The photojournalist of the Izvestia News Center became the winner of the POYi 2026 contest

Pavel Volkov, a photojournalist at Izvestia, became the winner of the prestigious Pictures of the Year International (POYi) international competition. He was awarded an award in the "Portrait Series" category, according to an official notice from the organizers.

A special photojournalist of the Izvestia News Center presented his author's project "Phoenix" to the competition. The hero of the series is a young man from Ufa who has suffered extensive burns in the workplace for five years. Despite severe injuries, he remained cheerful, was able to return to an active life, found love, and had a daughter. The project was highly appreciated by the jury of one of the oldest international photography competitions.

Phoenix is a project about people who have been burned under various circumstances. This is a very big and important job for me, which I have been shooting since 2017," said Volkov.

According to the photographer, the project started spontaneously in May 2017. During this time, he went through many stages, publications and victories. Volkov also joked that, having won the second POYi in the portrait nomination, it was "time for him to give a master class in portrait photography."

The Pictures of the Year International Competition is one of the world's oldest international photography competitions, founded in 1944. The main feature of the competition is its diversity: both photographers, editors, and entire publishing houses can participate.