Events digest: highlights of the week at the National Centre RUSSIA
Discussion of the key vectors and objectives for the
2025–2026 academic year, the strategy for education development until 2036, the
Okroshka Festival and other events, highlights and moods of the week — in our
digest.
On 23 August, the National Centre RUSSIA welcomed special
guests — Alexander Nikitin from Samara, the winner of a contest under the
"Routes of Victory" project, and his mother Yulia. For Alexander, a
participant of the All-Russian rally "Ambassadors of Victory", the
excursion trip to Moscow became an unexpected gift received through a random
draw among the volunteers taking part in the rally.
At the "Journey Across Russia" exposition,
Alexander Nikitin and his mother became acquainted with the key achievements,
innovative developments, and cultural, natural and historical landmarks of all
federal districts of the country. Alexander, who has already visited the
exposition twice, is convinced that each time it reveals something new to
visitors.
The "Routes of Victory" project was developed
jointly by the National Centre RUSSIA and the National Exhibition Centre
BelExpo. The draw for a free trip for two along an educational and sightseeing
route dedicated to the heroic pages of our country’s history was organised by
the National Centre RUSSIA together with the Movement of the First. Travellers
of the "Routes of Victory" can choose tours of different duration.
The packages include sightseeing programmes with a professional guide,
transfers, meals and hotel accommodation.
The branch of the National Centre RUSSIA in the Primorye
region is preparing for its official opening, which will take place on 7
September. Work is currently in full swing on preparing the premises and
expositions. Special attention is being paid to creating comfortable
infrastructure for people with limited mobility.
"We are working around the clock to prepare for the
opening. For the convenience of people with limited mobility, a ramp has
already been installed at the main entrance, as well as a lift and an inclined
lifting platform on the staircase. We strive to create comfortable conditions
for all our visitors," said representatives of the Primorye region Tourist
Information Centre.
On 21 August, the reconstruction of Vladivostok’s
Sportivnaya Embankment, adjacent to the building of the regional branch of the
National Centre RUSSIA, was completed. Residents and guests of the city
appreciated the new look of their favourite recreation area.
The official opening of the National Centre RUSSIA in the
Primorye region will take place on 7 September at 16:00 in front of the branch
building at 4 Batareynaya Street. The ceremony is open to everyone free of
charge, without registration. Participants of the flash mob, as well as the
most active spectators, will receive prizes and gifts.
The National Centre RUSSIA invites everyone to see off the
outgoing summer with a favourite dish of Russian cuisine for the hot season.
From 19 to 24 August, the Okroshka Festival is being held in the Gastronomic
Rows. As part of the festival, seven new types of this traditional cold soup
are available in all food corners.
On 22 August, workshops on cooking okroshka took place.
Experienced chefs shared their secrets, and anyone could join.
The East corner presented the "Far Eastern"
okroshka with cold-smoked sockeye salmon on kvass of choice — Borodinsky or
unfiltered white with horseradish.
"The finer the ingredients are chopped, the tastier it
is, in my opinion. We chopped Kamchatka sockeye — our red gold. We smoke the
fish using modern equipment. We also added baked chicken meat. Guests could
feel the palette of flavours of all the dish’s components together," noted
Svetlana Bokova, brand chef of the East corner.
The West corner shared recipes of the classic lean okroshka
on dark kvass with horseradish, and the "Men’s" okroshka with chicken
ham, pork ham and beef tongue on dark kvass.
"We made one version with different kinds of meat —
it's very filling. The second is the complete opposite — light and meat-free,
with potatoes, radish, cucumber and sour cream, plus the unusual addition of
turnip," said Artur Kosyakov, chef of the West corner.
In the South corner, visitors can try okroshka with crucian
carp on blackcurrant kvass and okroshka with Doktorskaya sausage on dark kvass.
"Okroshka with crucian carp is quite a classic recipe
for the southern regions of our country. Crucian carp can be replaced with
common carp. The fish can be boiled or steamed, with the bones removed. It is
important to add plum horseradish and mustard," shared Pavel Kutyrev, chef
of the South corner.
A two-day working meeting with university vice-rectors for
youth policy and educational activities, "Key Vectors and Tasks for the
2025–2026 Academic Year", was held at the National Centre RUSSIA.
The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian
Federation is holding such a meeting for the second time on the eve of the new
academic year, while the National Centre RUSSIA hosted it for the first time.
This year, the meeting was dedicated to updating the objectives in youth policy
and educational activities at universities for the upcoming academic year in
the context of Presidential Decree No. 309 "On the national development
goals of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2030 and for the future up
to 2036".
Delivering welcoming remarks, Olga Petrova, Deputy Minister
of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, outlined the role of
universities in implementing this decree.
"We are creating conditions for self-fulfilment
together, nurturing citizens with an active civic position and a stable
worldview. Graduates, leaving the university, choose a certain trajectory of
development. And within the professional path they set out, they must be ready
to address the objectives set by the President. These are our national goals —
the development of every individual’s potential and talents, the nurturing of a
patriotic and socially responsible personality. Together with universities, in
our work we touch on each of these areas," said Olga Petrova.
The meeting also featured presentations of new federal
initiatives and defined the priority objectives of youth policy for the coming
academic year.
Family policy at universities, conscious volunteering and
patriotic education will be among the key areas of universities’ work in the
new academic year. Olga Petrova, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education
of the Russian Federation, told the press service of the National Centre RUSSIA
about this during the working meeting with vice-rectors for youth policy and
educational activities, "Key Vectors and Tasks for the 2025–2026 Academic
Year".
The first day of the meeting started at the National Centre
RUSSIA on 21 August and brought together more than 600 participants. The
working meeting is being held by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education
for the second time, while the National Centre RUSSIA hosted it for the first
time. The meeting made it possible to synchronise the upcoming work of
universities in the sphere of youth policy for the new academic year.
"This year we have a large working meeting — two days
of active work on comprehending and adjusting the overall system. The tasks set
are very ambitious in the national projects 'Youth and Children', 'Family',
'Human Resources' and others. All of them relate to us, to the university
community, to the vice-rectors for youth policy and educational activities. We
are discussing, sharing practices, and the Presidium of Vice-Rectors for Youth
Policy and Educational Activities is actively participating," said Olga
Petrova.
The Deputy Minister noted that every university in the
country is unique, and thanks to the space of the National Centre RUSSIA it has
the opportunity to share practices and experience with colleagues on one
platform. She emphasised that in the new academic year, universities’ work in
the field of youth policy will be carried out along several key tracks.
On 21 August, the National Centre RUSSIA hosted a special
event within the educational project "Development" on the topic
"Restoring the lost: restoration of masterpieces and the role of AI in
bringing back lost legacy".
In the format of an open dialogue, experts and enthusiasts
of restoration discussed the impact of artificial intelligence on the process
of preserving historical artefacts, the extent of its penetration into the
cultural legacy of the country and the world, copyright issues when using
modern technologies, and the popularisation of historical values.
Guests of the National Centre RUSSIA had the opportunity to
look behind the scenes of museum work and see how artificial intelligence
contributes to recreating lost masterpieces.
The event was moderated by Yulia Loginova, Deputy Chair of
the Russian Association of Restorers, Vice President of the Union of Restorers
of Russia, and top-category artist-restorer.
"In my opinion, the primary and unique qualities are
those possessed by the restorers themselves — qualities acquired through
restoring real cultural heritage objects they have worked on during their
professional lives," noted Yulia Loginova.
Today, the expert community is searching for ways to apply
artificial intelligence in the restoration sector, said Irina Guruleva, Deputy
Head of the Department of Scientific Restoration and Conservation of the State
Hermitage Museum, second-category graphic art restorer, PhD in Art History.
As part of the principle of open science, the expert community shares its achievements in the field of artificial intelligence in open access. Over time, such a global database will accumulate data and become effective, the speaker expressed confidence.
Particular interest among participants was sparked by the
demonstration of the possibilities of artificial intelligence in restoration.
The audience took part in an interactive survey, during which guests identified
a world masterpiece of fine art and its author from images redrawn by a neural
network according to specific prompts. In conclusion, experts expressed
confidence that the technology of recreating masterpieces of cultural legacy
will continue to develop. The task of the professional community is to approach
this field with great attention and responsibility, without losing professional
standards.
Education is intended to provide a person with knowledge,
skills, competences and a profession. But without the formation of a worldview,
all this remains only half the task. This was stated by Valery Fadeyev, Aide to
the President of the Russian Federation and Chair of the Presidential Council
for Civil Society and Human Rights, during the meeting "Key Vectors and
Tasks for the 2025–2026 Academic Year", which is being held for the first
time at the National Centre RUSSIA.
"We are used to saying that education should give a
person skills, competences, a profession. And the more skills a specialist has,
the more valuable they are to society. But in my view, there is also something
more important — worldview. Education without the formation of a worldview will
always be incomplete — both school and university education. Worldview is a
holistic picture of the world, a system of values, an understanding of one’s
role in society, in the country, in the world. This is exactly what we have
been talking about in recent years. On this basis, new courses in philosophy
and economics are created and educational work is built," said Valery
Fadeyev.
In his speech, the Aide to the President of Russia noted
that an educated person "must think broadly". Only such people,
according to Fadeyev, can propose and create the future, a future
socio-cultural system. He explained that this also concerns science, art, music
and religion.
The Aide to the President of Russia noted that the 21st
century will be the century of humanitarian knowledge, just as the 19th century
was the century of engineering sciences. Therefore, he said, engineers should
receive humanitarian knowledge, while humanities scholars, on the contrary,
should learn the natural sciences — about how nature works.
At the National Centre RUSSIA, as part of the first All-Russian
Pedagogical Congress, the "Big Changes" exposition was opened. It
presented the path of Russian education from its first steps towards mass
literacy to the introduction of advanced digital technologies. Visitors were
able to trace the evolution of schools and kindergartens, learn about the
challenges faced by teachers in different historical periods, and become
acquainted with the key tasks that the Ministry of Education of Russia is
addressing today.
In his speech at the first All-Russian Pedagogical Congress
in modern history, Sergei Kravtsov, Minister of Education of the Russian
Federation, pointed out that the Russian education system is one of the best in
the world, and it is based on the systematic approach for which the Soviet
school was renowned.
In a museum-interactive format, the "Big Changes"
exposition showcased artefacts, documents and photographs from different eras
related to education. Visual and multimedia solutions of the exposition helped
visitors experience the atmosphere of each historical period from the
perspective of educational and upbringing processes.
Strategy for education development until 2036 discussed at the National Centre RUSSIA
On 19 August, the All-Russian Pedagogical Congress concluded
at the National Centre RUSSIA. The event brought together 1,300 teachers from
all regions of the country, scholars from the Russian Academy of Education and
the Russian Academy of Sciences, State Duma deputies and senators,
representatives of executive authorities and public organisations. One of the
key topics of discussion was the Strategy for Education Development until 2036.
The participants were welcomed by Dmitry Chernyshenko,
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia; Sergei Kravtsov, Minister of Education of the
Russian Federation; Valery Falkov, Minister of Science and Higher Education of
the Russian Federation; Anzor Muzayev, Head of Rosobrnadzor; Denis Ashirov,
State Secretary and Deputy Head of Rosmolodezh; and Irina Belykh, Chair of the
State Duma Committee on Education.
Speaking to the participants of the All-Russian Pedagogical Congress, Dmitry Chernyshenko noted that feedback had been taken into account in preparing the Strategy and action plan. Thus, school remains the second most important institution after the family in shaping patriotic feelings of citizens; the pride index for the country grew 2.6 times from 2021 to 2024; and the share of schoolchildren wishing to leave for abroad decreased over three years from 23% to 7%. Positive assessments of the general education system doubled from 2016 to 2024. 97% of respondents believe that young people in Russia have every opportunity to realise their abilities.
In his speech, Sergei Kravtsov, Minister of Education of the
Russian Federation, spoke about the achievements of recent years. Thanks to the
national project "Education", in 2019 the implementation of
large-scale infrastructure projects began, and education once again became systematic.
Centralised management returned, unified educational programmes and federal
curricula synchronised with the State Final Examination were developed and
approved. Upbringing once again became an integral part of education, starting
from kindergarten.
In schools and colleges, the positions of aides to head
teachers for upbringing have been introduced. Dozens of textbooks for each
subject are being replaced by unified state textbooks. Thanks to attention to
all subjects, including new ones ("Fundamentals of Safety and Homeland
Protection" and "Labour"), a broad outlook for schoolchildren is
ensured.
Valery Falkov, Minister of Science and Higher Education of
the Russian Federation, also took part in the work of the All-Russian
Pedagogical Congress. As the minister noted, a comprehensive answer to all the
challenges outlined in the Strategy for Education Development is contained in
the new model of higher education.
"All our key tools created in recent years — the
large-scale programme to support universities 'Priority 2030', advanced
engineering schools, student design bureaus and many others — are aimed at
transforming the higher education system. We formulated this task for ourselves
several years ago and are moving towards a different result consistently and purposefully,
carefully and evolutionarily changing the existing system. A comprehensive
answer to all the challenges outlined in the Strategy is the transition to a
new model of higher education," said Valery Falkov.
As part of the Congress, the panel discussion "Voice of
the school, university and college: education through the eyes of
practitioners" also took place.
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin sent
greetings to the participants of the first All-Russian Pedagogical Congress in
modern history, which is taking place at the National Centre RUSSIA. The event
was opened by Andrei Fursenko, Aide to the President, who read out the welcome
address on behalf of the Russian leader.
"I welcome you to the All-Russian Pedagogical Congress.
To discuss the priority tasks of developing the national education system, this
forum has gathered teachers, scholars, mentors, representatives of government
bodies and public organisations from across our vast country. Such an
authoritative line-up of participants fully corresponds to the main goal of
your meeting, because it is precisely education, its accessibility and quality,
that are the key factor and the foundation for Russia’s long-term
success," said the President in his address, read out by Andrei Fursenko.
In his welcome address, the President noted that Russian
pedagogy has always been characterised by a multifaceted and versatile approach.
He emphasised that future plans should be based on the best traditions of
pre-revolutionary, Soviet and modern Russia.
"Relying on this solid foundation, we must address key
issues — from updating the content of curricula to training qualified teachers.
And of course, in all regions it is necessary to ensure a comparable and decent
level of pay and working conditions for teachers and lecturers, and to surround
them with the attention they deserve," the President added in his
greeting.
Vladimir Putin expressed confidence that during the open discussions and round tables, participants would be able to exchange ideas and best practices, drawing on the experience of regions, large and small cities, and rural areas. According to the head of state, only together will it be possible to build an advanced, creative, developing and truly living education system aimed at unlocking every individual’s potential and addressing the key tasks of the country’s development.
Modern technologies and artificial intelligence cannot love
their country. Oskar Konyukhov — traveller, son of Fyodor Konyukhov, and head
of the expedition headquarters of the researcher, artist and writer — spoke
about this to the press service of the National Centre RUSSIA on Geographer’s
Day.
"It’s all about romance. Only a human being remains a
romantic. Modern technologies and AI cannot love their country, their land
where they were born and grew up. Only a human can find motivation to explore
our planet," believes Oskar Konyukhov.
He has headed the expedition headquarters of all Fyodor
Konyukhov’s journeys for nearly 30 years. He has climbed Everest nine times.
"I am now in Kamchatka and have not been here for 40
years. Looking at this region from the height of Avachinskaya Sopka volcano, I
realise: geographers still have a lot of work to do here," the traveller
shared.
The National Centre RUSSIA became the first venue for
filming the new travel show "Fashionable Russia". It was here that
the project team launched its route across the country, choosing the space of
the National Centre RUSSIA as the starting point for future episodes.
The show introduces viewers to how creative industries are
transforming the regions of Russia. Each city has its own heroes and its own
formats: from street art and fashion to technological visionaries, architects
and designers who are shaping the modern image of the country.
The premiere episode is dedicated to Yekaterinburg, a Ural
metropolis where creativity has become a way of life. Here, shangi are turned
into street food, burdock is made into chocolate, and walls tell the story of
the city through the STENOGRAFFIA festival. The show’s host, Yekaterina
Goncharenko, tries Ural cuisine, explores an adaptive fashion brand, and even
goes down into the underground of the Mistress of the Copper Mountain,
reconstructed in an immersive format at the "Journey Across Russia"
exposition in the National Centre RUSSIA.
The first season will cover cities from north to south:
Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Nalchik, Vladikavkaz, Makhachkala, Kislovodsk,
Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, and Kaliningrad.
On 28 August, the author's event of the National Centre RUSSIA — the Literary Club "What to read?!" with Alexey Chesnakov — will be held.
Jian Lian, founder of the Beijing Hengce Investment Consulting Co, will take part in the Open Dialogue that will be held at the branch of the National Centre RUSSIA in the Primorye region on 5 September.
On 7 September, at the opening of the branch of the National Centre RUSSIA in the Primorye region, the first thousand guests will get a surprise — a kokoshnik from the Russian brand "Patriotka".
