Events digest: highlights of the week at the National Centre RUSSIA
The All-Russian Parents’ Meeting, a round table on Russian
architecture, a meeting within the project "Dialogues About the
Future", six months of the exposition "Journey Across Russia" and
much more: our digest brings together not only the main events but also the
ideas, emotions and moods that set the tone for the past week at the National
Centre RUSSIA.
The XII All-Russian Parents’ Meeting took place at the National Centre RUSSIA
On 26
August, the XII All-Russian Parents’ Meeting was held at the National Centre
RUSSIA, organised by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation
together with the Russian society Znanie. More than 300 representatives
of the all-Russian parents’ committee, members of regional parents’ committees
and over 180 winners of the competition of parents’ community initiatives from
53 regions of the country took part in the open dialogue with Minister Sergei
Kravtsov. The main discussion focused on the upcoming 2025/26 academic year.
"I
want to say in general that the education system is ready for the start of the
academic year. Rospotrebnadzor, security agencies and regional
ministries have assessed all school buildings, kindergartens, and colleges. All
the necessary requirements have been met. It is important that the school year
goes as safely as possible. <...> From 1 September, our key Order No. 704
comes into force, which effectively completes the formation of a unified
educational space in our country. In shaping the unified programme, we relied
on both Soviet and modern experience. At the same time, we took into account
the opinions of methodologists, scholars and the teaching community. The main
task is to ensure high-quality knowledge and a broad outlook across all
subjects," noted Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Sergei
Kravtsov.
According
to him, many questions from parents concerned homework. He clarified
that the order regulates both the amount of homework and the time needed to
complete it, taking into account the workload and age characteristics of the
child. For example, in the first grade pupils should spend one hour on
homework, in the second and third grades — 1.5 hours, and in the fourth grade —
2 hours. The Minister also noted that pedagogy this year became the third most
popular field of study during the university admissions campaign, reaching
590,000 applications.
On 26
August, the round table "Urban Planning and Architectural Code of
Russia" was held at the National Centre RUSSIA. Participants
discussed the role of development, design and the creation of the urban
environment in enhancing the attractiveness of territories for living,
socio-economic development and the transmission of spiritual and moral values.
The urban
environment acts as a complex element of the cultural code that enables
communication between people and the state, noted Alexei Zharich, Deputy Head
of the Presidential Executive Office of Russia for Social Projects. According
to him, architecture can serve as an effective channel of interaction, since
people are constantly immersed in its environment.
"The
architectural code fulfils several important tasks. Among them are
shaping the image of the era, as well as consolidating the image of Russia as a
civilisation-state, which independently shapes spiritual and moral values and
communicates them, including through the urban environment. Thus, architecture
also performs political tasks. In this regard, it is necessary to build a
permanent dialogue between architects, representatives of the construction
industry, and the state authorities in order to develop joint ideas in this
direction," emphasised Alexei Zharich.
The higher education system faces a key task — to train not
just professionals, but professionals-patriots, citizens of their country with
an active civic position. This was stated by Olga Petrova, Deputy Minister of
Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, during the EISR panel
discussion "Knowledge About the Country’s Achievements: To Whom and How
Should It Be Communicated?", which took place at the National Centre
RUSSIA.
"The
higher education system faces a key task — to train not just professionals, but
professionals-patriots, citizens of their country with an active civic
position, who understand that they have something to be proud of. The
emotion of pride is one of the fundamental ones, and it becomes the basis for
our initiatives with students and teachers," said Olga Petrova.
The Deputy
Minister of Science and Higher Education noted that only a teacher with the
same qualities can educate and graduate an active student with a civic
position. In this regard, the work based on the decrees of President of
Russia Vladimir Putin is aimed not only at creating opportunities for student
self-fulfilment but also at working with academic staff.
"A key
role here is played by the community of vice-rectors — the fundamental
framework on which educational activities and the implementation of youth
policy in universities are built. We pay special attention to this: very
recently another August meeting took place, where we jointly defined meanings
and fixed the system, ensuring its transfer to universities," she
explained.
At the same
time, work with teachers is also important, continued Olga Petrova. She
reminded that last year a value- and worldview-oriented advanced training
programme was launched, within which 11,500 people completed training.
"This
year we continue implementing this task, realising that it is teachers, with
their personal example and daily interaction with students, who become true
civic educators. It is they who must bring to the classroom the right,
relevant agenda that corresponds to the tasks facing the higher education
system," concluded the Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education.
Another
meeting within the original project "Dialogues About the Future" with
Valery Fedorov was held on 27 August at the National Centre RUSSIA. The
main topic of discussion, on the eve of the new academic year, was education in
the context of total digitalisation and preparing for the challenges of a
rapidly changing world.
The discussion "The
Future of Education: Human Cognitive Abilities in the Context of
Innovation" was organised by the National Centre RUSSIA, the Financial
University under the Government of the Russian Federation and VCIOM. The
moderator of the meeting was traditionally Valery Fedorov, Dean of the Faculty
of Social Sciences and Mass Communications of the Financial University under
the Government of the Russian Federation and Director General of the VCIOM
Analytical Centre.
Although
education is a fairly conservative sphere, the pace of change in it has
recently increased sharply, noted the head of VCIOM.
"Russians
are interested in ensuring that our education is the most advanced, modern, and
practical. They understand that there is the closest connection between
education and the life trajectory along which a person will move. Therefore,
education must be effective and prepare a person for the life that lies ahead,
not for the one that was possible 200 years ago. How to do this? Ordinary
people definitely do not have the answer, and the answers of professionals
still differ greatly, since each concept has both advantages and disadvantages.
Thus, the search for optimal models continues," said Valery Fedorov.
How does today’s society relate to breakthrough but
sometimes daunting innovations in education, and are people ready to entrust
artificial intelligence and neural interfaces with shaping their children’s
thinking? According to a VCIOM study, public trust in artificial intelligence
technologies is gradually growing. At the same time, people fear that the
development of AI will lead to the degradation of the population, since the
more we use technology, the more we offload our brain, and the less
intelligent, advanced and adaptive we become, noted Valery Fedorov.
"We
see that trust in artificial intelligence is increasing. It has not yet
become total, there are still quite a lot of those who do not trust AI — about
38%, and there are reasons for that. Among the top five reasons is the concern
that the more advanced our AI technologies become, the faster this will lead to
the degradation of ordinary people. That is, there are fears that the so-called
Google effect will gradually expand," warned the head of VCIOM.
A meeting
of the "What to Read?!" Literary Club, dedicated to the 100th
anniversary of the birth of Arkady Strugatsky, was held on 28 August at the
National Centre RUSSIA. Together with experts, guests discussed the
works of brothers Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, new books in the science fiction
genre, as well as the dreams that inspire today’s society. The moderator of the
meeting was traditionally Alexei Chesnakov, Head of the Academic Council of the
Centre for Political Conjuncture, Professor at HSE University and author of the
Telegram channel "Chesnakov. Library".
"The
works of the Strugatskys laid the foundation for a vast layer of Soviet and
modern Russian culture. And we must understand that through the images
they created, they largely shaped our present ideas about the future, about how
we should dream and work with meanings," said Alexei Chesnakov.
Invited
experts shared their experience of interpreting the Strugatskys’ works, as well
as personal recommendations on how best to read them.
"Arkady
Natanovich cannot be considered separately from his brother. They were a
single writer — the Strugatsky brothers. I would recommend that potential
readers who are going to get acquainted with their works try to read them in
chronological order — as the books were written — to better understand how the
authors developed. Science fiction is, first and foremost, literature that
calls us into the future, teaches us to think about where humanity is going,
why certain processes are taking place. And it teaches, to some extent, through
role modelling, which engages readers and allows not only specialists but also
a wide range of people to join in tackling these questions," noted Boris
Dolingo, science fiction writer and Chairman of the Sverdlovsk regional branch
of the Union of Writers of Russia.
Together
with the speakers, guests of the evening recalled the most significant works of
the Strugatskys, discussed their relevance in the modern world and tried to
look into the future through the prism of their ideas.
"The
books of the Strugatsky brothers touched upon issues of moral choice, the
interaction between the individual and the state, the upbringing of people and
the evolution of humanity. These questions were relevant for the
writers’ contemporaries and remain relevant today. This is one of the reasons
for the Strugatskys’ popularity among the younger generation. The brilliant
utopian vision of the future they described in their early works dedicated to
the Noon Universe has great appeal. It is a world in which one wants to live
and work. It is a future that one wants to create and bring to life," said
Sergei Shikarev, critic, science fiction historian, author of the books
"13" (2014) and "Coordinates of Science Fiction" (2019),
co-founder of the New Horizons literary prize and Executive Secretary of the
Future History prize, finalist of the Arkady and Boris Strugatsky Prize.
The
"Journey Across Russia" exposition at the National Centre RUSSIA
marks six months since its opening. In this time, it has become one of
the capital’s most popular and vibrant spaces, where each guest can, in an hour
and a half, travel across the entire country — from the icy northern latitudes
to the southern seas, from ancient monuments to cutting-edge technologies.
During this
period, more than 100,000 people visited the exposition as part of about 9,000
guided tours. In the digital "Heart Zone", over 75,000 hearts
— interactive postcards from guests sharing their emotions — were sent.
During his
visit to the National Centre RUSSIA, President of the Russian Federation
Vladimir Putin toured the exposition.
"We
really do have much to be proud of in many different spheres and in every
region of the country without exception. These achievements reflect the
unique character of our multi-ethnic people and its millennia-old
history," said Vladimir Putin.
The
exposition was also highly praised by Prime Minister of the Russian Federation
Mikhail Mishustin.
"Such
expositions create in visitors, and importantly in young people, an
understanding of the scale and power of the state, its potential and the
opportunities available to every citizen. And of course, to regions and
businesses. Guests will discover new names, goods and services, technological
innovations produced in our regions. And all this can be discovered in the
centre of the capital," noted Mikhail Mishustin.
The
"Journey Across Russia" exposition has also been visited by foreign
leaders. Among them was Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska. He
was impressed by the tour organised by Natalia Virtuozova, Director General of
the National Centre RUSSIA, and remarked that he had gained much new information,
expressing his gratitude. He emphasised that everyone should visit the
exposition.
Uganda’s
Vice President Jessica Alupo, during her tour of the exposition, paid
particular attention to Kuzbass — a key industrial region of Russia. Equally
impressive for the distinguished guest was the full-scale replica of a racing
KAMAZ truck, inside which there is a 5D cinema, where visitors can follow the
journey of the vehicle from assembly on the production line to an extreme race
across the dunes of the African desert.
In
addition, the exposition welcomed delegates from more than 100 countries,
including politicians, diplomats, political scientists, urbanists, architects,
journalists and representatives of other professions. They agreed that
getting to know our vast and diverse country should begin here.
The second
episode of the project "Fashionable Russia", which tells the stories
of people from the regions creating fashion, design, technology and creative
spaces, has been released. Irkutsk was chosen as the city for the new
episode. The National Centre RUSSIA once again became the filming location for
the travel show. It was here that the project team launched its journey across
the country, choosing the space of the National Centre RUSSIA as the starting
point for future episodes.
Irkutsk
presents itself in a new light: the park-hotel "Baikal — Alaska", an
expedition from Lake Baikal to Alaska, wakeboarding in Siberia, the legendary
"Babrbook" in the Prostranstvo coffee shop, gastronomic discoveries
at the Partizan restaurant, the DIGITLAB laboratory, and the Amadina Glass
jewellery workshop, where ornaments sparkle like the ice of Lake Baikal. This
city breaks stereotypes and proves that Siberia is about creativity, energy and
style.
"Fashionable Russia" is a multi-format project
about people from the regions who create fashion, design, technology and
creative spaces. The episodes show how the creative industry transforms cities.
The premiere episode was dedicated to Yekaterinburg. The first season will
cover the following cities: Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Novosibirsk, Nalchik,
Vladikavkaz, Makhachkala, Kislovodsk, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk, and Kaliningrad.
The winners
of the international creative contest for artists "Architecture of
Diplomacy", organised by the Main Production and Commercial Directorate
for Servicing the Diplomatic Corps (GlavUpDK) under the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Russia, visited the National Centre RUSSIA on 25 August. Ahead
of the award ceremony, which will take place at the Reception House of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, the guests toured the "Journey Across Russia"
exposition.
For the
laureates of the contest, the visit to the National Centre RUSSIA was not only
an additional award but also an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of
the diversity and strength of Russian culture, history and technology.
"We
are very grateful for the informative and beautiful tour. We are
pleasantly surprised, and our emotions are overflowing. Everything is done at
the highest level, with plenty of interactivity, sounds and scents. At the same
time, it is absolutely impossible to single out the exposition of any one
region, as all of them are an important part of your great country, and without
any particular region it would lose something. Therefore, I wish all regions
and their residents happiness and prosperity. This is not my first time in
Moscow, and it is pleasant to see the city growing, developing and becoming
more beautiful. I am very glad for the Russians and for your country. You have
much to be proud of. We Belarusians will always be happy to visit you, and of
course, we will always be glad to welcome you to our land," shared
Alexander Lomat from the Belarusian city of Grodno.
The guests
were impressed that the "Journey Across Russia" exposition allows
them to get acquainted with the wealth of the entire country, including modern
technologies, in such a short time.
"I was
very impressed by the modern medical equipment and how advanced technology is
presented at the exposition. The visual component of the exposition is a
true magnet for visitors of any age. I am sure that everyone will find
something here for themselves," said Alexandra Gumen from St Petersburg.
A kokoshnik as a gift from Tatyana Kurtukova: results of the contest at the National Centre RUSSIA
Famous
singer, folklore researcher and performer of the hit "Matushka" ("Mother")
Tatyana Kurtukova selected the winner of the raffle for a stylish accessory
from the Department Store RUSSIA of the National Centre RUSSIA. The
stylish kokoshnik was awarded to fifteen-year-old Daria from Kaluga.
The contest
was dedicated to the release of the podcast "Russia Speaks" with
Tatyana Kurtukova, where she spoke about the growing interest in folk music,
the revival of traditions and the symbolism of her famous song
"Matushka", which has become a hymn of female wisdom and strength.
Other
participants of the raffle and all those who prefer quality products are
invited by the National Centre RUSSIA to the Department Store — a space that
brings together more than 160 producers from over 62 regions of the country. It
is open daily, except Monday, from 10:00 to 20:00.
Registration opens for tours of the new exposition "Region 2030. Platform of the Future"
Registration
has opened on the website of the National Centre RUSSIA for tours of the new
exposition "Region 2030. Platform of the Future". The project
will showcase the achievements of the regions of our country, their strategic
development plans, as well as domestic technological innovations of the Russian
Export Centre.
The first seven regions to participate in the exposition are
the Chelyabinsk, Tula, Voronezh and Amur regions, the Nenets Autonomous Area,
the Republic of Dagestan, and the Jewish Autonomous Region. Each has prepared a
stand that combines modern multimedia technologies with authentic historical
artefacts.
The
exposition of the Nenets Autonomous Area will immerse visitors in the
atmosphere of the Russian Arctic, preserving the cultural treasures of
indigenous peoples. A key growth point is the region’s resource
potential — 97 hydrocarbon deposits with reserves exceeding those of Western
Europe. Projects in alternative energy are being implemented, including the use
of mini nuclear power plants in partnership with the Kurchatov Institute.
Another promising area is unmanned aviation for logistics, infrastructure
monitoring and supporting reindeer herding, which in turn remains an important
element of Russia’s food security.
The concept
of the stand of the Chelyabinsk region is built on four key alloys that reveal
the strategic vision of the region’s future. The alloy of technologies
demonstrates the industrial potential of the region — a leader in mechanical
engineering, producing 90% of Russia’s tracked vehicles and the country’s only
tower cranes. The alloy of traditions highlights the link between legacy and
modernity. Here are presented the famous Zlatoust steel engraving and Kasli
cast iron. The alloy of innovations features phygital graffiti, an interactive
sandbox, a lunar rover robot and a world-class interuniversity campus.
The stand
of the Republic of Dagestan presents key development projects of the region,
including glass and fruit-and-vegetable clusters, the "City of
Shoemakers", a wind power plant and a transport and logistics complex. Special
attention is given to the Caspian coastal cluster — a large-scale project in
the field of marine tourism. An interactive map visualises tourist routes and
industrial facilities. The artistic design is inspired by the architecture of
mountainous Dagestan with an emphasis on defensive structures, such as the
stylised tower in the village of Goor.
From the
exposition of the Tula region, visitors can learn about the works of Russian
writer Leo Tolstoy and his family estate Yasnaya Polyana, and the landscape
paintings of Vasily Polenov. In the "Tula — the Present"
section, among other things, visitors can discover the achievements of
residents of the region in sports and try themselves as athletes, as well as
take a video tour of the small towns of the Tula region. In the
"Future" zone, significant developments in unmanned aerial systems,
the chemical industry and high technologies are presented.
The
Voronezh region will present the stand "From the Primordial Fire to
Peaceful Atom". Its main design element will be a multimedia
"river", symbolising the many rivers of the Voronezh region, such as
the Don and the Voronezh, on whose shipyards from 1696 to 1711 more than 200
different vessels for the emerging Russian Navy were built. In the
"Peaceful Atom" zone, visitors will learn about the region’s
achievements in nuclear energy, the creation in the Voronezh region of liquid
rocket engines for space launch vehicles and intercontinental ballistic
missiles, as well as the fact that the aviation plant in Voronezh produces and
services the legendary aircraft No. 1 (Il-96) — the aircraft of the President
of Russia. In the "Future Projects" zone, the Voronezh region will
present models of Petrovsky Island and the metrobus.
The Jewish
Autonomous Region is known for its unique natural landscapes and cultural
identity. The economic section of its exposition will present an
interactive map of mineral resources, a 3D model of the bridge to China and
up-to-date data on trade turnover with the countries of the Asia-Pacific
region.
The central element of the stand of the Amur region is the
unique geographical and economic role of the region, supported by interactive
zones. Visitors can explore the professions of the future and learn about the
opportunities offered by local educational institutions. Special attention is
given to the space industry. Here visitors can virtually launch the Angara-A5
rocket from the Vostochny Cosmodrome. An important place is occupied by the
presentation of joint projects with China, including the first cross-border
cableway and the international bridge across the Amur.
Complementing
the exposition is the section "Made in Russia", organised by the
Russian Export Centre. Visitors will learn about the activities of
domestic companies actively exporting products and services to the
international market in such areas as mechanical engineering, shipbuilding,
information and communication technologies, medicine, biotechnology, robotics
and the creative industries.
By tradition, every Monday at the National Centre RUSSIA is a technical maintenance day, and even Knowledge Day on 1 September will be no exception.
On 29 August, the Russian Crab Festival opened on the Sportivnaya Embankment in Vladivostok. The event will run until 14 September.
