The Russian Geographical Society accepts applications for grants from June 5 to October 31, 2026. The program covers 10 different categories, from research to the development of youth projects.
The RGS has been implementing the grant program since 2010. The Society supports geographical research, expeditionary, educational, youth, and other projects, helps to implement initiatives in the field of conservation of rare species, local history, popularization of domestic tourism. In total, 1,637 grants totaling 2.93 billion rubles were issued during this time (101 grants totaling about 178 million rubles last year alone).
In 2026, applications can traditionally be submitted in two categories. The first is initiative grants aimed at supporting projects initiated by the President of the RGS, members of the Board of Trustees and Governing Council of the RGS, as well as the boards and commissions of the RGS. The second is grants for initiatives of the regional branches of the Society.
Grant program categories:
«Conducting geographical research»;
«Organization of expeditions and trips»;
«Geographical education, including the popularization of geography»;
«Publishing work»;
«Local History»;
«Conservation of rare animal species»;
«Development of the RGS Youth Movement»;
«Development of domestic tourism»;
«Working with the collections of the RGS»;
«In the footsteps of Russian geographical discoveries and research (based on materials from the collections of the RGS and other organizations).»
All grants will be independently reviewed by anonymous experts. Applications for initiative grants must contain a letter of support from members of the Board of Trustees of the RGS, the Media Council of the RGS, the Governing Council of the RGS, or a protocol on the nomination of the project from the boards or commissions of the RGS. Applications for grants from regional branches will undergo a preliminary examination by regional experts. The main criteria for evaluating candidate projects are relevance, social significance, novelty of methodological solutions, etc.
Applications are accepted electronically through a unified electronic system grant.rgo.ru until October 31, 2026 inclusive.