Russian writer and publicist Zakhar Prilepin has won the Ivo Andric Award with his novel The Abode (2014) and the book of short stories Seven Lives (2016).

      The award was handed in to the winner by famous film director Emir Kusturica, at the ceremony held in the Andrichgrad complex, dedicated to the famous writer and Nobel laureate, Ivo Andric.

      "Russian literature is represented here, and it shows that Russian writers know Serbian writers, and they maintain friendly relations and cooperation", - Russian Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Petr Ivantsov said at the ceremony.

      Zakhar Prilepin expressed gratitude for awarding him the prize and for his books The Abode and Seven Lives publihed in the Serbian language for the first time.

      "Here I have heard the words, which are very important to me. My handshake with Emir Kusturica embodied the meeting of Ivo Andric and Fyodor Dostoevsky, not because I consider myself comparable to those people, but my handshake brings the warmth of the Russian classics," - Prilepin said.