Elena Kostioukovitch is the laureate of the 2012 edition of 'Nikolai Gogol in Italy' award established in 2009 to mark the 200th anniversary of writer’s birth (1809-1852) and to promote a cultural dialogue between Russia and Europe. The prize is awarded to writers, translators and publishers as well as art historians, artists and theatrical specialists..

Awarding ceremony will be held on November 5th, 2012, at the Villa Medici in Rome, Italy, near the house where Gogol wrote his Dead Souls poem.

Prize winners of the previous years include, among others, Italian poet and screenwriter Tonino Guerra, British filmmaker Peter Brook, Russian novelist Andrei Bitov, Russian artist Boris Messerer, and Russian theater director Yuri Lubimov.