Interfax-2009 Scholar Announced

Interfax Information Services Group and the journalism department at Moscow State University have decided to award the B.S. Grishchenko Scholarship to third-year student Vsevolod Bylevsky.

The decision to award the scholarship to Bylevsky was announced at the MSU journalism department‘s annual Day of Practice on December 25. Bylevsky is the fifth student to receive the Interfax Scholarship. He was given the award based on a series of articles dedicated to the fuel and energy industry that have been published by several Russian media outlets.

Twelve students from the MSU journalism department took part in the competition for the Interfax-2009 Scholarship: Asmik Arutyunian (fourth year student), Darya Balaboshina (fifth year), Anatoly Bochinin (fourth year), Anastasia Gorshkova (third year), Darya Danilova (third year), Anastasia Krivelskaya (fourth year), Yelena Mukhametshina (fifth year), Alla Rybina (fourth year), Olga Smirnova (fifth year), Olga Filina (third year) and Anna Shchekina (fourth year).

Special prizes were awarded to Olga Filina and Yelena Mukhametshina, who displayed a high level of professionalism in preparing news reports on a wide range of public issues for weekly periodicals. The scholarship commission, which included three representatives each from Moscow State University and Interfax, judged candidates on the work they submitted (no less than 20 published, signed articles prepared during their professional practice) and on their successful completion of the academic term.

Interfax instituted the scholarship in 2004 in memory of Boris Sergeyevich Grishchenko (b. 1/6/1937, d. 21/4/2004), who devoted nearly 40 years of his life to the journalism profession, including ten years with Interfax. For many years, Grishchenko was a correspondent in the Kremlin pool. He was well-acquainted with the life of the Kremlin, from Brezhnev’s era to recent times. In 1999, he was awarded the Order of Honor in recognition of his work. The Interfax scholarship provides 5,000 rubles a month for the entire calendar year.

International Information Group Interfax (www.interfax.ru, www.interfax.com) develops professional information solutions helping companies to operate on the financial and commodity markets, to take investment decisions, to manage risks, organize external communications.

Interfax products and services are news, stock exchange information, analytical stories, search data bases, business reference for companies, ratings and rankings, credit reports, services in the IR area, organization of press conferences and publication of e-advertising. The Group operates in Russia and CIS countries, Central Europe and China.