Volgograd journalists' report wins national 'Iskra Yuga' award

The report from the village of Sadovoy in the Republic of Kalmykia by V1.RU correspondents Elena Rubeleva and Ilya Vorobushkin won the «Best Report» nomination in the Smirnov National Media Competition «Iskra Yuga 2025».

Recall that in 2025, in the village of Sadovoy, two tragedies occurred. First, a crowd of teenagers humiliated and brutally beat a 14-year-old schoolboy, filming it all on video, which appeared on social media the next day. The boy couldn«t bear it and took his own life when no one was home. A few days later, one of the witnesses to the boy»s humiliation was found dead.

To understand the situation and prevent it from being swept under the rug, Elena Rubeleva, Ilya Vorobushkin, and Alexei Volkhonsky—a distinguished photography master whose shots became the crucial visual component of the report—went to Kalmykia. The journalists« work did not go unnoticed.

The «Iskra Yuga» award ceremony took place today, January 30, in Rostov-on-Don. Three contenders were presented in the «Best Report» nomination.

Anastasia Malyshkina, our colleague from 72.RU, was recognized for the strength with which, seemingly fragile, she went by helicopter to the Siberian Arctic to gather cranberries and showed why it«s not just berry picking, but a genuine means of survival for people.

Nikita Zyryanov, our colleague from 93.RU, on New Year«s Eve along with volunteers saved birds that were affected by a fuel oil spill in the Black Sea—that»s how he welcomed 2026. The report had everything: organizing assembly lines of boxes containing birds, feeding, caring for the poor animals. Volunteers were dropping from exhaustion and subsisted only on sandwiches, devoting all their energy to helping the birds.

Finally, Elena Rubeleva and Ilya Vorobushkin, V1.RU correspondents and authors of the report from Sadovoy village, were presented in the nomination.

«For me, this is a somewhat personal story,» admitted one of the competition jury members and editor-in-chief of 161.RU Olga Sergeeva. «The guys weren»t afraid to head to neighboring Kalmykia and made a report on the monstrous: on the tragedy of two teenagers, on child suicides, on bullying, on persecution. They found those who weren«t afraid to speak up, and nowadays finding such people is getting harder. They brought to light a story that was being swept under the rug, covered up, and thanks in part to the work of these guys, the story couldn»t be buried.«

Olga Sergeeva also emphasized that all three works that made it to the final are examples of real journalism, so choosing the best one was not easy.

«In the »Best Report« nomination, there was very tough competition, many worthy contenders. And I»m very glad that the final turned out this way, not only because representatives of Shkulev Holding gathered here, but because these are truly worthy works—the most worthy in this nomination. The choice on the final voting day was very difficult for the jury members. At the beginning of today«s ceremony, we talked about creative industries, and I want to say that these three works are a clear demonstration that journalism is still creative, still strong, and still fearless.»

Elena Rubeleva, who was in Rostov-on-Don and learned about the victory, couldn«t believe it was really true.

«I can»t say anything right now, words are failing me…« admits Elena. »When they said we were laureates, I almost had a cardiogenic shock… Making it into the top three out of over 100 works was already a victory, but to become a laureate… I don«t like giving solemn speeches or comments about myself. So, hello to colleague Ilya Vorobushkin, our photographer, my entire V1.RU team, and the editor-in-chief, without whom neither the trip to Kalmykia nor this trip to Rostov would have happened!»

In turn, Ilya Vorobushkin believes that the report from Sadovoy village was a test of his professionalism.

«For me, this is a big surprise,» shares Ilya. «On this report, we really did very serious work. The topic was not simple, very emotional. One of the most important pieces of my entire journalism career. Glad that the jury appreciated our work,» after a moment«s thought, Ilya added: »It seems like just yesterday we were discussing how to get to this Sadovoy and try to gather the story of that terrible tragedy… And now we«ve won with this report. I»m just in shock.«