"Here we found a family": graduates of the Young Tour Guides School of Russia of the National Centre RUSSIA on friendship, success and love for the profession
The results of the 2025-2026 season of the Young Tour Guides School of Russia project were summed up at the National Centre RUSSIA. For many of the students, who received their graduate certificates in a ceremonial setting, this project became not just an opportunity to gain knowledge, but also a second home. Here, they found new friends, support and understanding — the very values that make up a real family.
Seventeen-year-old Polina Artyomenkova has followed a path that could surprise even many adults. She took her first steps in guiding back at the International RUSSIA EXPO, and last year she conducted a tour for the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, through the expositions of the National Centre RUSSIA. But behind this success lie hard work, the ability to listen to mentors and moving towards a goal step by step, even when the path seemed long.
"The main value of this project lies in developing public speaking skills and the ability to communicate with different people, which helps not only in the tour guide profession, but also in everyday life. I advise all current and future young tour guides not to be afraid and not to be lazy, because laziness slows down development. However difficult it may be, for example, to get up at four in the morning, work on yourself, overcome yourself, and this will make your future life much better," Polina said, addressing future students of the School.
Maria Kovtun came to the National Centre RUSSIA to learn how to speak confidently and engagingly, and completed her studies having also "picked up" new friends and a fresh view of her own resources and opportunities: "Thanks to this project, I learned how to speak properly and share stories in a way that can interest listeners. It was a very important experience. I also made new friends and gained new emotions. I am very glad that I joined the course. I wish future young tour guides to move forward and believe in themselves, and to my beloved mentors I say 'thank you very much'."
According to graduate Maria Dolgusheva, she did not expect the Young Tour Guides School of Russia project to bring her so much joy: "I am very grateful to the project for giving me the opportunity to learn this profession. I will not be able to find this kind of experience anywhere else. I am immensely grateful to the National Centre RUSSIA and I love Russia very much. And I would really like to continue my studies. I hope that this will happen, and that next year we will meet again at the Young Tour Guides School."
The Young Tour Guides School of Russia is an original project of the National Centre RUSSIA, which grew out of the school of the same name at the International RUSSIA EXPO. Today, it is a large, friendly community bringing together more than 100 children and mentors from different parts of the country. Branches of the National Centre RUSSIA in the Krasnoyarsk and Primorye Territories, as well as in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area — Yugra, have already joined the project.
The expert shared with the students not only professional secrets, but also her personal success story.
