🇧🇾 📚 “Let’s go! For knowledge”: 1,500 first‑graders in Belarus received school supplies
 
Ahead of September 1 — Knowledge Day — Belarus held the “Let’s go! For knowledge” campaign as part of the Belarusian Red Cross’s charity campaign “Let’s get children to school”.
 
🤝 The initiative was implemented by the Rossotrudnichestvo Representative Office in the Republic of Belarus with the support of the Public Council under Rossotrudnichestvo and the Center for International Interaction and Cooperation, together with the Belarusian Red Cross.
 
By the start of the new school year, 1,500 first‑graders across Belarus, who especially need support, received fully equipped school backpacks. Among them are orphaned children, children from low‑income families, children with disabilities and developmental differences, as well as children who find themselves in a difficult life situation.
 
📚 Each backpack contained notebooks, pencil cases, stationery, and art kits. The backpacks themselves are equipped with an anatomical orthopedic backrest. A special detail was the “Cosmic Friendship” print featuring the flags of Russia and Belarus, the Soyuz spacecraft, and a portrait of Yuri Gagarin.
 
🌏 Cooperation between Russia and Belarus within the framework of the Union State is built not only on treaties and major integration projects, but also on concrete joint work that directly helps people. On the eve of Knowledge Day, which was celebrated yesterday, such support took on special significance: it helped children start the new school year with greater confidence and became yet another example of practical cooperation between the two countries in the humanitarian sphere.
 
😊 Igor Chaika, Head of Rossotrudnichestvo, noted:

“We are glad that our cooperation with the Belarusian Red Cross is not limited to memorandums, but is reflected in concrete good deeds. Our participation in the charity campaign ‘Let’s Get Children Ready for School’ is a conscious contribution to the growing generation. By handing over 1,500 fully stocked backpacks today, we want every child, when putting on that backpack, to feel like a true pioneer.” And, on the eve of September 1, following Yuri Gagarin, he could confidently say: “Let’s go!” — towards new knowledge, loyal friends, and excellent grades.

🇬🇲 First Russian Language Course in The Gambia Successfully Completed

On August 31, the inaugural Volga Summer Russian Language Course concluded at the University of The Gambia. The two-week program demonstrated strong interest in learning Russian: 94 people registered, while daily sessions brought together up to 43 participants.

📚 Over 10 intensive sessions and 30 academic hours, participants learned the Cyrillic alphabet, basic grammar, and practical vocabulary. By the end of the course, they could read short texts, introduce themselves, ask simple questions, and hold brief conversations in Russian. Practical exercises helped them use the language in everyday situations, from meeting new people to shopping. By the third day, more than 80% of the students could confidently introduce themselves in Russian.

🌏 The educational program was complemented by sessions on Russian culture, university life, science, and technology. Videos, music, role-playing exercises, and open discussions helped participants improve their pronunciation and listening skills while gaining a broader understanding of Russia. At the closing ceremony, students received certificates recognizing their successful completion of the course.

🌏😊 The initiative was developed by Gibril Faal and his team with the support of the Russkiy Mir Foundation, the Centre for International Interaction and Cooperation, and Rossotrudnichestvo. We were glad to contribute to transforming the idea presented to us a year ago into a successful educational project with tangible results.

We also thank the University of The Gambia, the Gambia Diaspora Foundation, the Smile Nation Foundation, the Embassy of The Gambia in Moscow, and other partners who supported the program. The project also received support from Russian Ambassador to The Gambia Mikhail Korneev and his diplomatic team.

🇷🇺 ✨ The next step is to build on these results by developing an online program up to the B1 level, expanding access to Russian language learning, and creating new educational opportunities for Gambian students interested in continuing their studies in Russia.

🏛️ “Open Elections”: Exploring Russia’s Electoral System

On September 13, one of the key events of the “Open Elections” Program at the International Festival of Youth – 2026 was an address by Ella Pamfilova, Chairperson of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

She spoke to the Program participants, shared her perspective on the importance of a professional approach to electoral processes, and offered words of encouragement to the young experts ahead of the next stages of their work.

The single voting day in Russia is a concentration of the electoral activity of our citizens. Many of you will witness this event as part of the festival’s regional program.
Currently, the country’s electoral sovereignty determines its independence and strength, its ability to pursue its own course. Russia has the necessary set of electoral standards for this.

For us, it is important that participants gain a professional understanding of electoral procedures in Russia and of how election commissions and the observation system operate.

On the same day, we held two more educational events together with the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation.

🔊 Pavel Andreev, Member of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, delivered a lecture entitled “National Specifics: the Electoral Process and Election Observation in the Russian Federation, and the 2026 Election to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.” Participants discussed the organization of voting, the work of election commissions, and election observation mechanisms.

⚪️ The Program then continued with the business debate “Elections of the Future,” focused on the development of electoral technologies and the future transformation of electoral processes.

Following the Festival stage, participants will continue their work across Russian regions, where they will assess the organizational, legal, and procedural aspects of voting and interact with election commissions.

💬 International Observation, Practical Training and Electoral Expertise

Another day of the “Open Elections” Program focused on international election observation, the practical work of experts at polling stations, and modern approaches to assessing electoral systems.

🌍 The central event of the day was a lecture by Sebastián López Calendino, Director of the Center for Electoral and Political-Institutional Studies at the Faculty of Legal and Social Sciences of the National University of La Plata in Argentina, entitled “Independent International Election Observation and Electoral Expertise in the Modern World.”

Calendino spoke about the role of independent expertise in contemporary electoral processes, the principles guiding international observers, and the importance of professional dialogue among specialists from different countries. For us, it is especially important to introduce young experts to different national and professional approaches to election observation and give them an opportunity to discuss these issues directly with experienced international practitioners.

“An international election observer does not steer any country’s ship. We do not choose its candidates, write its laws, or decide its future. Our task is to shine a light: to observe carefully, with method and honesty, and report what we actually saw.”

☑️ The practical part of the day focused on the working procedures of international observers and experts when visiting polling stations in Russia. Alexey Peskov, Executive Director of the Independent Public Monitoring Association, and Ilya Rudenko, Chair of the “For Clean Elections” Corps, guided participants through the monitoring checklist and the key aspects of an observer’s work directly at a polling station.

🎓 The Program concluded with a presentation of the Russian model of electoral rating by Vladimir Lukushin, Deputy Dean for Research at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Mass Communications of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.

For us, it is important that every day of “Open Elections” gradually expands the participants’ professional toolkit — from understanding the principles of international observation to applying specific methods of analysis, monitoring, and professional assessment of electoral processes.