Exhibition activities

In 1892, the ethnographer and Honorary Member of the Society Dmitry Anuchin organized the first geographical exhibition in Russia at the Moscow Historical Museum. Its exhibits later formed the basis of the collection of the university geographical museum. In 1951, the Earth Science Museum of Moscow State University was opened in its place, in which the Society also played a major role: the founder of the museum and the chairman of its first directorate was Yuri Konstantinovich Efremov, the Academic Secretary of the Moscow Branch and Honorary Member of the Geographical Society of the USSR.

With the Society getting its own building in St. Petersburg, it became possible to hold there exhibitions of samples brought back from expeditions, as well as to organize thematic and anniversary exhibitions demonstrating part of the rich archive of the RGS. The first exhibition opened just a few months after the opening of the building, in early 1910: Pyotr Kozlov, who had returned from an expedition, demonstrated finds brought from the "black city" of Khara-Khoto. Similar exhibitions at the RGS Headquarters are held regularly to this day.

During the Soviet era, the Society continued to participate in exhibitions of national economic achievements, historical exhibitions, and photo exhibitions.

The exhibition activities of the RGS received a new impetus after the reorganization in 2009. The Society actively participated in holding a number of major photo contests and photo exhibitions, becoming the organizer or co-organizer of some of them.

Since 2015, the RGS has held "The Most Beautiful Country" photo contest annually. The works of the finalists and winners of the project are shown at exhibitions around the world.

The exhibitions organized by the Society also include the exhibition dedicated to the history of the Konstantin Medal, the highest award of the RGS; the project "Geographers for the Great Victory"; the exhibition of drawings and field notes by the famous traveler Nikolai Miklukho-Maklai; exhibitions telling about the lives of scientists Pyotr Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, Pyotr Kozlov, Gombozhab Tsybikov, and others; a thematic train in the Moscow Metro dedicated to the 170th anniversary of the Society; photo exhibitions "Volcanoes of Kamchatka", "Peoples of Russia", "Mountain Flowers", "Water Expanses", "Russia through the Eyes of Children", and other projects aimed at popularizing the natural, historical, and cultural heritage of our country.

The leaders of the youth clubs of the Russian Geographical Society are constantly working on educational projects and attracting youth activists to events at both regional, federal, and international levels: festivals, conferences, film screenings, the Geographical Dictation, quests, intellectual clubs, creative meetings with media personalities, famous figures in science, culture, sports, and many others.

If you want to become part of our young, proactive team that is interested in geography, history, culture, and ecology of their homeland, visit the portal of the Youth Club of the Russian Geographical Society and find out more detailed information. Let's rediscover Russia together!