A meeting of the Board of the Council for the Development and Promotion of a new Russian style was held at the National Centre RUSSIA
On 23 September, the Board meeting of the Council for the Development and Promotion of a new Russian style in public space was held at the National Centre RUSSIA. The participants summed up the work over the past period and discussed the launch of new large-scale projects in the field of public visual communication.
The meeting was opened by Yelena Yampolskaya, Adviser to the President of the Russian Federation, and Chairman of the Council. According to her, the Council should be a platform where ideas in the field of visual communications and public spaces are transformed into real projects. These projects should be based on national artistic traditions, and understandable to every citizen.
"Thanks to the hospitality of the National Centre RUSSIA, we are meeting here for the third time, and it is pleasant to see that a large number of professionals are interested in the Council's activities. We initially agreed, and have been insisting that the Council should be as open as possible to anyone who wants to join in and take part in our work. The only barrier to entry is lack of professionalism. The main thing here is that the result of our activities will be the actual realization of creative ideas. Then we must see everything we are talking about here – on the streets of cities and towns, at airports, and in public spaces. It is fundamentally important that all ideas correspond to national artistic traditions. If we are talking about how the state interacts with the citizens through visual communications, then this dialogue should be high-quality, modern, and clear to every citizen."
Alexei Zharich, Deputy Head of the Presidential Directorate of the Russian Federation for Public Projects, emphasized:
"World practice shows that the formation of unified systems of state visual communications has become a global trend. For example, in August 2025, US President Donald Trump signed decrees on the establishment of a National Design Studio and the mandatory use of classical architecture for federal buildings. In this context, Russia is currently setting trends in the field of state visual communications. Government regulation of visual code is a common and necessary practice for sovereign States. Without proper legal support and regulatory framework, we will not be able to effectively coordinate the efforts of various departments and ensure a systematic approach to the state visual communications. Therefore, the Council's work is more relevant than ever."
Natalia Virtuozova, Director General of the National Centre RUSSIA, also took part in the meeting. She spoke about the first successes of the first regional branch of the National Centre RUSSIA, which is located in the Primorye region.
"By order of our President, the National Centre is creating branches in the regions. The first one opened in the Primorye region. Thanks to the support of the Russian Government and the Governor's team, we managed not only to give the building a new look and assemble an exposition inside, but also to create an urban space in which residents and guests of Primorye spend time with their families, walk, fall in love with their region and country, get inspired and dream. In the first two weeks of operation, the branch was visited by more than 5,000 people," she said.
During the meeting, the heads of the working groups and the leaders of the project teams presented reports on the work done. Andrei Melentyev, Head of the Department for State Visual Communications at the National Centre RUSSIA, Secretary of the Council and Head of the “Socially Significant Design” group, presented the overall results of the activities.
“The National Centre RUSSIA continues its systematic work on the development of state visual communications. We have been building a direct dialogue with the governors, engaging regional design teams and creative communities, and establishing relationships with business representatives," said Andrei Melentyev. — The first projects have already been launched. We are actively working with state-owned companies and airports to introduce modern solutions in the field of public visual communication. We invite all interested participants, from federal agencies to regional creative associations, to join the work of the Council.".
In turn, Anna Smirnova, Director General of "Kraski Friedlander", LLC, member of the Council for Architecture and Urban Planning of the Leningrad Region and the North-West of the Russian Federation, spoke about the national color palette project.
"The initiative is aimed at strengthening visual sovereignty and creating a unified, scientifically based color system that reflects the cultural and historical heritage, as well as natural, ethnic, and cultural diversity of Russia. Today we use foreign color standards that do not reflect the uniqueness of our culture, history and nature. The national color palette is a response to the challenge of visual sovereignty, a system firmly linked to the cultural code of Russia, which will become a reliable tool for architects, designers and all those who shape the visual environment of our country," the speaker said.
Vladislav Preobrazhensky, Executive Director of the Association of Major Developers "Moscow Investors Club", and head of the working group "Environmental Design and Architecture", shared with the Council the details of creating playgrounds of the new generation.
"The Council at the National Centre RUSSIA has initiated a project to develop a new generation of playgrounds, decorated according to the national themes of the Dymkovsky toy, and featuring interactive play equipment, augmented reality, and modern eco-friendly materials. As a result of careful selection, it was decided to implement the first such project in Russia jointly with the development company KOLDI. The city of Tula has been proposed as the location of the pilot site."
Alexandra Sankova, co-founder and Director of Moscow Design Museum and head of the working group "Concept Design and Visionary", also took part in the event. She presented the work on the formation of the conceptual foundations of the new Russian style.
"The new Russian style is a modern visual system that creatively reinterprets Russia's rich cultural heritage. It combines traditional elements with modern achievements of the country, reflecting the fundamental meanings and traditional values of Russia, forming a visual image of the future — a strong, distinctive power. The implementation of such a large-scale project is impossible without the involvement of the professional community and the training of new personnel. Special attention should be paid to popularizing the design profession among young people, showing its importance in shaping the cultural image of modern Russia."
During the Council meeting, Alexei Maslov, head of the working group "Industrial Design", spoke about systematic work with state-owned corporations.
"Today, the group "Industrial Design" is focused on systematic work to collect information from government corporations about current projects in the field of industrial facilities development. Based on the collected data, a comprehensive analysis will be conducted, an expert assessment of industrial design condition in the country will be prepared, and practical recommendations to improve quality and create new solutions will be formulated," he stressed.
Besides, one of the topics of discussion was devoted to the national font family. Vyacheslav Kuteev, Head of the working group "Communication Design", made a report on this topic. He said: "Work has begun on creating the Russian National Font Family, a unified font system that will ensure the integrity and consistency of communication, meet modern requirements, and will serve for strengthening the country's cultural and linguistic sovereignty."
The launch of new projects as part of the promotion of a new cultural code was the subject of discussion in the second part of the meeting. In particular, Vyacheslav Kuteev presented the initiative to create a digital platform for the visual system of the state together with Artem Geller, managing partner of the AIC group of companies.
"Today, even those elements of the state style that already exist are scattered: in archival documents, in the recommendations of individual departments, in commercial developments or on the websites of public and professional initiatives. That is why the idea appeared to create a digital resource that describes and systematizes the internal and external style of Russia, taking into account the historical context and modern technologies," Artem Geller emphasized.
The creation of uniforms for schoolchildren participating in international Olympiads was put forward as a proposal. The initiative was made by Alisa Lobanova, founder of the Russian clothing company "Neva": "The development of modern uniforms for schoolchildren at international Olympiads is very relevant. The uniform should not only emphasize the team's belonging to the country, but also look beautiful and reflect the image of Russia as a strong state with a rich cultural heritage."
Regional initiatives were also presented during the Council meeting. According to Yekaterina Shuba, adviser to the Governor of the Ryazan region, the task of the subjects of the Russian Federation is to create places that will reflect a unique local identity.
"I am sure that not only the improvement of public spaces, but also their artistic appearance is important for both the Ryazan region and other regions. Our task is to create places that will not only be well-groomed, but will also reflect the unique local identity and embody the cultural code of the territory."
The meeting was attended by representatives of federal authorities, regional administrations, leading educational institutions, the business community and professional associations in the field of design and architecture.
The National Centre RUSSIA Council for the Development and Promotion of the New Russian Style in public space keeps working on the formation of a nationally oriented visual environment, resisting the excessive latinization of urban space, and sharing traditional values through visual language. The Board of the Council is a permanent body that manages the day-to-day activities of the Council.
Event photobank
The event started on 23 September at the National Centre RUSSIA.
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