Russian experts recognise best international business projects and public initiatives of BRICS countries in 2025

Leadership initiatives from Russian and international participants were presented in 16 categories. The Expert of the Year Award is an award for people who have succeeded in introducing breakthrough ideas and technologies into the real sector of the economy. The award is presented to experts whose work remains “behind the scenes”, yet has a tangible impact on the development of their countries and industries. With the support of TV BRICS, the award has reached the international level and, for the second year, is collecting applications from candidates across the world.

Director of the “Expert. Analytics Centre”, Andrey Oleksyuk, in an exclusive comment for the media network, highlighted the award’s development. “We started as a regional award, then moved to the national level, and now – to the international one. The quality of the projects has grown significantly. [...] Through this award, we give every person the opportunity to make themselves known – whether they are a worker, a manager or a civil servant,” he noted.

CEO of TV BRICS Janna Tolstikova stated that TV BRICS consistently supports national projects of Russia and other BRICS countries that help identify significant public initiatives and innovative ideas in various sectors: education, culture, media, youth policy, ecology, industry, and agriculture. One such partner project of the media network in Russia is the Expert of the Year Award, which not only promotes Russian expertise and innovative Russian projects across different sectors but also provides an opportunity for the domestic expert community to strengthen and develop connections and exchange ideas and knowledge.

In the category “International Projects”, one of the winners was Cultural Adviser of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Russia Masoud Ahmadvand. The Iranian project received high praise from the jury – the “Patterns of Friendship” festival, an exhibition that brought together 200 works of art representing Iran’s cultural heritage on canvas by Russian artists, and the image of Russia on the canvases of their Iranian colleagues.

“First of all, I would like to thank the Expert Award team for their decision, as well as our wonderful colleagues from TV BRICS, who actively cooperate with the Embassy of Iran and the Cultural Representation. For us, receiving this award is of great value, and we are proud to have received it from a professional team. This will become an additional motivation for us to organise the second phase of the festival on an even larger scale and to put more effort into strengthening cultural ties between Iran and Russia,” he noted.

In the category “International Media”, the award’s expert council recognised the Latin American outlet Brasil de Fato and its director Nina Fideles.

“It is a great honour for us to be nominated. [...] When we speak about the BRICS countries, about Brazil and Russia, these are countries with unique histories. Expert cooperation expands the resources for such cooperation platforms. It helps to make the global picture more understandable and diverse,” said the head of the outlet’s bureau in Russia, Sergey Monin.

Director of the State Hermitage Museum Mikhail Piotrovsky, Chairman of the Expert Council of the award, addressed the ceremony’s participants: “Today, when most evaluations are carried out with the help of machines, expert evaluation becomes especially significant. This is the evaluation of a person who guarantees the merit of a particular work with their own reputation.”

He also emphasised the importance of the award in shaping professional reputation. “There is nothing more important for people, whether in business, science or culture, than reputation,” he said.

President of the Indian Business Alliance Sammy Kotwani, who presented the award in the category “Finance and Investments” to the General Director of the financial company Margarita Borodatova, highlighted the importance of such events for the development of international relations.

“BRICS is cooperation not only between states but also between people. [...] Such events strengthen public diplomacy. Financial professionals are the foundation of society; their support enables the development of cooperation within BRICS,” he stated.

Among the foreign laureates recognised by the expert council were: Sonu Saini, Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Russian Studies of Jawaharlal Nehru University (CRS JNU, India) for contributing to bringing the cultural spaces of Russia and India closer through translation projects; documentary filmmaker Amazing-Grace Ajayi from Nigeria for promoting intercultural dialogue through documentary cinema and strengthening relations between Russia and Africa; Adviser to the Editor-in-Chief of the Middle East News Agency Amjad Othman for contributing to shaping an objective understanding of the region in the international media space; General Director of the Iranian media group Mehr Mohammad Mahdi Rahmati for strengthening international media partnership in the region and providing comprehensive coverage of cultural developments.

The Expert of the Year 2025 Award has been held since 2012. Its purpose is to identify specialists implementing breakthrough projects in the economy, science, industry, public administration and social activity. Since 2024, the international media partner of the award has been TV BRICS.

Photo: Expert of the Year 2025 Award