"Became smarter and stronger in spirit": winners and runners-up of the Znanie.Game intellectual tournament awarded at the National Centre RUSSIA

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The final of the All-Russian intellectual tournament Znanie.Game, one of the key educational projects of the Russian society Znanie, was held at the National Centre RUSSIA. A total of 355 young intellectuals from 71 teams, including from the Republic of Abkhazia, competed for victory. Following the game, 10 leading teams were selected. All of them received prizes from the tournament’s partners. The event is being held as part of the national project "Youth and Children".

The final game became a true intellectual marathon that lasted more than 2 hours: over 8 rounds, the participants tackled more than 40 questions, every 6th of them in the "What? Where? When?" format. They answered questions on science and technology, literature and art, politics and economics; proved their knowledge of Russian history, its peoples and their customs; and recalled great compatriots, from physiologist Ivan Pavlov to military commander Alexander Suvorov. 

"The final of the Znanie.Game tournament is always a major event. Today, 355 of the best young intellectuals have gathered at the National Centre RUSSIA, having become the best among 90 thousand school and college students. There were 253 applicants per place, which is serious competition. The tournament brought together teams from major cities and very small localities alike, but each of them has come a long way, gaining knowledge, learning to work as a team, defend their position and have the courage to give way when someone else is right. I wish you never to stop at what you have achieved and to keep your curiosity alive. Remember: there are no losers in this hall. There are only those who have become smarter and stronger in spirit, who have found friends and mentors, and who have gained the most from an honest intellectual contest. I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart," noted Director General of the Russian society Znanie Maxim Dreval.

Following the contest, the absolute winner of the tournament and 9 runners-up were determined. The awards were presented by State Secretary and Deputy Head of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs Denis Ashirov.

The absolute winner of the Tournament was the "Heirs of Kant" team from the Kaliningrad Region. According to the participants, unlike many other teams, they had a very long journey to the final, travelling through several countries. Nevertheless, their fatigue disappeared in an instant after the results were announced.

"In the short time we played together, we managed to become a close-knit team, truly enjoyed the event and achieved significant results. We wish the other participants not to be afraid of great success and to overcome all obstacles that may come their way. And also to be a united team — that is probably the most important thing that helps achieve victory," the team members commented.

The tournament’s runners-up also included the "Nemo" team from the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the "Cat in the Box" team from the Republic of Mari El, the "Ni.Grek" team from the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the "Plus Minus" team from the Orenburg Region, the "Pallada" team from the Penza Region, the "Russian World" team from the Republic of Mordovia, the "By the Way, Yes!" team from the Leningrad Region, the "Gorynych" team from the Volgograd Region, and the "Kubanoids" team from the Krasnodar Territory. The winner and runners-up received gifts from the tournament’s partners: trips across Russia and certificates for AI-powered English lessons and courses in other useful skills.

Each team has come a long way, including regional online finals in April 2026 and individual qualifying games that brought together more than 90 thousand school and college students from across Russia. Over the season, the project participants answered 1,020 questions, while their total thinking time amounted to 765 minutes.

The participants’ success was made possible in many ways thanks to their teacher-coordinators. Many of them have long been part of the intellectual movement themselves, both as organisers and as direct participants in quizzes. Alexei Kulikov from the "Uley" team, for example, discovered intellectual games thanks to his school maths teacher. Sofia Kruts from the "Kubanoids" team was introduced to the game not just by a school supervisor, but by her godmother. She prepared for the tournament both with her classmates and with her family.

"It is not difficult at all to prepare children who are interested in the tournament: they themselves are drawn to new knowledge, look for interesting facts and gladly share them with others. But having relatives on the team does make you worry a little more: you almost want to send them the answers by telepathy and exclaim emotionally, 'You watched that film, think!' You demand more of them both at the tournament and at home during preparation," said the team’s mentor Irina Kruts.

The Znanie.Game tournament is included in the list of events of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation that are recommended annually for implementation as part of the calendar plan for educational work.