Winners of the Znanie.Game Quiz Tournament among university students announced at the National Centre RUSSIA
The country’s strongest student teams met on 28 June at the National Centre RUSSIA, which hosted the final of the Znanie.Game Quiz Tournament among university students, one of the key intellectual projects of the Russian society Znanie. The final game became the concluding event of the 2025–2026 season in the quiz track. It brought together more than 100 participants who had passed a multi-stage selection process and were among the strongest from more than 2,000 students across Russia. The tournament is held as part of the national project "Youth and Children".
In the final, the participants faced 10 rounds of six questions each, devoted to the history and culture of Russia, the country’s achievements, outstanding compatriots and the traditions of the peoples of Russia. The contest programme was complemented by meetings with well-known speakers, who shared practical knowledge and personal experience with the students that would be useful both in their studies and in their future professional careers. Irina Slutskaya, multiple world and European champion, two-time Olympic medallist and TV presenter, discussed overcoming difficulties and explained how to maintain inner resilience and adapt quickly to change. Sergei Malozyomov, Russian journalist, TV presenter, doctor, blogger, author and host of popular science programmes on the NTV channel, spoke about the impact of nutrition on memory, attention and brain function. In addition, the participants were able to visit the "Journey Across Russia" exposition at the National Centre RUSSIA, which brings together the achievements, cultural legacy and traditions of all regions of our country.
Following the contest, the absolute winner of the tournament and nine prize-winning teams were named. The awards were presented by Kirill Khvil, Deputy Director General of the Russian society Znanie.
"More than 2,000 students took part in this season of the tournament, but only just over a hundred made it to the final in Moscow. You are not just finalists — you are the people who will soon determine the direction of the country’s development. Among you are future engineers, teachers, doctors, programmers and entrepreneurs. And the very fact that you are here is already a victory," Kirill Khvil noted.
The absolute winner of the tournament was the "Mendeleev Elements" team, representing HSE University and Dmitri Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (Moscow). The team members said that after the first five rounds they had already managed to take the lead. This gave them confidence and helped them maintain their advantage until the very end. However, the moment when the final results were announced was still especially emotional and joyful for them. According to the participants, the team’s secret to success is a sincere love of intellectual games. "We love 'What? Where? When?', enjoy playing quizzes and regularly take part in intellectual tournaments," the students said.
The team does not plan to stop there. The participants are already planning to compete in future intellectual tournaments, including the Russian championship in the sports version of the game "What? Where? When?", organised by the Russian society Znanie.
Second place went to the "Cauchy for the Soul" team from Samara National Research University named after Academician S.P. Korolev (the Samara Region). The participants said that during the game the team faced almost no difficulties. According to them, the discussion of the questions was easy and well-coordinated, while the tasks themselves were interesting.
Third place in the final game went to the "Just the Way We Like It" team from HSE University, Bauman Moscow State Technical University and the Lebedev Russian State University of Justice (Moscow). The students said that the main moment of the final for them was the awards ceremony. Despite slight disappointment that the team did not take first place, they emphasised that they had played primarily for pleasure. According to them, their long-standing friendship, mutual understanding and shared experience of taking part in intellectual games helped them achieve a strong result.
The tournament’s prize-winners also included the teams "Patricians" (Lomonosov Moscow State University, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University of the Ministry of Healthcare of Russia, Russian State Agrarian University — Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, Moscow), "Eureka" (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow Metropolitan Governance University, Moscow), "HACK" (Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow), "Common Abudefdufs" (National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, HSE University, Russian State University for the Humanities, Moscow), "101 Nihao!" (Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow), "Academists" (Russian Foreign Trade Academy of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow) and "No Rush" (Moscow Aviation Institute, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, MIREA — Russian Technological University, Moscow).
The winners and prize-winners of the tournament were recognised by the project’s partners. The autonomous non-profit organisation "More Than a Trip" awarded the teams that took the first three places with trips across Russia, while the Skillbox educational holding provided training certificates to the winning team and access to AI-based English lessons to all finalists.
The final was preceded by a large-scale qualifying stage. Since May 2025, 24 online games have been held for university students, including themed rounds devoted to the Great Victory, the 80th anniversary of Russia’s nuclear industry, Power Engineer’s Day and the unity of the peoples of Russia. Based on their results, an overall ranking was compiled, and the 25 strongest teams received invitations to the in-person final in Moscow. Another stage of the contest was the Znanie.Game Online Cup, which was held on 8 June 2026.
The Znanie.Game Tournament is included in the list of events of the Ministry of Education of Russia recommended annually for implementation as part of the calendar plan for educational work.
