XVII Congress of the Russian Geographical Society

The XVII Congress of the Russian Geographical Society will be held in Moscow from October 22 to 23, 2025. The main goal of the event will be the election of the Society’s governing bodies: the Governing Council, the Academic Council, the Audit Commission, and the President of the Society. The Congress is expected to approve a new version of the Charter and discuss a number of business issues.

Two hundred sixteen people were elected as delegates to the Congress. These are representatives of the Society’s regional branches, the Governing Council, the Academic Council, as well as the Council of Elders, and the Council of Regions of the RGS.

Below are brief reports from the RGS Commissions on their work during the previous period. The full reports will be presented at the Congress by official representatives of the Commissions.

A detailed history of the RGS Congresses can be found here.

1. Tourism Development Commission
2. Permanent Environmental Protection Commission
3. Geographical and Environmental Education Commission
4. Territorial Organization and Planning Commission
5. Youth Movement Commission

6. Ethnographic Commission

The RGS Tourism Development Commission was established on December 26, 2013. Its members include scientists, entrepreneurs, managers, and educators whose lives and work are related to the tourism industry. The commission is headed by Vladimir Kotlyakov, Honorary President of the Russian Geographical Society, Scientific Director of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The main goal of the commission is to develop educational tourism based on the effective use of Russia’s natural, cultural, and historical resources. Tourism and geography are closely interrelated. Geographical knowledge used in tourism not only helps create routes but also helps people experience the country through practical activities, and also promotes an understanding and respect for other cultures. Tourism, in turn, stimulates the development of geographical sciences and education, increasing interest in geographical information. Tourism is also a form of learning and self-education, where new knowledge is based on geography.

The Russian Geographical Society actively promotes Russian tourism, particularly by supporting its educational component.

One of the priority areas of the Tourism Development Commission of the RGS is supporting initiatives to develop educational tourism based on the network of protected areas and cultural and historical centers of the Russian Federation. The commission’s experts participate in the creation of new educational tourist routes. Actively promoting such routes and popularizing tourism and recreational activities are also a focus of the commission. A key focus of its work is promoting the development of tourism and excursion activities for youth and schoolchildren.

Every year, at the commission’s offsite meetings, its experts review the RGS’s best practices, analyze the most prominent regional tourism projects, formulate proposals for developing tourism projects in nature reserves and protected areas designed to preserve the natural landscape and endangered flora and fauna, and discuss options for developing tourism potential for specific regions. Given the enormous growth in interest in domestic tourism, the development of tourism education is a pressing issue. The commission’s experts draw attention to the best ideas in this field.

Traditionally, a thematic meeting dedicated to International Mountain Day is held at the RGS Headquarters in Moscow in December.

The Tourism Commission of the RGS has played a significant role in supporting publications focused on the development of mountainous regions. These include the historical series «Voprosy Geografii» (eng. «Geography Issues») on the study of mountains, humans, and the biosphere; and the publication «Life in the Mountains,» written by commission member Yuri Badenkov, which features examples of the development of our country’s mountainous regions from the perspectives of science, ecology, and culture. Furthermore, the V RGS Festival (2022) featured a separate exhibition dedicated to mountains, as well as a roundtable discussion on mountain tourism, which received widespread public attention.

The establishment of the Mountain Research Center of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences has made a significant contribution to the international agenda. A thematic portal on Russia’s mountainous regions was launched in 2024 as part of International Mountain Day. The project’s goal is to create a kind of major scientific mountain «Wikipedia», which will include a detailed description of the nature, status, and development trends of Russia’s mountain regions in the 21st century.

The most important competitive advantage of the country’s tourism industry is Russia’s historical, cultural, and natural heritage. Effective use of natural and cultural heritage sites for tourism and recreational purposes and the popularization of our country’s geographical, ethnocultural, and historical identity are impossible without public participation. Therefore, the Russian Geographical Society aims to comprehensively research, record, and disseminate information about our country’s tourism and recreational potential, develop educational tourism, including ecotourism, and foster a sense of patriotism.

On the meaning of tourism

«I believe that tourism in one’s own region should have both a geographical and historical component. Tourists should not only be interested in and admire nature, but also try to understand the history of these places and the ongoing changes in the landscapes and life in the areas they visit.»

On the role of the Russian Geographical Society

«Of course, regional authorities and regional tourism companies play a key role in organizing local tourism, but they are not fully familiar with the specific features of the local environment and the ongoing changes in the surrounding landscapes. It is the regional organizations of the Geographical Society that possess this knowledge, which places them at the forefront of organizing local tourism.»

The establishment of this commission in 1912 marked the beginning of the systematic organization of nature reserve management in Russia. The commission existed for only five years, but during this time, several expeditions were conducted to various regions of the country, with specialists searching for the most promising locations for protected areas. Explorers discovered hundreds of unique sites and, based on the expeditions' results, selected 50 areas suitable for nature reserves. The first two — Barguzinsky and Sayan — were established while the commission was still in operation. Most of the others also received protected status in the 20th century. In October 1917, Veniamin Semenov-Tyan-Shansky presented a report to the Society’s Academic Council, putting forward a detailed plan for the development of a geographical network of nature reserves in Russia, encompassing 46 areas. This report formed the basis for the creation of the national nature reserve system.

After the Revolution, the commission ceased to exist. It was revived only in 2012, the centenary of its founding. The commission is chaired by Aleksandr Chibilev, Vice-President of the Russian Geographical Society, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, and member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who was awarded the Demidov Prize in 2020. In total, the commission includes 19 leading experts in nature conservation, one of the main statutory objectives of the RGS.

Over the past 10 years, the commission has organized a number of expeditions across Russia, as well as to Kazakhstan and to the south of Eastern Europe, to monitor specially protected natural areas (SPNAs). Several projects dedicated to the study of rare animal species have been launched, and a project to reintroduce the Przewalski’s horse has begun.

The commission also actively promotes the creation of new federal and regional SPNAs.

An important component of the commission’s activities is educational outreach. Specifically, two atlases have been published over the past 10 years. The first is dedicated to state nature reserves in Russia; and the second, to specially protected natural areas in the Far Eastern Federal District. A number of books and monographs on nature conservation and the country’s unique natural landscapes have been published, and a traveling photo exhibition «Pictures of Nature» was held. The commission also continues its scientific work, organizing and participating in thematic conferences, forums, and roundtables.

On achievements

«The geographic network of protected areas is one of the most significant achievements of Russian science, particularly the Russian Academy of Sciences, over the past hundred years. Nature reserves are a universal, irreplaceable form of preserving our environment, the highest symbol and indicator of the environmental security of the state and the entire planet. We are working to preserve what remains, restore what is possible, and create an inviolable reserve of the country’s pristine nature. In particular, the RGS and top government officials, trustees of our Society, have focused on endangered big cats, polar bears, and whales, which have become critically endangered species. As a result, projects have been launched to stabilize and improve their populations, and new specially protected areas have been created.»

On prospects

«There are dozens of other rare animal species for whose fate Russia is responsible. For example, the red-breasted goose, the Russian desman, and many others. Our task is to promote their survival and respond appropriately to environmental challenges. Saiga antelopes, for example, have been invading their ancestral habitats in the Trans-Volga steppes over the past three years, but they are not welcome. Farmers have settled on their lands. The persecution of the mammoth fauna has begun, and scientists have voted to remove this species from the Russian Red Data Book. Yet, over the past hundred years, Eurasian saigas have been on the brink of extinction three times already. We need to find an optimal solution: for example, by creating SPNA — reserves (possibly seasonal ones) — for the Volga-Ural saiga population in the Trans-Volga region. We must constantly monitor the changing situation — in particular, how the populations of rare species are affected by current climate change — and work to preserve our country’s unique natural environment.»

Over the course of its existence, the commission has changed its name several times, but its essence has remained unchanged: it dealt with issues of educational geography. It first emerged in 1884, when a new university charter was introduced, requiring universities to establish geography departments. Thanks to the work of the RGS, the Geographical Institute, the first specialized higher education institution in the world, was established in 1918. A year later, the Central Geographical Museum, also founded at the Society’s initiative, opened its doors.

In 1936, the Geographical and Pedagogical Commission was transformed into the School Commission. Four years later, it became the School and Methodological Department. In 1951, the Department was replaced by the Department of Educational Geography. It remained active until the 1990s. In the USSR, the Society’s specialists, who worked on issues of geographical knowledge, gave lectures, participated in the development of school curricula and teaching aids, provided methodological assistance to geography teachers, and organized school conferences.

Over the past few years, the commission has accomplished a lot. It participated in the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Geography Teachers and the 25th anniversary All-Russian Geography Olympiad for Schoolchildren (2016). The commission’s experts supported the development of the Concept for the Development of Geographical Education in the Russian Federation and, in 2019, actively participated in implementing Russian President Vladimir Putin’s instructions on promoting geography. As part of this work, the list of university majors and programs requiring the Unified State Exam in geography was expanded. The commission also made it possible to implement the «Geography Questions» project, where RGS experts hold roundtable discussions on complex and controversial topics in Russian and global geography that pose challenges to mastering the school curriculum. A collection of questions «100 Questions on the Geography of Russia, the Answers to which Everyone Should Know» has been published. Geography teacher congresses, geography olympiads, and school expeditions are held. The work continues: the commission is currently focusing on a number of events under the Russian Federation’s «Education Development» program.

On achievements

«Among the measures taken, in addition to establishing honorary titles and Geographer’s Day on August 18 (the founding day of the RGS), were the tasks of increasing the number of hours spent teaching geography, as well as using geography as an entrance exam for a number of higher education programs. Geographical research was also reinstated as an independent form of applied research.

The commission has implemented dozens of educational projects across the country: geography olympiads (for example, the «I am a Professional» geography olympiad at St. Petersburg State University), summer schools, school expeditions, educational projects for students, specialized sessions at international and national children’s centers, and the national competition «The Best Geography Teacher». Since 2024, the commission has developed and is implementing an educational project for elementary school students, «Geography Day at School».

Commission members participated in the development of assignments for the Unified State Exam (USE) and Basic State Exam (BSE), as well as national tests in geography. In preparation for the USE, methodological seminars for geography teachers were organized.

On prospects

«For the future work of the Geographical and Environmental Education Commission of the RGS, it is important to regularly continue major scientific and educational projects, including "floating universities", summer schools, olympiads, school expeditions, competitions, and geography teacher assemblies. Significant work remains to be done to evaluate existing teaching and methodological materials on geography, primarily textbooks and maps. New textbooks and atlases are needed that will convey key geographic patterns to students in a livelier, modern format. It’s impossible to ignore the changes that the widespread adoption of rapidly developing artificial intelligence technologies, unmanned aerial vehicles, remote sensing, and geographic information mapping will inevitably bring to the study of geography. The study of geography must be sustainable and coordinated with advances in the basic natural and social sciences. Special attention will need to be paid to the teaching of geography in Russia’s new regions, as well as to the country’s strategic development objectives in the Arctic and the Far East.»

The Territorial Organization and Planning Commission of the RGS was established in 2013 as the successor to the Council on the Issues of Territorial Organization of Society and Regional Development under the Academic Council of the Geographical Society of the USSR, established in 1983 on the initiative and under the chairmanship of renowned Russian economic geographer, Professor Boris Khorev. Professors Nikolai Agafonov and Vladimir Razumovsky were elected vice-chairmen.

During 2004 to 2013, the Council, and then the commission, were chaired by Vladimir Razumovsky and Vladimir Shuvalov. During this period, with the support of Lomonosov Moscow State University and the Saint Petersburg State University of Economics and Finance (now UNECON), the Council held conferences on current regional development issues, including discussions of concepts for Russia’s territorial development in the 21st century, regional studies, and sustainable urban development. A new phase in the commission’s work began in 2013 under the leadership of its co-chairs: Vice-Presidents of the RGS, Academician Pyotr Baklanov, and Professor Vladimir Razumovsky.

The current co-chairs of the commission are Vladimir Kolosov, Vice-President of the RGS, Deputy Chairman of the Russian National Committee of the Future Earth International Program under the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Laboratory of Geopolitical Studies of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Geographical Sciences; and Vladimir Razumovsky, member of the Presidium of the Academic Council of the RGS, Head of the Department of Regional Economics and Environmental Management of St. Petersburg State University of Economics, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, and professor. Vladimir Shuvalov, Candidate of Geographical Sciences, serves as Academic Secretary.

The commission consists of 26 members. These are renowned Russian scientists specializing in various fields of geography and regional sciences and representing academic, university, project, and applied research organizations.

The commission focuses on a comprehensive study and deep understanding of the economic and geographical characteristics of the economy and population of Russia and its regions. The country’s sheer scale and the dynamics of ongoing processes require more than just the collection, processing, and dissemination of reliable economic, geographical, and statistical data on Russia’s population and economy. It is also important to assist scientific creativity, the development of geographical and related social sciences, the widespread dissemination and practical implementation of the best achievements of Russian economic and geographical science, and the popularization of economic and geographical knowledge about Russia, its regions, and cities. The commission’s experts analyze current issues in Russia’s regional development, strategic and territorial planning, and participate in the development of programs and documents for federal and regional authorities.

The following are among the most important events organized and conducted by the commission over the past 10 years. The commission initiated the publication of the four-volume scientific and educational series «Sovremennaya Rossiya: geograficheskoe opisanie nashego Otechestva» (eng. «Modern Russia: A Geographical Description of Our Fatherland») dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the original publication of «Russia. Complete geographical description of our fatherland», under the general supervision of P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. The «Dalniy Vostok» (eng. «The Far East») volume (2020) was prepared by geographers from the Pacific Institute of Geography of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, under the supervision of the commission’s co-chair, Vice-President of the RGS Academician Pyotr Baklanov. The «Siberia» volume (2020) was prepared primarily by geographers from the V. B. Sochava Institute of Geography of the SB RAS. The European part of Russia is represented by two volumes. The «Evropeyskaya Rossiya. Obshchiy obzor» (eng. «European Russia: General Overview») volume (ready for publication) was prepared primarily by geographers from the Institute of Geography of the RAS under the supervision of Honorary President of the RGS, Academician Vladimir Kotlyakov. The texts in the volume «Regiony Evropeyskoy Rossii» (eng. «Regions of European Russia») (2021) were prepared by over 100 geographers representing several dozen regions of the country, with overall curation by the Department of Geography of Perm State National Research University.

In 2015–2016, the review monograph «Socioeconomic Geography of Russia» was prepared and published in Russian and English under the joint editorship of then-co-chair of the commission, Academician Pyotr Baklanov, and the commission’s Academic Secretary Vladimir Shuvalov. Featuring contributions from leading Russian economic geographers, it presents an overview of the state and development of Russian socioeconomic geography in the post-Soviet period.

The monographs «Rossiyskaya Baltika» (eng. «Russian Baltic») (2017) and «Rossiyskaya Fennoskandiya» (eng. «Russian Fennoscandia») (2022) were published under the editorship of the co-chair of the commission Vladimir Razumovsky.

Commission members actively participated in the development and discussion of the «Strategy for Spatial Development of Russia until 2025». Five commission members were part of the working group drafting the document under the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.

Several years later, commission members participated in the work of the interdepartmental commission to draft the new «Strategy for Spatial Development of Russia until 2030 with a Forecast to until 2036» and its expert discussion. The strategy’s development was discussed at several commission meetings. The document was approved at the end of 2024.

The commission devoted significant attention to working with young people, primarily through the exchange of experience, establishing creative connections, and improving the qualifications of young geographers. Nine schools-seminars on «Theory and Practice of Contemporary Regional Studies» were held, attended by over 200 undergraduate and graduate students, young researchers from universities and academic organizations across the country, as well as over 30 leading Russian scholars in the field of regional studies.

In 2023, the commission established a youth prize named after Academician P. Ya. Baklanov, who served as co-chair of the commission until 2023, for the best papers presented at this school-seminar.

The commission co-organized a number of scientific conferences and seminars. Among them, a notable panel discussion «Geographical Science in the Context of New Federal Initiatives for Urban and Spatial Development» held in the fall of 2024 in Yekaterinburg as part of the 8th All-Russian Strategic Development Forum «Russian Cities: Engines of Growth».

In addition, commission members provide expert opinions on specific regional development issues for executive and legislative authorities.

On new challenges

«The worsening geopolitical situation has necessitated a radical reorientation of foreign economic relations, and consequently, the redistribution of transport flows, reconstruction and creation of many new infrastructure facilities. The situation in Russia’s western territories bordering unfriendly states has become more complex. New regions have joined the Russian Federation, requiring integration into the country’s legal, economic, and other systems. Due to global and regional climate change, adverse and hazardous natural phenomena (catastrophic floods, thawing permafrost, desertification, etc.) have become more frequent, necessitating increasing attention to adapting populations and economies to them.

New external challenges are closely intertwined with internal ones: the need to rely primarily on domestic resources, reindustrialization, import substitution, technological innovation, and the growth of human capital. The solution to these problems has a distinct spatial aspect. Territorial inequality in income levels, investment, industrial production, and new housing construction has once again begun to grow. In most regions, the population is rapidly declining not only in rural areas but also in cities, even large ones, especially in the Far East and northern territories. Russia is becoming an archipelago of major cities in an ocean of sparsely populated territories. The proportion of working-age people in the population is declining, labor market imbalances are growing, and the problems of external migration are becoming acute.

However, new external and internal circumstances have become not only a source of threats but also a stimulus for modernization, the basic framework for spatial development and social life in the country.»

On «Strategy for Spatial Development»

«Implementing the 'Strategy for Spatial Development’ is a highly complex task, as its success depends on aligning territorial development plans across many economic and public sectors — energy and transportation, education and healthcare, trade and services, state-owned companies and private businesses. Therefore, specialists in human geography are called upon to contribute to solving many fundamental and applied scientific problems. Clearly, creating a balanced settlement system and ensuring a territorial organization of the economy that would facilitate the achievement of national goals and strengthen national security is only possible by concentrating efforts and resources in specific areas, in key regions and settlements, including through a system of core settlements serving adjacent territories. However, the principles for selecting these centers are far from straightforward, as this poses the risk of further depopulation of these territories.

Another well-known problem, which has no single possible solution, is determining the composition, boundaries, and methods of managing the development of urban agglomerations. New forms of interregional and intermunicipal cooperation must be actively developed to ensure that administrative boundaries do not become rough 'seams’ in Russian space, negatively impacting the economy and people’s daily lives. These are just some of the issues of the country’s spatial development that social geographers are addressing.

Currently, they rely on new technologies: the widespread use of space sensing data, including real-time data, the processing and visualization of vast amounts of information, such as data on the daily movements of millions of mobile network carrier subscribers or passenger flows between metro stations, social media contacts, and thousands of pages of various texts.

The Society’s oldest department was founded in the same year as the Society itself, 1845. Back then, it was not a commission, but the Department of Russian Ethnography. Five years later, it was renamed the Department of Ethnography — the RGS decided that science knows no borders, and therefore limiting itself to just one country was unnecessary. In 2013, it was reestablished as the Ethnographic Commission. None of these changes affected its essence — the department’s primary goal has always been educational work related to the preservation and popularization of Russia’s historical and cultural heritage, as well as the coordination and scientific work in this area.

Thanks to the commission’s work, a series of illustrated ethnographic albums with unique, previously unpublished photographs has been published. Fundamental atlases-references on the literary geography of Russia and the lost Russian toponymy of neighboring countries, a number of photo albums and online projects, and a documentary animated film about the sea hunters of Chukotka, «Kniga Morya» (eng. «Book of the Sea»), have been created. Thanks to the commission’s initiative, several outstanding Russian and foreign ethnologists and anthropologists were awarded a special award, the N. N. Miklukho-Maklai Gold Medal of the RGS. The commission actively participates in the RGS’s expeditionary activities, as well as in organizing various educational events under the auspices of the Society.

On historical mission

«The activities of the Department of Ethnography, whose successor is the Ethnographic Commission of the RGS, were initially not limited to ethnology and physical anthropology, but encompassed folklore studies, historical geography, archeology, toponymy, oriental studies, and much more. This situation, with various disciplines gathering under the RGS’s ethnography umbrella, continued until the 1930s — until the collapse of the country’s mass regional studies movement and the criticism of ethnology as a bourgeois science. Many of the scientists involved in the Department of Ethnography were either subjected to repression or withdrew from active research. After the war, the RGS attempted to restore the department’s comprehensive activities, but this was unsuccessful. The unified, coordinated work of ethnographers within the RGS (then the Geographical Society of the USSR) fell apart. However, it cannot be said that ethnographers withdrew from the RGS. Africanist Dmitry Olderogge headed the Oriental Commission of the RGS for a long time, and turkologist Sevyan Vainshtein became one of the founders of the regional branch of the RGS in Tuva. In general, it was considered quite common for ethnographers to be members of the Geographical Society. For example, laureates of the N.N. Miklukho-Maklai Prize of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the RGS Gold Medal of the same name, the renowned researcher of the peoples of the Arctic and Far East, Sergei Arutyunov, and the specialist in the ethnography and history of Oceania, Daniil Tumarkin, were members of the RGS since the 1960s.

«The Russian Geographical Society and its Department of Ethnography made an outstanding contribution to the formation of Russian civic identity. Thanks to Karl Baer, ​​Nikolai Nadezhdin, Vladimir Dahl, Pyotr Köppen, and many other scientists, work began on compiling a unique collection of ethnographic and geographical manuscripts, and expeditions yielded important information about the cultures of the peoples of the world. Pyotr Semenov-Tyan-Shansky was the initiator and mastermind behind Russia’s first census.

Since then, ethnographic science has changed significantly, even its name, to ethnology; but the outstanding contribution of the RGS to the study of the peoples of Russia is undeniable, and in our multinational country, the study of these phenomena will always be relevant.»

On achievements

«The main goal of the Ethnographic Commission of the RGS at the present stage is to ensure that the study of peoples, humans, which had fallen from the forefront of the Geographical Society’s interests, returns to its former place of priority. More than a decade after the commission’s reestablishment, it can be said that this has been achieved. The classic of Soviet geography Nikolai Baransky once said, 'Man has been forgotten.’ Now we can say that, thanks to the work of the Ethnographic Commission, the science of geography was reminded that man exists. Our commission is affiliated with the Association of Anthropologists and Ethnologists of Russia, and its members include leading Russian scientists and members of the Russian Academy of Sciences.»

«The commission’s mission, given the overall focus of the RGS, is educational and expert. Thanks to the commission’s work, the book series 'Etnograficheskiy albom’ (eng. 'Ethnographic Album’) was created, containing unique photographic collections of travelers and explorers. This series can be called the gold standard of Russian ethnology, anthropology, and archaeology. Research in folklore studies, cultural and historical geography, and toponymy has been conducted under the auspices of the commission. The Ethnographic Commission often serves as an expert in the implementation of educational, research, and expeditionary projects.»

On prospects

«We must continue to popularize the vast cultural heritage of the peoples of our country, which has been accumulated through the immeasurable amount of research of our predecessors in archives and museums. I also believe it is essential to expand the participation of ethnologists and anthropologists in the creation of school geography textbooks. It’s a peculiar paradox: in schools, ethnography is adjacent to geography, and in universities, to history. Greater attention must also be paid to university ethnological and anthropological education. The prestige of these professions, so important for our country, must be raised.»

In 2024, a reform of the RGS Youth Centers' system took place. Previously, they were scattered, but now every region of the country has a Youth Center. To coordinate these efforts, the Youth Movement Development Commission of the RGS was established in October of that year. Its main goal is to engage young people in the Society’s work and assist in the implementation of projects in geography and related fields.

The commission’s first meeting was held on November 18, 2024. Salavat Sagitov, Rector of the M. Akmulla Bashkir State University, Candidate of Sociological Sciences, and Chairman of the Regional Branch of the RGS in the Republic of Bashkortostan, was appointed chairman.

The commission includes representatives of Rosmolodyozh, «Movement of the First», the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, universities, public organizations, as well as educators and youth policy experts.

Following the review of the grant projects by the Expert Council of the RGS, the commission recommended supporting several of the most outstanding youth initiatives. Each project boasts a strong idea and an energetic and creative team. For example, the RGS’s youth educational and tourism project «Nature of Safety» included five educational and tourism youth camps (mountain, water, speleological, forest, and volcanic). The program included first aid training, tourism skills development, fostering a culture of safe tourism, career guidance, and media content creation. The uniqueness of the geograffiti project «Geographer» lay in its comprehensive and innovative approach to education, engaging young people in original creative activities to commemorate outstanding personalities and cultural heritage. The project uses graffiti as an educational tool, allowing participants to expressively reflect Russia’s geographical discoveries and cultural heritage.

The commission participated in the discussion of applications for the Russian Geographical Society’s Personal Scholarship Competition; the 5th all-Russian local history competition «Small Homeland Guide», initiated by the Youth Club of the RGS «Portulan» in the Irkutsk Region; the «Rediscovering Russia! Together with the RGS» video competition, conceived by the Youth Center of the RGS in the Republic of Bashkortostan; and the «This is Our Country!» photo competition, organized by the Youth Center of the RGS in the Tambov Region.

The youngest commission of the RGS has truly ambitious plans for the next five years. In addition to traditional support for educational, scientific, and creative youth activities in geography, this includes identifying and promoting young leaders, creating conditions for youth self-fulfillment, facilitating the professional development of young specialists in geography and related sciences, and enhancing their social significance.

On meaning and objectives

«Every person, from the moment of birth, begins to explore the world. This is how it’s done, this is how humans are created, this is how we are created. First, we get to know our home, our loved ones, our relatives. Then we get to know our yard, and then we venture beyond the neighborhood. And with each passing day, the desire to look beyond the horizon grows. And, of course, this desire for knowledge is especially inherent in the younger generation: schoolchildren and students. I clearly see how our youth sincerely desire to understand this world, their country, its nature, history, and culture. And perhaps our main task is to help them navigate this endless stream of information.

Encourage young people to strive to make useful things with their own hands. So that they don’t just observe or use, but actively participate in preserving the country’s natural and cultural wealth. If we can engage more young people in this process, this will likely be a positive outcome of the commission’s work.»

On work formats

«As I mentioned above, our task is to assist. There are many different mechanisms here. This includes grants, directly from the RGS, as well as numerous grant competitions through the Presidential Grants Fund, Rosmolodyozh, regional grants, and others. Here, we must help our young people both in project preparation and in their subsequent implementation, because many have the desire, but they lack the understanding of how to go about it at the initial stages.

Our goal should be for young people themselves to volunteer, participate in environmental projects.

The task facing not only the Russian Geographical Society but also the entire population of the planet is to pass on our Earth, at least in its current state, and to preserve what was passed down to us by our ancestors. Creating conditions for young people’s self-fulfillment and developing leadership skills will help us build a youth constituency within the RGS, which will then engage even more young people in their activities.

On important future plans

«In my opinion, first and foremost, we need to create a system of youth outreach in every federal subject. We see youth centers and clubs in the field of geography being created in the regions. They may be implementing small projects, but this is where everything begins, with the first step. Systematizing the work of youth centers and building relationships with regional authorities should be key priorities for the next year or two.

Second is the implementation of youth projects. Today, young people are already involved in projects right from their school days. Many of these projects relate to environmental protection, geography, and related fields. Our youth centers must identify such activists and engage them in our activities, including among young people from friendly countries. Moreover, such young people should be prepared for entry into geography majors, since, as the RGS President Sergei Shoigu noted, the importance of geographers is constantly growing, as they contribute to the sustainable development of our planet and lay the foundation for the future.

And third, attracting broad public attention to the Society’s Youth Movement projects, because we can only achieve significant, tangible results together.»