More than 60 women from Nizhny Novgorod, aged 5 to 71, took part in the final of the regional festival Braid — Russia’s Beauty.

      More than 60 women from Nizhny Novgorod, aged from 5 to 71, took part in the final of the regional festival-competition "The Braid — Russia's Beauty," which was held on January 20–21 in Nizhny Novgorod at the Sfera Center for Child and Youth Development. The festival has been organized by the regional public organization "Nizhny Novgorod Council of Women" since 2022.

      The festival program traditionally includes two competitions: "The Braid — Russia's Beauty" and an exhibition of decorative and applied arts dedicated to the costumes, culture and everyday life of the peoples of the Volga Federal District.

      More than 60 contestants from the two competitions, selected through preliminary rounds, participated in the festival final, together with their support groups and fans from 15 districts of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

      Among the young contestants were kindergarten pupils, schoolgirls and technical college students engaged in vocal, musical, choreographic, theatrical and other creative activities. Among the adult contestants were representatives of various professions: teachers, doctors, caregivers and creative professionals.

      The participants were welcomed by Olga Krasnova, Chair of the regional public organization "Nizhny Novgorod Council of Women."

      "You are not only the most incredible and talented girls, young women and women of the Nizhny Novgorod land. You all embody our beautiful multinational Russia—its beauty, strength, uniqueness and individuality," said Olga Krasnova.

      The final program of the festival-competition "The Braid — Russia's Beauty" included fashion shows of collections, creative master classes on braiding and hairstyles from the Nizhny Novgorod Technological College, an exhibition of decorative and applied arts, a local history quiz and a book exhibition on the history of the braid presented by the Lenin Nizhny Novgorod Regional Scientific Library.

      The finalists took the festival stage on January 21 in two competitive events, including a catwalk and a creative performance. As usual, the contestants performed in four age groups: 4–8, 9–13, 14–18 and an adult group from 19 years, and also in two thematic categories: "I am a representative of my people" and "Family Tradition."

      Performances were judged according to several criteria: relevance of the look to the contest theme, content, expressiveness and originality, and creative approach.

      During the live broadcast of the festival final in the Nizhny Novgorod Council of Women community on VKontakte, an audience vote was also announced, following which the overall winners were:

      — In the category "I am a representative of my people" — Novikova Viktoriya, 5, Nizhny Novgorod;

      — In the category "Family Tradition" — Tyurina Varvara, 11, Kulebaki Urban District, village of Melyaevo.

      Prize-winners and winners of the competition:

      Age group 4–8 years

      Category "I am a representative of my people"

      Prize-winners:

      — Novikova Viktoriya, 5, Nizhny Novgorod

      — Soldatova Yeseniya, 6, Kulebaki

      Winners:

      — Gubareva Polina and Syabaeva Milana, 5, Nizhny Novgorod

      Category "Family Tradition"

      Prize-winners:

      — Chegurova Serafima, 6, Kulebaki

      — Shcherbinina Mariya, 5, Bogorodsky Municipal District, village of Burtsevo

      Winners:

      — Sisters Svetlana and Viktoriya Volkovy, 7, Kulebaki

      Age group 9–13 years

      Category "I am a representative of my people"

      Prize-winner: Isbatova Darina, 13, Nizhny Novgorod

      Winner: Almazova Yaroslava, 10, Semenov

      Category "Family Tradition"

      Prize-winner: Lebedeva Anastasiya, 11, Nizhny Novgorod

      Winner: Tyurina Varvara, 11, Kulebaki Urban District, village of Melyaevo

      Age group 14–18 years

      Category "I am a representative of my people"

      Prize-winners:

      — Vilkova Irina, 15, Uren

      — Lisina Kseniya, 17, Bogorodsk

      Winners:

      — Kurdina Aleksandra, 14, Pervomaysk

      — Obraztsova Mariya, 17, Semenov

      Age group 19+

      Category "I am a representative of my people"

      Prize-winner: Semenova Galina Vasilevna, 71, village of Spasskoye

      Winner: Trofimova Irina, 28, Sergach

      Category "Family Tradition"

      Winners:

      — Sidorova Mariya with her daughter Masha, Bogorodsky Municipal District, village of Kamenki

      — Kozlova Yuliya with her daughters Zlata and Arina, Arzamas