Chairman of the Board of Trustees
In 2010, Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin became the head of the newly created Board of Trustees of the Russian Geographical Society. The Council has revived long-standing traditions of patronage and established grants from the Society. Many significant research, conservation, and expedition projects are carried out with the help of the grants. The Council consists of well-known public figures and business representatives.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Geographical Society at the Headquarters of the Society in St. Petersburg, 2018. Photo: RGS press service
The support of the trustees allows to carry out hundreds of events throughout our vast country every year and, most importantly, to unite people around truly important and useful things aimed at preserving our natural heritage, our history and traditions of the peoples of the Russian Federation.
Vladimir Putin pays special attention to the programs of the RGS for the conservation and study of rare animal species. Among them are wild cats (Amur tiger, Far Eastern leopard, snow leopard, lynx, and manul), as well as representatives of Arctic wildlife (beluga, polar bear, and walrus).
For example, in 2013, at the initiative of Vladimir Putin, the Society became the founder of the center “Amur Tiger”, an autonomous non-profit organization. The organization focuses on combating poaching, scientific analysis of the Amur tiger population and ecosystems in the animal's habitat, and organization of educational and awareness-raising events.
Another important project, according to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the RGS, is the development of ecological, cultural, and educational tourism in Russia. Currently, the RGS is developing a system of voluntary certification of tourist routes. The tours that complete it will receive a certificate of compliance and a stamp "Recommended by the RGS".
Of course, the availability of appropriate infrastructure plays an important role in attracting tourists, but good hotels and transport accessibility cannot compensate for the lack of exciting and thoughtful routes. I am convinced that the content of a domestic tourism product should be handled not just by professionals, but also by people who know and love our country, and here the Russian Geographical Society certainly has something to offer. Perhaps no other organization or department has such an extensive database of natural resources of our country, folk traditions, and monuments.
In 2011, with the support of the Board of Trustees of the RGS, chaired by Vladimir Putin, the former tenement building of the Moscow Merchant Society (Novaya Ploshchad, 10, building 2) was transferred to the Society for free use. In particular, the library is located here, which has also begun to be completed thanks to personal collections donated to the Society by the trustees of the RGS. Among them are Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the RGS Vladimir Putin, President of the RGS Sergei Shoigu, Chairman of the Media Council Dmitry Peskov, members of the Board of Trustees of the RGS Aleksandr Abramov, Andrey Bokarev, Yuri Vorobyov, Gennady Timchenko, Alisher Usmanov, and others.
Active, caring participation in the fate of Russia has always been one of the main features of the RGS. And it is important that the organization continues to gather within itself purposeful, selfless people who literally push the boundaries of knowledge, discover the history, culture, traditions, and natural wealth of Russia for millions of people.
По окончании заседания Попечительского Совета Русского географического общества Владимир Путин принял участие в проекте «Глобус русского первенства», в рамках которого расписался на поверхности хранящегося в РГО большого глобуса. Санкт-Петербург, 2019 года. Фото: пресс-служба Администрации Президента РФ