Alexander Zolotarev, the Fulbright Scholar from Moscow who has spent the past year at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism while working on his PhD dissertation, has just been named one of 19 winners of the 2008 Knight News Challenge. He won $600,000 to create a Website about the Russian city of Sochi, which will host the Winter Olympics in 2014. The project will enable local residents to interact online and discuss how the city changes and develops in preparation for the games.

Zolotarev, 25, was chosen from among 3,000 applicants competing for the $5.5 million awarded this year by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. His project is one of four winners in the “Young Creators” category, which rewards the ideas of those 25 and younger.

"I am immensely happy to be selected as a Knight News Challenge winner, and hope that we will soon have a vibrant Web site about Sochi," Zolotarev said. "In a couple of years the city will become one of the business and cultural centers of Russia and a point of attraction for many tourists."

Zolotarev has been at the CUNY J-school writing a thesis on citizen journalism and online communities. He will soon defend his dissertation at the Moscow State University Faculty of Journalism. After writing a Russian travel guide to Norway at 21, he worked as an editor at several magazines, including the Russian editions of Harvard Business Review and National Geographic Traveler. He has also been involved in projects on pop culture and entertainment, including the launch of the IMAX Theatre in Moscow.

The goal of the $25 million Knight News Challenge, now in its second year, is to fund digital information innovations that transform community life. The 2008 prizes ranged from $15,000 to $876,000, and were given to individuals, philanthropic organizations and for-profit businesses. Winners came from the United States, Canada, Lithuania, Zimbabwe, South Africa, England, and Russia.