On Saturday in Berlin, we held our annual Journalism as a Profession Awards ceremony. It feels like only yesterday that we at Open Russia first founded the award, but it’s been eight whole years! As always, a huge number of talented journalists were nominated for their groundbreaking work. The prize recipients are listed below – please do read and watch their materials. And, of course, my heartfelt congratulations go to the winners!

The Country: Irina Babicheva, 161.ru for her work “It’s peaceful and quiet here”: Living and sipping in the village where a Wagnerite and his friend killed six people*

Investigation: Liliya Yapparova, Meduza for her work “We were turned into caged beasts”: The inner workings of prisons where Russia’s intelligence services hold Ukrainian civilians arrested on occupied territories

Story/Reporting: Shura Burtin, Cherta, for his work “I want to see how my wife was killed”: The tragedy of Hroza village, where a Russian rocket attack killed more than 50 people

Multimedia: Polina Uzhvak and the Vazhnye Istorii editorial staff for their work “Die, and nobody will find out”: Inside the system of abductions, torture and terror in Russian-occupied Melitopol, the center of Ukraine’s partisan resistance

Documentary Film: Andrey Loshak, Nastoyashchee Vremya, for his work “Pentagon”

Interview/Portrait: Yuri Dud for his interview Lena Kostyuchenko – History of modern Russia

Analysis: Mikhail Yampolsky, Re-russia, for his work Regime of imperial paranoia: War in the age of empty rhetoric

Digital Channels: Alexander Plyushchev, Nino Rosebashvili and Tatiana Felgengauer for their work Breakfast Show

Jury’s Special Prize: Elena Milashina, Novaya Gazeta