The RGS is inviting everyone to become co-authors of one of the largest projects, the Geographical Dictation. Send your questions to the contest by June 1, and perhaps thousands of participants of the international campaign will answer them at venues around the world in 2026.
The questions for the Geographical Dictation should be about the geography of Russia and topics related to our country: from natural landscapes and climatic features to historical expeditions, cultural traditions, and iconic heritage sites. Questions related to foreign territories or researchers are also acceptable if they relate to Russia.
To ensure that the questions are original and do not repeat the questions of the Geographical Dictations from 2015–2025, you should review the archive on the main page of our thematic website.
Only close-ended questions with multiple-choice answers are accepted for the contest. Only one of the answers must be correct.
Acceptable formats: a test question with a single answer, to establish a sequence, to establish a match, to identify an object by description.
The Geographical Dictation is designed for a wide audience of different ages, so tasks can be both basic and advanced. Basic questions should be clear and accessible, advanced ones should require analytical thinking, the ability to establish connections between geographical objects and historical events.
In addition to the main contest, participants can submit questions in special categories for 2026:
«Geography of Unity: The Heritage and Cultural Code of the Country»: how the natural space of Russia has influenced culture, traditions, and national identity;
«Museum Map of Russia»: the geography of museum collections, famous exhibits, and the history of their appearance;
«Geography of the Future: Technologies and Discoveries»: Russia’s contribution to the development of science, technology, and modern tools for exploring the Earth and space;
«Discovering Russia: The Key to Understanding»: questions that will help an international audience learn more about the geography and cultural characteristics of the country;
«Horizons of Geography: Expert Level»: difficult tasks for experts; the best questions will be included in a special online version of the dictation, «GeodictationPRO».
A detailed description of the categories and detailed information are provided in the Regulations.
One participant can submit up to three questions for the main contest and one question for each additional category. In total, no more than eight questions are accepted from one participant.
Applications will be accepted until June 1, 2026. The list of winners will be published no later than August 3.
All finalists will be awarded with a participant’s certificate, and we will include their questions in one of the variants of the Geographical Dictation tasks and/or use them in quizzes with mandatory indication of authorship.
In addition, the finalists will receive a promo code with a 10% discount for the online store of the Russian Geographical Society. We will celebrate the winners with souvenirs and invite them to the central venue of the Geographical Dictation in Moscow.