Selected works by RIA Novosti photographers for World Press Photo Awards

Igor Utkin unexpectedly won his first World Press Photo award while still a darkroom assistant at the Novosti Press Agency (APN) in 1968. His “Volleyball” triptych won first place in the “Sports” category in 1968. Photo: Photographer Igor Utkin’s work from the “Volleyball” series. The APN-68 photo exhibition. Exhibition collection.

Boris Kaufman presents a photo series on women from Dagestan at the exhibition. The portrait of a 104-year-old woman in the series won second place in the “Portrait” category in 1972.

Vyacheslav Bobkov has photographed animals on numerous occasions. He took third place in the “Science and Art” category for a photo in his series on ornithological services in Moscow airports.

Valery Shustov's work is presented at the exhibition in two series, including “Fire Tamers” about firemen from Dagestan. A photo from the series won first prize in the “Color” category in 1978.

Shustov's second series, “Swimming Before Walking,” is about a health education school organized by Igor Charkovsky where women give birth in water. The series won first prize in the “Color” category in 1979.

Sergey Guneyev, a three-time winner at the World Press Photo Awards, was one of the first photographers in the Soviet Union to use radio-controlled photo equipment. He took third place in the “Sports” category in 1980 with a photo made using such equipment.

Vladimir Rodionov, now the president's personal photographer, worked on a series about the educator Boris Verzub for more than a year. A photo from the series finished third in the “Humor” category. Verzub was the inspiration for the main character in the film, “Usaty Nyan” (“Nanny with a Moustache”).

Viktor Chernov worked at the Nauka (“Science”) editorial offices. He won World Press Photo prizes for two series on Soviet physicians, including “Professor Meshalkin Performs a Successful Heart Operation.” (1981).

... and “Professor Fyodorov Performs an Eye Operation.” (1984).

Yury Kaver photographed nature, lyrical landscapes, wildlife refuges and nature preserves. His work “Birch Calico” won third place in the “Nature” category in 1984.

Alexander Makarov was “embedded” by APN at the Bolshoi Theater, and had friendly and close relationships with many renowned cultural figures. This series is dedicated to ballerina Maya Plisetskaya. It won first prize in the “Arts and Entertainment” category in 1985.

Igor Kostin photographed the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant from the early days of the disaster. He ascended to the contaminated third block’s roof, descended into the destroyed reactor and took photos of the aftermath – the abandoned towns and children born with genetic disorders. In 1986, his series won first prize in the “Science and Technology” category.

Six-time World Press Photo Awards winner Vladimir Vyatkin is one of RIA Novosti’s most famous photographers. He won third prize in the “General News” category for this photo, which shows Russian artillery shelling militant positions in the mountains of Chechnya in 2000.

Vladimir Vyatkin was awarded a prize in the “Daily Life” category for his photo, “The Choreographer Igor Moiseyev and His Wife, Irina,” in 2007. The photo was taken on the choreographer’s 101st birthday.