RT’s international #1917LIVE Twitter project, a large-scale historical re-enactment that marks the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution by recreating the events “in real time”, won “Best in Education” at the Shorty Social Good Awards, surpassing 25 other entries which included Google and Verizon. The Shorty Social Good Awards is a prestigious competition dedicated to honoring social media efforts that positively impact society.
“The ‘Best in Education’ category is one of the most competitive and prestigious at this awards competition. In addition to us, another 25 participants fought for victory in this nomination, including projects by Google and Verizon. But we proved that we are the best,” said Kirill Karnovich-Valois, deputy editor-in-chief of RT and project manager of #1917LIVE.
#1917LIVE also took second place in the category “Best Overall Twitter Presence,” beating out the UN’s project promoting world gender equality.
In late 2016, RT launched one of the biggest historical re-enactments on Twitter ever. Brought together under a fictional media outlet feed called The Revolutionary Times (what was known as the “Russian Telegraph” before the “revolution” on the 7^th of November), the innovative project consists of dozens of Twitter accounts set up as key historical characters of the time period, from the last Russian tsar Nicholas II and revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin to common workers and soldiers. The project includes a series of specially produced promos recreating the events that took place 100 years ago, like the abdication of Nicholas II, the starvation in Petrograd, and Lenin’s famous speech.
Historians from the US and UK have taken part in the project, as well as Paulo Coelho, world-renowned Brazilian author of The Alchemist, Veronika Decides to Die, and The Zahir. There are close to 100 accounts in total, tweeting in real time, with nearly 200,000 followers.
RT’s project sparked interest in audiences across the world and inspired many followers to join in. Any Twitter user can create an account to participate in the project under #1917CROWD.
RT’s #1917LIVE historical re-enactment on Twitter caught the eye of various public figures, journalists and members of the academia in the US, Europe and Latin America. #1917LIVE participants or followers include British and Italian MPs, the Spanish ambassador to Russia, the British ambassadors to Estonia and Ukraine, and the Russian Mission to the UN. Journalists at The Guardian, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Newsweek, and France 24 are following the project, while stories about #1917LIVE have been published in more than 10 languages.
As part of the #1917LIVE project, RT filmed an eight-part “Revolution 360” series with each episode telling a different story of life in the revolutionary era in 360 degrees—from the trenches of World War I to the tumultuous streets of the capital. All videos are published on the #1917LIVE Website, as well as on RT’s social media platforms and RT’s VR app RT360 (Google Play, App Store, Oculus).
In October 2017 #1917LIVE made it to the finals of The Drum Social Buzz Awards in the “Most Innovative Use of Social” category, the finals of the 2017 Clio Entertainment for “Best TV Promo Campaign”, and the finals of the Epica Awards.
Learn more about RT #1917LIVE