Currently, the RGS has eight centers operating outside of Russia. Photo: RGS press service
The RGS plans to open new foreign centers in the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and Thailand as part of the development of projects with the BRICS countries. The main mission: development of humanitarian cooperation and promotion of Russian cultural heritage around the world.
«The new centers of the RGS will be focused on working with schoolchildren and students, representatives of the scientific community, journalists, as well as Russian compatriots living abroad,» said Svetlana Vorobyova, Deputy Director of the Department of Expert Analytics and International Affairs of the RGS. «Currently, the RGS has eight centers outside of Russia: in Australia, Serbia, Northern and Southern India, Transnistria, and Sri Lanka. Two of them, expedition and tourism ones, are located in Brazil and Spitsbergen. We introduce residents of other countries to Russian culture and traditions. In addition, the new organizations of the RGS help scientists and students who want to travel to our country for research activities.»
Exhibitions, scientific, and educational programs are held as part of the work of the RGS Centers. In 2025 alone, more than 550,000 people visited events related to the Russian cultural heritage abroad. For example, the «Multinational Russia» exhibition was held in 11 countries around the world. In addition, the Russian Geographical Society organizes expert discussions, presentations of industry books, and student exchange programs at its venues. In May 2025, a delegation of Russian specialists traveled to East China at the invitation of the Geographical Society of the People’s Republic of China. A similar program was held in Serbia.
In 2026, the Ambassadors of Iran, Peru, and Argentina have already visited the Headquarters of the RGS. Developing international experience, in 2025 the RGS launched the format of expedition and tourism centers. They are created for high-quality preparation and implementation of complex expeditions, as well as the promotion of popular science missions. One of these operating centers opened on April 11, 2025 in Salvador, a major port city on the Atlantic coast of Brazil, simultaneously with the launch of the Russian-Brazilian circumnavigation expedition on the «Fraternidade» («Brotherhood») yacht. The expedition ended in March of this year, having covered over 45,000 km in less than 11 months.