Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
The awards ceremony for the 2025 Fontanka.ru city portal's main prize was held at the Hermitage Museum's General Staff Building. Among the eleven laureates, who received griffin statuettes and silver badges based on the results of a public vote in which more than 120,000 people participated, was Guvanch Durdyev, a student at the Humanities Institute of St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.
In August 2025, Guvanch unexpectedly gained popularity and the status of “people’s traffic controller.”
During a heavy downpour, he noticed a near-cold traffic jam at the intersection of Nauki Avenue and Grazhdansky Avenue. A student working as a courier during his summer break, he couldn't help but rush to the driver's aid. Within hours, Guvanch began receiving messages asking, "Is that you online?"
"I didn't think there would be such consequences, that I'd appear in the news. I just wanted to help drivers; I had no idea I could appear online. I decided to search for myself online and immediately found it on Fontanka. It was a very pleasant experience, of course, and I shared it with my family. Friends said that heroes should be recognized, but I don't consider myself a hero," Guvanch modestly noted after his actions received widespread public attention.
Thanks to his knowledge of traffic rules, the student spent nearly 30 minutes manually directing traffic. Drivers filmed him, praised him, and smiled and made approving gestures. Social media users dubbed the young man a "caped hero."
Guvanch Durdyev is a third-year student at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic University Institute of Humanities, majoring in Linguistics. He's been living in St. Petersburg for three years and plans to work in his chosen field—he dreams of becoming a translator or a school teacher.
The young man is distinguished by his proactive nature, friendliness, responsibility, and willingness to help. These qualities, demonstrated in August, were recognized at the Fontanka.ru Recognition and Influence awards.
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