"Russian Civilization" photo contest was held for the first time in 2017. It was a part of Russian state program "Implementation of the state national policy", approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. The photo contest is organized by the Federal Agency for Nationalities Affairs.

The contest mission was quite a challenge: to understand and convey what "Russian civilization" is today. On September 19, 2017 the organizers and the jury announced the names of the first 17 winners from 16 cities of Russia and the world.