Cosmonaut Fedor Yurchikhin reveals where to find Russia’s pinkest sunrises and what Earth looks like from orbit
Photographs taken from space can not only reveal the full beauty of Earth but also offer a new perspective on one’s native country and its outlines. Fedor Yurchikhin, pilot-cosmonaut, Hero of Russia and President of the Russian Cosmonautics Federation, spoke about this at the Forum of Geography Teachers and Students of Specialised Universities at the National Centre RUSSIA.
Fedor Yurchikhin spoke at the session "How to Move Beyond the Classroom and Textbook and Become a Geography Opinion Leader". He explained how a person’s view of the world changes after travelling into space.
"I flew over Lake Baikal before I ever reached it on the ground. Kamchatka is my favourite place, but I have still never been there. I was supposed to travel there for work three times, and all three trips were cancelled. But nowhere else has the kind of pink sunrises over Kamchatka that I photographed from orbit," the cosmonaut noted.
Describing his photographs of Earth, he gave another example that particularly impressed the participants: "When you photograph an island, an interesting island near the Baja California Peninsula, you realise that it resembles Sivka-Burka. That is exactly what my photograph is called — 'Sivka-Burka'."
The conversation with the cosmonaut became part of a broader discussion about how to transform school geography from a collection of facts into a source of inspiration and show teenagers that it is not merely a subject but a school of life, character and responsibility.
The Forum of Geography Teachers and Students of Specialised Universities was held at the National Centre RUSSIA on 25 June as one of the key events of the "Geography Lessons" exposition. The forum brought together more than 800 participants from all federal districts of Russia, including schoolteachers, university lecturers, students, teaching methodology specialists, school heads and representatives of education authorities.
Event photobank
In a world where the news agenda changes every hour, the press office becomes the voice and face of an organisation, shaping audience trust and influencing project outcomes.
What the new geography textbook will be like and which principles will underpin its content were discussed at a special session held at the National Centre RUSSIA.
Delegations from different regions of the country travelled to the National Centre RUSSIA for the Forum of Geography Teachers and Students of Specialised Universities.
