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Seventy educators from Penza Oblast have entered the competition for Russia's top education award, with nationwide participation exceeding 10,000 applicants. Applications remain open until September. The Znaniye Society has published interim rankings of participating Russian regions.
Penza's nominees are most active in three categories: "Preserving the Memory of Homeland Defenders' Heroism", "Education in Culture and Arts", and "Education in Ecology and Tourism".
Sergei Volkov, Professor at Penza State Technological University, PhD in Philosophy, represents the region in ecology and tourism. His decades-long educational work spans local history, ethnography, and philosophy. As founder of a lecture series at PenzGTU and the regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society, he revives forgotten Russian traditions, myths, legends, and lesser-known domestic tourism routes. Since 2024, he has organized 30+ events: from lectures to cultural forums reaching 8,000+ attendees with multimedia presentations featuring ethnographic artifacts and live folk music.
Ekaterina Kuznetsova, Advisor to the Director of Penza Transport Technologies College and Head of the "Intellect-Penza" Center, created the "Sura Region Ecosystem" project. This initiative unites environmental efforts while fostering sustainable eco-culture. Her project includes: "Puzzle" Ecological Volunteer School for students, Eco-initiative competitions, Panel discussions with federal experts, and Award-winning "Museum of Waste" photo exhibition, reaching 10,000+ participants through business-government-community collaborations.
"Russians overwhelmingly choose the 'Homeland Defenders' Memory' category, confirming our citizens' pride in heroic history," noted Kiril Khvil, Deputy Director of the Znaniye Society.
For the first time, Penza participants will receive participation certificates, and a special regional award for top local educator/project.
A federal shortlist will be compiled by an Expert Council including Penza representatives: government officials, academics, business leaders, and youth organizers. Winners will be honored at a Moscow ceremony attended by national leaders.
Reference: The Znaniye.Premiya is the country's premier educational award, established in 2021 by the Russian Znaniye Society to recognize achievements of educators, lecturers, authors, bloggers, science communicators and other education figures, as well as to highlight educational projects and companies across various fields. Information about nominees and winners of Znaniye.Premiya from 2021-2023 can be found on the official website znanierussia.ru
The Russian Znaniye Society traces its history back to a Soviet public organization founded in 1947 on the initiative of Soviet intellectuals as the "All-Union Society for the Dissemination of Political and Scientific Knowledge." In 1963 it was renamed the All-Union Znaniye Society, and in 1991 became the Znaniye Rossii Society. Members of the Society were engaged in popularizing science, delivering lectures about achievements of the Soviet economy and industry. In 2016, Znaniye Rossii was reorganized into the nationwide public-state educational organization "Russian Znaniye Society." On April 21, 2021, in his Address to the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the need to relaunch the Russian Znaniye Society on a modern digital platform.