The Festival of the Russian Geographical Society in Zaryadye Park aroused great interest among Muscovites and guests of the capital who came from different regions of Russia and many countries of the world. At the venues of the grandiose forum, you can meet both our compatriots and residents of near and far abroad. From August 18 to 21 alone, more than 240,000 people have already visited the festival venues, speaking different languages, but united by a love of geography and travel. Together with the Russian Geographical Society, they are discovering our vast and beautiful homeland.
“We are very glad to see so many guests at the Festival of the Russian Geographical Society. We have been preparing it for more than half a year, developing the concept for a very long time, thinking through literally every detail, selecting words for the cipher "Г-Е-О-Г-Р-А-Ф-И-Я"(eng. “geography”). Then we tried to figure out which exhibition would correspond to each letter, how much it would be able to reveal of the intended topic, show it in such a way that every visitor of our Festival, regardless of their age, profession, which region they came from, would be interested and would find it useful to visit our Festival,” said Olga Moksheva, deputy director of the Organization, Protocol, and Exhibition Activities Department of the Russian Geographical Society.
According to her, the entire Executive Directorate of the Russian Geographical Society and, of course, representatives of the regional branches of the Russian Geographical Society, who prepared wonderful stands, brought bright colors to the program of a large-scale geography forum, participated in the organization of the Festival.
“There were hundreds of sleepless nights, we wrote texts, developed layouts, selected photographs, materials from the archives of the Russian Geographical Society, consulted with experts, compiling the program of this Festival, which is completely unique for every day. And all these sleepless nights were more than compensated literally on the first day of the Festival, when people would come up and say thank you, say that the Festival was very interesting, that they were very happy to be here today, to discover Russia again together with the Russian Geographical Society,” Moksheva admitted.
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Olga emphasized that all the guests of the RGS Festival are not just very satisfied: people ask what other RGS projects they can take part in, how to go on an expedition with the Russian Geographical Society, organize RGS exhibitions at their venues, hold lectures and master classes. People like the geography forum in Zaryadye so much that they are ready to come here every day.
“We have repeatedly met guests who came to us for the second, third, and even fourth time. They come to the program to re-participate in quests, bring their family, their friends. Already on the second day, we distributed all the maps of the venues of our Festival. Guests want to visit everything, they are afraid to miss any venue, exhibition. And we even had to quickly order an additional print run of these maps!” shared Olga Moksheva.
At many venues of the RGS Festival there is an unfailing full house. Large lines gather near the unique bathyscaphe, which acquaints its passengers with the secrets of the depths of the pearl of Russia, Lake Baikal, completely free of charge. Diving gives bright emotions to children and adults.
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“I traveled across Lake Baikal two or three years ago. But, of course, I couldn't go down. And now there was a great opportunity. I was in a bathyscaphe, I looked at what was down there, at the bottom of Lake Baikal, and I am very pleased with this, because I have traveled on the surface, and over the mountains, and across the lake, and now I went down. I really liked it as a person who loves to travel. Everything is explained in a very easy to understand and informative manner. In any case, you get to learn why the water in the lake so clean and clear. I’m enjoying the Festival a lot,” Natalya from Moscow admitted.
Guests of the RGS Festival in Zaryadye are met every day by volunteers in the uniform of the Society. They are guides in the world of geography for adults and children, reliable assistants and advisers, organizers of entertainment, and guides to various venues. For the youngest geographers, fascinating "excavations" in sandboxes are constantly held. Children enthusiastically look for pre-hidden souvenirs – magnets, commemorative coins, and other nice little knick-knacks. This is such an interesting activity that even parents help in the search.
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“We bury ‘little surprises’ in different places, and the children try to guess where they are. Sometimes it's hard to find, sometimes it's easy. Usually, we don’t hide things deep for small children; but for those who are older, we make the quest a bit more difficult. It’s fun, kids love it, everyone loves it!” said volunteer Nikita Smolyaninov, who admitted that in the future he was going to become a teacher – a middle school teacher.
Volunteers themselves are delighted with the Festival of the Russian Geographical Society. Helping guests to get acquainted with the geography, the sights of Russia, the history of the Society, they learn a lot themselves.
“You start to get interested, look into books, look for what the Internet will say. This is probably what I came here for. When you are a part of all this, it becomes your duty not only to stand and smile, but also to study history. I was amazed at how much I learned. And now I can tell this to the people who come here,” said Venera Zainullina.
According to Venera, she tries to work individually with each visitor of the exhibition "People Who Were Awarded the Konstantinovskaya Medal", to convey information about the great geographers in an accessible format. Each guest needs their own approach: one for children, another for adults.
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“It is very interesting! New acquaintances, new relationships. I am glad that I visited Zaryadye!” Venera added.
Every day, about 130 volunteer assistants of the Russian Geographical Society work at the venues of the Festival of the Russian Geographical Society. They are always happy to share their knowledge and warmth with you!