Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest is an annual contest aimed at supporting young photo journalists aged 18 to 33 in their striving for top professionalism.
This year the contest celebrates its 11th anniversary. The number of contest participants and the countries they come from has been growing every year.
The top prize for 2025 is 700,000 rubles ($6,750). The first, second and third places in the contest will fetch 125,000 rubles, 100,000 rubles and 75,000 rubles, respectively.
The contest offers young photo journalists an opportunity to make their concerns known. The main themes of the contest include global humanitarian challenges, national identity, social equality and the environment.
The 2025 contest categories include:
- Top News — Important events in the lives of individuals and nations form the primary subject of entries in this category: major political and social events, reports from war zones and areas affected by natural disasters, and pivotal moments in people’s lives
- Portrait. A Hero of Our Time — Entries in this category feature individual or group portraits of people. The photographs can be either documentary or staged. The defining criterion for this category is the photographer’s ability to reveal the inner world of their subjects, expressing their spirit and personality through the uniqueness of their appearance and overall image
- My Planet — This category features works that capture the vibrant diversity of themes and images from across the world. The photographer’s task is to showcase the everyday kaleidoscope of life in its enduring beauty and harmony, uniting scenes from people’s daily lives, the hustle and bustle of big cities and small towns, landscapes, as well as ethnographic and religious celebrations
- Sports — This category features images capturing moments from the world of sport: triumphant victories and the drama of defeat, daily training sessions, and the beauty of sports competitions
- Top View — This category features single photographs taken from a bird’s eye perspective. The mages may depict plants and animals, urban life, people, scenes from everyday life or sporting events, as well as abstract compositions. The decisive factor is the shooting angle. Photographs can be taken using a drone, a camera, or a mobile phone. We are looking for breathtaking views and captivating stories
In the Top News, Portrait. A Hero of Our Time, and My Planet categories, 1st, 2nd and 3rd places are awarded for both single photographs and photographic series.
In the Sports and Top View categories, 1st, 2nd and 3rd places are awarded for single photographs only.
The Andrei Stenin International Press Photo Contest was established on 22 December 2014 under the patronage of the Russian Federation’s Commission for UNESCO. The Stenin Contest is the only competition in Russia that discovers new names in international photojournalism and develops quality standards for documentary photography.
The contest itself is gaining popularity also thanks to the exhibitions of the winning entries, which have become an integral part of the event. They have been held in dozens of countries, including China, South Africa, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Turkey, Lebanon, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Hungary and Poland.
The contest is named after Andrei Stenin, Rossiya Segodnya’s special photojournalist who died in southeastern Ukraine in August 2014. In his memory, Rossiya Segodnya established an annual contest bearing his name.
Please visit the official website for further information.
No Entry Fee!
It's free to enter.
