The delegation of the RGS at the reindeer herders' camp. Photo: Sergei Polyukhov
A delegation of the Russian Geographical Society visited Yamal. The visit was timed to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the beginning of Russia’s development of the Northern Sea Route, which is celebrated by decree of President Vladimir Putin in 2025.
One of the participants of the trip to the Arctic was Maksim Grechkin from the city of Norilsk. He is the winner of the prize draw within the framework of the 10th anniversary of the All-Russian educational campaign of the RGS «Geographical Dictation». He was joined by Lyudmila Travina, Secretary of the RGS’s Geographical and Environmental Education Commission. The Arctic tour, organized with the participation of «Messoyakhaneftegaz», started from Russia’s northernmost mainland oil field, Vostochno-Messoyakhskoye, passed through the village of Tazovsky, and ended in Novy Urengoy.
«The Arctic is an amazing territory. It is striking not only for its dazzling beauty in the truest sense of the word, but also for how modern technologies coexist here with pristine nature. I visited the reindeer herding camp and the oil production facilities of Eastern Messoyakha, tried nationaldishes, talked with the indigenous people of these places. It is clear that people here live in harmony with each other and with nature. My trip to Yamal only confirmed my conviction that Russia is a huge and wonderful country. As we travel through it, we begin to better understand not only its geography and history, but also ourselves. So I would call Yamal not just a wonderful tourist route, but also a unique philosophical destination,» admitted Maksim Grechkin.
Lyudmila Travina, Secretary of the RGS’s Geographical and Environmental Education Commission, noted that it had always been her dream to visit the Arctic during this particular season.
«It is common to say about such corners of the earth as Eastern Messoyakha that they are located on the edge of the world and are difficult for travelers to access. As a geographer, I was incredibly lucky to go on this trip! Yamal is the most important part of the Russian Arctic, and this land is of great research interest to specialists and scientists of the RGS. The activities of the Russian Geographical Society in the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area are all-encompassing: Yamal teachers are actively involved in our educational projects, significant volunteer initiatives are being implemented here to clean up the Arctic, research is being conducted on the state of the region’s ecosystems and an assessment of the ecological balance, traditions and culture of indigenous peoples are being preserved in the context of the development of industry and technology, » said Lyudmila Travina.
Lyudmila Travina is confident that Yamal has enormous potential in implementing the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the development of local history and tourism among young people and schoolchildren.
«Geography cannot be studied only from textbooks. Meanwhile, this discipline is the key to a cultural and historical understanding of the world, and it is important for all of us — and especially the younger generation — to be involved in the process of active learning about our country through travel, research expeditions, and hiking trips. Yamal has many opportunities in this sense — it is absolutely unique in terms of ethnography and natural and climatic features, » Travina added.
According to Aleksey Kan, General Director of «Messoyakhaneftegaz», it is symbolic that in the year of the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the development of the Russian North and the shores of the Arctic, the Vostochno-Messoyakhskoye field is hosting a delegation from the Russian Geographical Society.
«We are glad to become a part of the research routes that the RGS is laying out on the map of our large country. The Arctic can be explored endlessly — it is a vast territory of discoveries with a great past and an equally great future, » added Aleksey Kan.