01
Give young people with roots in the post-Soviet world a serious platform to write, publish, compete, and exchange ideas.
The Eurasian Essay Prize · Opening soon
An essay prize for the next generation of post-Soviet writers.
The Eurasian Literary Society is launching a competition for high school and undergraduate students with roots in the post-Soviet region to write, publish, compete, and exchange ideas.
What “Eurasian” means
A post-Soviet, not ideological, definition.
For the Society, “Eurasian” refers to people, communities, and subjects with roots in the Soviet Union and the post-Soviet republics.
It does not refer to Eurasianism or neo-Eurasianism, and it does not simply mean everything European or Asian. The Society’s focus is the post-Soviet world, its diasporas, its languages, and its future intellectual life.
Post-Soviet roots
Diaspora communities
Independent writing
Purpose
Writing as a first step toward intellectual community.
02
Encourage youth-led debate about Eurasian history, politics, law, economics, and culture.
03
Build a durable intellectual community for the next generation of Eurasian students, writers, and civic leaders.
Target audience
High school and undergraduate students across the post-Soviet world and its diaspora.
Final eligibility rules will be published before registration opens.
High school students
Undergraduate students
Young immigrants from post-Soviet states
Diaspora students and later generations
Young post-Soviet citizens studying abroad or preparing to do so
Languages
A multilingual prize for a multilingual region.
Language is one of the central reasons for the Eurasian Essay Prize. Most student essay competitions reward English-language polish; ELS is being built around the idea that serious post-Soviet writing happens across several languages, communities, and diasporas.
Initial language set
EnglishRussian
The first cycle is expected to begin with English and Russian, allowing both diaspora students and students educated in the post-Soviet region to participate from the start.
Expansion languages under review
UkrainianUzbekBelarusianKazakhTatarBashkirChechen
The Society intends to expand review capacity for additional post-Soviet languages as editors, readers, and judges are confirmed. The goal is meaningful access, not a symbolic list of languages the prize cannot yet evaluate well.
Access
The prize is designed for students who should not have to translate their intellectual life into English before they can be taken seriously.
Diaspora
Many eligible students live between languages: the language of home, the language of school, and the language of public argument.
Review quality
Additional languages will be opened as qualified readers and judges are secured, so essays can be evaluated fairly rather than symbolically.
The Eurasian Essay Prize
Four sections, several questions, and room for serious argument.
Entrants will be able to answer one question per section and may enter more than one section. The prize will begin with core sections in law, economics, politics, and history, with language access built into the design rather than treated as an afterthought.
Law
Legal institutions, rights, accountability, constitutionalism, and international law.
Economics
Development, opportunity, institutions, corruption, migration, inequality, and reform.
Politics
Democracy, authoritarianism, civil society, sovereignty, state capacity, and political culture.
History
Memory, empire, Soviet and post-Soviet legacies, national identity, and historical argument.
Planned awards
Scholarships for category winners and the strongest overall essay.
Notable work outside the top prizes may receive certificates of commendation.
Best overall essay
$2,000
college scholarship
First place in each category
$1,000
college scholarship
Second place in each category
$500
college scholarship
Third place in each category
$250
college scholarship
Launch phases
From founding campaign to publication.
Specific public dates will be announced once registration and submission infrastructure is finalized.
Phase I
Founding campaign
Matching support, fiscal sponsorship, banking, transparency, and institutional materials.
Phase II
Public announcement
Prize rules, essay questions, eligibility, languages, judging process, and outreach materials.
Phase III
Registration and submissions
Entrants select from the law, economics, politics, and history sections and submit original essays.
Phase IV
Judging and publication
Winners and commendations are announced after review; selected work may be published by the Society.
Support
A $25,000 matching campaign to launch the inaugural prize.
The Society has secured matching contribution promises of up to $25,000 and is raising funds for scholarships, outreach, publication, judging infrastructure, and the first prize cycle.
U.S. donations made through the fiscal sponsorship are tax-deductible. Fundraising is administered through fiscal sponsorship with Hack Club Bank, a registered 501(c)(3) organization that provides banking and transparency infrastructure for the project.
Inquire about supporting the SocietyContact
Supporters, educators, media partners, and prospective judges.
The Society is preparing its inaugural prize cycle and welcomes inquiries from donors, teachers, schools, diaspora organizations, publications, and prospective advisors.
contact@eurasianliterary.org
eurasianliterary.org