Russian Geographical Society Awarded the Best of the Best

Фото: пресс-служба РГО/Анна Юргенсон
Фото: пресс-служба РГО/Анна Юргенсон

On October 19, 2021, the Russian Geographical Society Award ceremony took place in Moscow. The most striking and successful projects in the field of national geography, ecology, conservation and popularization of natural, historical and cultural heritage received the prestigious award.

The ceremony of awarding the winners was opened by Vladimir Putin, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Geographical Society.

"The special value of the RGS Award is that it allows us to recognize the merits of people whose work is not so noticeable outwardly, but has great national significance. Thanks to today's ceremony, the country will recognize the names of brave, talented, intelligent heroes, whose example is used to raise the next generations of scientists and local historians, geographers and search specialists, biologists, geologists, archaeologists," said Vladimir Putin.

The Award was given to projects in eight categories. The best media project was the documentary "Sockeye salmon. Red Fish". The director and cinematographer of the film Dmitry Shpilenok decided to shoot the picture back in 2007 and went to Kamchatka straight away.

“There are places on our planet that are impossible to be indifferent to. For me, this is Kurile Lake. But I was so astounded by the scale of local poaching that I devoted almost four years of my life to being a part of a task force combating illegal fishing. This experience made me look at things from a different perspective. I realized that just catching poachers is not enough, we need to conduct active educational work. Today we received the RGS Award for the documentary film, which means that we have been heard, that our work was recognized as important and necessary," said Shpilenok.

The Award in the "Best Expedition" category was given to the project "The Main Face of Russia. History, Events, People".

"During the complex expedition in 2020, we visited islands and other geographical objects along the entire Northern Sea Route: we took samples, carried out seismic, geological and morphological observations, studied animals, birds. We monitored the state of many cultural heritage sites," said about the project one of its participants, Ruslan Zhostkov, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Physics of the Earth of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

The RGS Award for the best expedition was presented by the President of the Society Sergei Shoigu. He especially noted the contribution that the expeditions make to the study of our country.

"You can talk a lot about each expedition. And about people. About how sometimes adventurous ideas lead to interesting and important stories for all of us. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who came before us, who continues our work now, and those who dreams of future discoveries and expeditions with the words ‘Maybe ...’,” said Sergei Shoigu.

The work of a Moscow geography teacher Igor Shidlovsky was named the best educational project in the field of geography. He has developed more than 50 original routes throughout Russia: from the Khibins to Kamchatka.

"I am very happy that the Russian Geographical Society supported my project ‘Educational Expedition’. The last time I felt such emotions was when I received the title of Honored Teacher of Russia. My idea was for the students to see in practice what I am telling them about in the classroom. Geography makes it possible to travel, while simultaneously studying physics, and history, and chemistry, and literature," said Igor Shidlovsky, having received the Award of the Russian Geographical Society.

In addition, the Special Prize was awarded in the category "The Best Educational Project in the Field of Geography". Its owner has become the creators of a fascinating book for young children with visual impairments "Traveling around Russia with a ‘magic pencil’".

Full list of categories and winning projects:

  1. The best science project: Atlas of Russian Caves (Moscow)
  2. The best historical and cultural project: "Common cause. Revival of wooden churches of the North" (Moscow)
  3. The best educational project in the field of geography: project "Educational expedition" (Moscow)
  4.  The best expedition in Russia: "The Main Face of Russia. History, events, people". The results of the complex expeditions of the Northern Fleet in the archipelagos of the Arctic (Murmansk Oblast)
  5. The best environmental project: a program to create a semi-free population of the Przewalski’s horse in "Orenburgsky" State Nature Reserve (Orenburg Oblast)
  6. The best media project: documentary "Sockeye Salmon. Red Fish" (Bryansk Oblast)
  7. The best youth project: the A.A. Leonov Diving Center (Republic of Tatarstan)
  8. The best tourist project: Tourist route "Dyatlov Pass - source of the Pechora - Manpupuner plateau" (Perm Krai)

The Special Prize in the category "Best educational project in the field of geography": “Traveling around Russia with a ‘magic pencil’" (Moscow)

Since 2014, 22 projects have been presented with the Award of the Russian Geographical Society. Detailed information about the past laureates can be found on the Society's website. Both an individual and an organization from any country in the world can apply for the Award, provided that the declared project is dedicated to Russia.

A famous scientist, president of the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" Mikhail Kovalchuk became the Chairman of the Jury of the Award this year. In each category, the experts selected ten best projects, then the Expert Jury determined three finalists and winners in each category. The jury consisted of famous scientists, public figures, representatives of culture and art, the leadership of the largest TV channels and media holdings.

 

Фото: пресс-служба РГО/Анна Юргенсон
Фото: пресс-служба РГО/Анна Юргенсон
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