Enabling use of Arctic territories was conferred in the Presidential Library

On February 28, 2017, in the Presidential Library the participants of the “The Russian Arctic: an ecology, a memory, the digital projects” conference discussed a consistent approach to the use of the Arctic territories.

“Having Arctic Day at the Presidential Library has become a tradition, - Kirill Chistyakov, professor, PhD in Geographical Sciences, vice president of the Russian Geographical Society, Director of the Institute of Earth Sciences of St. Petersburg State University said. - The event links different regions of the Russian Federation, a variety of educational and awareness-raising structures, public organizations. Currently, successful development in the Arctic is impossible without such occasions.”

The teachers and students of higher educational institutions of St. Petersburg, the staff employees of representative bodies of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in St. Petersburg and the Republic of Komi in the Northwestern Okrug, as well as representatives of diplomatic missions of foreign states in St. Petersburg attended the conference in presence, while Murmansk, Arkhangelsk, Novosibirsk, Tambov, and Moscow residents - in the video conferencing mode.

Key topics reviewed at the conference relate to the research and development of the Arctic territory of the Russian Federation, the study and preservation of the natural heritage of the Arctic zone, and an advance of innovative Arctic technologies. Participants were offered to watch “The Polar Happiness” movie by V. I. Strugatsky, dedicated to the legendary polar explorer, the president of the Russian Geographical Society A. F. Tryoshnikov (the vice-president since 1964, and from 1977 to 1991 the president of the Geographical Society of the USSR), and to get familiar with a new Internet resource focused on The cultural memory of modern Russia: the Euro-Arctic North, observing the memorial culture of the population of the northern territories of Russia.

The “Arctic Studies Stas Borodin” multimedia show exploring art of a painter Stanislav Borodin was introduced at the conference. The exhibition has become a sort of annual report reviewing the unusual journey of St. Petersburg based painter, one of the eight-crew members of the “Alter Ego” yacht expedition over the seas of the Arctic Ocean. The itinerary of St. Petersburg local residents started in Arkhangelsk, then - the White Sea, Kanin Nos (Cape Kanin), the Barents Sea, the Matveev Island, Vaygach Island, the Kara Sea, and the Amderma Settlement. During a two-week trip the artist painted portraits of all the crewmembers and more than 45 landscapes. Most of them have been created during the boat’s sail over the seas.

The “Arctic Day in the Presidential Library” is held annually in the last days of winter, but in such a large scale it is happening for the first time. The same day at the forum the “Knowledge of Russia” public video lecturing with the “Icebreaker “Krasin”: 100 years in the history of Russia” theme and the Cinema Club dedicated to the Russian Arctic, featuring the “Don’t forget Izhora!” documentary by A. I. Sorokin, took place.