedicated to cultural, social or humanitarian partnership with the Russian Federation

The best material in the genre of reportage (special prize from Ruptly video agency)
The award goes to the material in the genre of reportage published in any type of media or social networks, dedicated to the issues of international partnership and cooperation with the Russian Federation

The best material of young journalists about the Russian Federation
The award goes to the material on international initiatives of the Russian Federation prepared by young or novice journalists (under 25 years old)

The best material on the people’s diplomacy
The award goes to the material in any genre, published in any type of media or social networks, dedicated to the development of public diplomacy and building friendly relations between Russia and foreign countries
 
Cock and bull story
The award goes to the material containing the most odious fictions, distortions of facts, false stereotypes, distorted ideas, nonsense and ridiculous inventions about Russia

8.2 Based on the proposals of the Organizing Committee on special incentives and additional nominations of the Competition, the Expert Council and the Jury of the Competition have the right to introduce a number of additional nominations to highlight journalists, authors and media covering certain aspects of Russia's activities abroad.

9 Criteria for competitive materials' evaluation
9.1 Compliance of the content of the information materials with the theme of the Competition.
9.2 Disclosure of the topic of the nomination in which the information material is submitted.
9.3 Relevance and significance of the content of the information material.
9.4 Clarity of the problem statement in the information material and the depth of its exploration.
9.5 Mastery of information presentation, high level of argumentation, and factual work in the information material.
9.6 Constructiveness of the material and positive stance of the author.
9.7 Compliance of the publication date of the material with the Reporting Period of the Competition as specified in point 2.

10 Summation of the Competition results
10.1 The evaluation of information materials is conducted by members of the Expert Council and the Jury independently, individually, and autonomously, by assigning scores based on the listed criteria.
10.2 Based on the scores assigned by the members of the Expert Council, the arithmetic mean value for each submission is calculated, after which a ranking of submissions is formed for each nomination.
10.3 Based on the established ranking of submissions, the Expert Council creates a shortlist of candidates for awards within the framework of the Competition.
10.4 The shortlist of candidates is submitted for consideration to the members of the Jury of the Competition.
10.5 The Jury determines the Laureates and Winners to be awarded within the framework of the Competition.
10.6 The names of the Laureates and Winners of the Competition are announced during the awards ceremony in Moscow.
10.7 The results of the Competition, along with the complete list of Winners and Laureates, are posted on the official Competition Website.

11 Awarding the winners of the Competition
11.1 The prize fund is established by the Organizer of the Competition in the form of cash and valuable prizes.
11.2 The total prize fund of the competition, including cash and other prizes, is 7,200,000 (Seven million two hundred thousand) rubles. The prize fund includes taxes provided for by Russian legislation. The Operator of the award is responsible for paying the taxes of the participants. Participants receive cash awards, taking into account the taxes paid by the Operator.
11.3 The awarding of Winners and Laureates of the Competition is held in the format of a ceremonial event in Moscow.
11.4 The Organizer of the Competition is not responsible for any additional expenses incurred by the Participants of the Competition that may arise in the process of receiving cash prizes and other awards.
11.5 Prizes are awarded personally to the Winners and Laureates of the Competition and cannot be transferred to other individuals. All prizes are awarded subject to their availability and may be changed during the course of the Competition.
11.6 Prizes, except for cash awards, may be sent to Participants of the Competition at their address by postal shipment via a transport company or any other courier service, or handed personally to the Winners and Laureates during the awards ceremony.

12 Copyright and exclusive rights
12.1 The Organizer of the Competition does not claim ownership or copyright to the competition projects provided by the Participants of the Competition.
12.2 The Organizer has the right to use all competitive projects of the Competition in whole or in part for non-commercial purposes like publications, exhibitions, advertising of the Competition in the media, social advertising, printed publications, while the copyright remains with the Participant of the Competition.
12.3 The responsibility for the observance of copyrights to the materials of the competition project participating in the Competition is borne by the Participant of the Competition who sent this competition project to the Competition.
12.4 By submitting a competition project to the Competition, the author/ copyright holder confirms his consent to use the materials sent by him as part of the competition project without paying royalties in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.
12.5 In case of claims by third parties related to the placement of materials in the content of the competition project on the official Website of the Competition, as well as with the subsequent use of materials of such a competition project, the Participant of the Competition undertakes to settle these claims with third parties on his own and at his own expense.

13 The Organizing Committee of the Competition
13.1 The Organizing Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Organizing Committee) is the executive body of the Competition.
13.2 The composition of the Organizing Committee is approved by the Organizer and posted on the official website of the Competition.
13.3 The function of the Organizing Committee is to coordinate and provide organizational and methodological support for the Competition, as well as organizational and technical support for the preparation and conduct of competitive procedures and the conduct of the Competition, including:
− legal, informational and financial support of the Competition;
− development and approval of the Competition Regulations;
− formation of the composition and organization of the activities of the Expert Council;
− collection of the applications from Participants, formation lists of nominees from them (hereinafter referred to as Nominees) and submission of them to the Expert Council, calculation of the overall results and formation of the list of laureates of the Competition (hereinafter referred to as Laureates);
− administration of the Contest Website;
− organization and holding of the award ceremony of the Laureates;
− perform of the other functions necessary for the Competition.
13.4 In the course of their activities, members of the Organizing Committee should not disclose information related to the composition of Nominees' applications and the selection of Laureates.

14 Expert Council
14.1 The Expert Council is the expert and analytical body of the Competition who evaluates applications submitted for the Competition in all nominations. The Expert Council includes representatives of the scientific community, educational authorities, the media, and educational organizations.
14.2 The composition of the Expert Council is approved by the Organizing Committee and posted on the Competition website.
14.3 The selection of the members of the Expert Council (hereinafter referred to as Experts) is carried out by the Organizing Committee.
14.4 The functions of the Expert Council are:
− independent examination and evaluation of Nominees' applications.

15 The Competition Jury

15 The Jury of the Competition is formed by the Organizing Committee and the Organizer of the Competition. The Jury of the Competition includes representatives of the expert and journalistic communities, heads and editors-in-chief of the media, experts on the subject of international cooperation.
15.2 The competence of the Competition Jury includes:
− consideration of competitive projects;
− professional, objective and independent evaluation of competitive applications;
− determination of winners and laureates in the nominations of the Competition;
− summing up the results of the Competition.

16 Other conditions
16.1 The Organizer of the Competition reserves the right not to accept for publication or delete any materials in the composition of the competition project or the Participant of the Competition for any reasonable reason.
16.2 The Organizer of the Competition is not responsible for the materials in the Application that were not received due to any technical problems. The Organizer of the Competition is not responsible for the inaccuracy or unreliability of information due to the actions of the Participants of the Competition or the actions of any other persons or as a result of the failure of any equipment or program related to or used in the Competition.
16.3 If this Competition cannot be held in accordance with the plans for any reason as a result of infection with a computer virus, software or hardware errors, forgery of software and documents, unauthorized interference, fraud, technical problems or for other reasons beyond the control of the Organizer of the Competition, violating or distorting management, security, fairness, honesty or the proper conduct of this Competition, the Organizer of the Competition reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any person who has forged an application, or cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Contest.
16.4 The provision of materials as part of the Competition Application is the consent of the Participant of the Competition with all the conditions of the Competition set out in this Regulation.

17 Final provisions
17.1 The Organizer of the Competition reserves the right to unilaterally make any changes to these Regulations without prior notification to the Participants of the Competition. At the same time, the Organizer of the Competition publishes a new Regulation on the official website of the Competition.
17.2 The changes made to these Regulations come into force from the moment they are published on the official Website of the Competition in the relevant sections.

18 Contact information
Contact information is published in the relevant section on the Official Website of the competition https://honest-view.press