Kazan 2013 Ambassadors

March 7

Maksim Sharafutdinov, Moscow

Russian journalist, news reader at Channel One. Maksim is a great example of a self-made man; he started his career as a TV host at Tatarstan's national television and now he's a news reader at one of the major Russian TV channels. At 18 he appeared for the first time at Channel One, when as a member of a KVN team he parodied the allegorical image of Viktor Chernomyrdin. Maksim's career choice became clear in 2006 when the United States Department of State invited him to undergo an internship at top media companies. And later on he received an invitation to work at Channel One.

March 7

Yana Churikova, Moscow

Russian TV presenter, journalist. Yana has been working at Channel One since 2002. She was a host of such TV programmes and reality shows as Good Morning, Star Factory, Lens (Series 2), Story of a Song, Cruel Games and others. She's been working in the ViD TV Company in 2002-2007. In 2007, together with Larisa Sinelschikova and Alexander Kessel, she moved to the Krasny Kvadrat ('Red Square') TV Company. In 2009 she's been appointed the art director of the EKTV school studio.

March 7

Irek Zinnurov, Kazan

Russian water polo player, merited master of sports of Russia, plays the driver position. As a member of Volgograd's WPC Lukoil-Spartak, Irek has become four-time champion of Russia and six-time holder of the Cup of Russia (1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)

March 6

Yulia Kovalchuk, Moscow

Russian pop singer, TV presenter, ex-singer of the Russian pop group Blestyaschie ('The Glittering') (2001-2007). In 2009 together with Olympic champion Roman Kostomarov she won the Ice Age: Fairy-Tale Sequel project (The Russian analogue of the Dancing on Ice British television show). Between 2010-2011 she has served as the co-host of actor and TV presenter Alexander Oleshko at the Minute of Fame show, which is the Russian version of Britain's Got Talent

December 14

Denis Barinov, Moscow

Chairman of the National Council of Youth and Children Associations of Russia. Since 2011 he also serves on the Advisory Council on Youth of the Council of Europe’s Directorate of Youth and Sport

December 14

Nasiyat Shirinova, Kazan

Russia’s Representative in the Council of Europe’s Directorate of Youth and Sport. Coordinator of federal and international projects aimed to develop partnership and cooperation between representatives of governmental bodies and youth organisations of Russia and Council of Europe