On August 13, the 5th Arctic expedition "Icebreaker of Knowledge" set off from Murmansk to the North Pole. There is an international team of talented schoolchildren and experts from 15 countries on board the “50 Let Pobedy” nuclear ice-breaker. The participants of the project, which is being implemented with the support of the Russian Geographical Society, will not only significantly increase their knowledge as part of the educational program, but also see with their own eyes the fascinating world of the high-latitude Arctic, and also deliver the flags of their states and regions to the top of the planet.
The expedition team on the icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy" of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Atomflot” (enterprise of “Rosatom”) includes the head of the RGS Youth Club in Saratov, meteorologist Maxim Chervyakov and a leading engineer at the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences, bowhead whale specialist Milena Morozova. They are accompanied by media volunteer Anastasia Belyaeva, who has been accompanying many expeditions of the Russian Geographical Society since 2022 – from Altai to the Kuril Islands.
63 talented schoolchildren also became participants of the “Icebreaker of Knowledge” expedition. Among them are 10 foreign participants: from Mongolia, Hungary, India, China, and South Africa. Many foreign members of the team will be the first representatives of their countries to reach the North Pole on a nuclear-powered ship.
The team was joined by 12 winners of the open competition of the “Icebreaker of Knowledge” project, finalists of the All-Russian competition “Bolshaya Peremena” (eng. "Big Change"), and participants of the “Rosatom Juniors” movement. The winner of the All-Russian competition "Teacher of the Year of Russia – 2023" Oleg Yankovsky, the winner of the All-Russian competition of pedagogical achievements "Master of the Year – 2023" Ivan Zarubin, the winner of the educational project "Atomic Lesson – 2023" Lidiya Seliverstova and her student also boarded the ship.
The participants of the expedition on the nuclear icebreaker will have a rich educational program: lectures, master classes, scientific games, film screenings, and much more. During the voyage, they will get acquainted with the achievements and technologies of the nuclear industry, including those aimed at the development of the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route.
The icebreaker "50 Let Pobedy" is steered to the North Pole by Captain Ruslan Sasov. Sailing route: Murmansk — North Pole — Franz Josef Land — Murmansk. The ship will be at the top of Earth approximately on August 17, and will return back to the port of Murmansk approximately on August 22.