The Festival of the Russian Geographical Society is a very interesting and useful project. But not only for those who come to its stands to get to know something new about our country. Ekaterina Khutorskaya, the coordinator of the Complex expedition named Hogland tells how the Festival looks through the eyes of its participants and what for they are presenting their projects here.
- The II Festival of the Russian Geographical Society is over. And the stand of your expedition has attracted attention of the great quantity of guests of various age as it was last year…
- Yes, there have been a lot of visitors both at the Festival itself and at our stand consequently, and as we prefer a lively dialogue, personally telling about both the project and the exhibits, - our guys have been a little tired I must confess. But this is a pleasant fatigue, you see, as of difficult but well done thing. If you only could see how the faces of people change when they realize that the «white spots» are still available, and they are not somewhere in Amazonia, but near, close by us, just 200 km from St. Petersburg. It goes exactly in accordance with the slogan of the Festival: «We are opening Russia anew. Together!».
- The place of work of your expedition – The Outer islands of the Gulf of Finland - it really surprises especially when you realize that these pieces of land, known by nobody, are connected with historical events which have been at the hearing of everybody since school. And how have you found yourselves there?
- Traditionally for the most part of researchers and travelers: by chance, or maybe the will of Destiny itself. Evidently the time to restore justice and bring these tiny, but so important «pieces of land» from sad nonexistence to the scope of the world history has come. And that was initiated by the call of our St. Petersburg friends in autumn of 2012, who enthusiastically reported that they had been on Hogland and that «here you have to go there».
No one of us could remember anything else besides the Hogland battle connected with that island, no one managed to remember, but once we had taken an interest… We have not been able to break away of it, as we pull in one thread, and suddenly are being fell on with a pile of historical threads. They haven`t had end-edge yet.
Well, it is suffice to be said that these islands are being «persons involved» as many as six peace treaties! What is more, beginning with the first for Russia – Orekhovskiy, of the year of 1323, and ending with such significant as The Treaty of Paris, of 1947, which summed up the Second World War. And there is a huge reservoir of events, which influenced the fate not only of Russia, but of the whole Europe!
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Our favorite example – is about «the window to Europe», which was hacked by Peter the Great. When you ask people: «What was that «window?», - after all, everybody has known about it from school, but no one is able to give a right answer, they designate St. Petersburg more often. But what would be the use of it as the sea capital if the Outer Islands were not ceded to Russia according to the Treaty of Nystad and the Treaty of Abo? Precisely they became our pass to the Baltic.
- And what is the Festival for the Hogland team nevertheless? Is it some kind of the work that has been made?
- Well, not without it, of course. But the main thing – is the possibility to convey to the people important information about their country, about its history, natural treasures. We are not just reporting of our research advances, but exactly educate. We have never seen the science for the sake of the science. To discover, to research and proudly rest on our achievements – that does not refer to us. The knowledge must be shared with everyone! And if you only could see how the people respond to all new and unknown! The way the eyes of children are burning! And even if there are at least one hundred people according to the results of the Festival who push their own «boundaries of knowledge» - that will be meaning that our efforts have not been in vain. And not only we do think this way. All our friends and colleagues from the Russian Geographical Society think exactly the same way.
Here for example the guys from the Kostroma department of the Russian Geographical Society with their «Vezhi» project about the motherland of the Grandfather Mazay. Everyone has read Nekrasov, but who knows that this granddad was the real historic figure, who influenced the person and the creation work of the poet?
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Or our like-minded friends from the project «The bow to the ships of the Great Victory», who discovered the legendary sailboat «Lefort» which went west more than half a century ago, by the way. They are not out of greed and curiosity searching for the submarines and the ships of the war years, but reviving our common historical memory in fact.
And also there is a very good example – our comrades from the Krasnodar branch of the Russian Geographical Society with their project «Discovering the secrets of the battleship «Empress Catherine the Great». The artefacts being got from the ship by them – is the way to engage people, get them interested in the history. And, by the way, for the second year already exactly at the Festival they are being met by the descendants of those who had been serving on the battleship! They give them the photos of their ancestry, the documents, helping with the research.
And our stand has been visited as well by the people one way or another connected with the islands. The brightest case – is the visit of the participant of Tallinn transition of Mikhail Khudoleyev. He, the 93-year-old veteran, came and when he saw our map of the Outer Islands – pointed to the place between the Hogland island and Big Tyuters: «And just right here I was drowning in August, 1941…» His memories were very useful for us when we were shooting the record movie named «The war on the cold islands» with «Zvezda» TV channel, moreover – he became one of the heroes of this documentary.
- And what question do you hear more often at the Festival?
- In fact there are a many of them. The most often given question is «where is it?» of course. I would like to remind you that there are only several persons who know about the existence of the islands, but about their history and even less. Then usually follows the question «and what are you doing there?». And after short (or not – that depends on the degree of interest of a person) answer almost always we can hear: «And how can I join you?». Unfortunately, here we can not reassure them, as we work in the border crossing, with the Ministry of Defense participation, with all its organizational complexities, and there is not safe there, as the «Echo of War» is still relevant. Only specialized experts from the official institutions and associations - institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, from the Search movement of Russia are joining our team. And if the volunteers – only specially organized by any university.
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And you know, some of the visitors even are offended and throw some kind of phrase like that: «And what for should I join your Russian Geographical Society at all?». For this we always have an answer, rephrasing one famous politician: «You should think not of what the Russian Geographical Society may give to you, but what you – can give to the Society». Invent a worthy project, gather a team, apply for a grant of the Russian Geographical Society – and forward! If you are not succeed from the first attempt, «knock on the door» again and again, and that would be better if you began yourselves, - prove your sustainability, relevance and usefulness of the chosen topic. And it is possible that you will not have to look for help, and it will be offered you.
- Were you beginning with the grant of the Russian Geographical Society as well?
- Sure! In 2013 we got the grant for the Leningrad regional office, and the following year the Governor of Leningrad region offered us assistance. At the previous Festival of the Society we were found by the partners from the FGC UES. They have worked with us for the whole season of 2015, and we have got the common plans for the next year.
And this Festival has given us new friends as well. We have got an idea to deal with the beacons of the Outer Islands of the Gulf of Finland. They are beautiful, ancient and..collapsing there. The World Ocean Museum has volunteered to put them in order with us. And also the guys from the RIA «The Science» are ready to contribute to our project on the chosen as a priority topic for the following year – the ecology, cleaning the islands of garbage. Not only informational support, but as volunteers.
In short, we should begin. And work. A good affair will never stay without support. That has been checked.
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