‘Focused on Youth to Strengthen National Identity’: Russia’s National Centre Unveils 2026 Plan, Receives Essays from 102 Countries
Moscow — The first in-person meeting of the Organizing Committee of the National Centre “Russia” has unveiled an ambitious plan for 2026. The meeting stressed that the core goal of the Centre is to strengthen the country’s identity.
First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the National Centre “Russia” Sergei Kiriyenko highlighted the importance of the Centre’s activities, stating, “The mission of the National Centre is: to know and love Russia; to take pride in the past, value the present, and create the future; to inspire the country and lead the world by its example.” He added, “Time flies very quickly. Very soon, those very children who walked out of the National Centre with enthusiastic eyes will be determining the fate of our country.”
The main target audience of the space is families with children and youth. Director General of the National Centre “Russia” Natalia Virtuozova noted that the space is hosting an increasing number of international events and participating in exhibitions abroad. She stated, “From April 27 to 29, our traditional major event, the ‘Open Dialogue,’ will be held at the National Centre ‘Russia.’ We appealed to the whole world to write essays about our future and have received works from 102 countries.”
She informed that the Centre recently returned from Tashkent, where it participated in the International Industrial Exhibition “INNOPROM Central Asia,” and plans to take part in an exhibition in Harbin in the near future, and in Shanghai in the autumn. A project is also planned in Ethiopia. The International Symposium “Creating the Future” and the series of Open Lectures dedicated to the future are also being continued, she said.
Following the meeting, the grand opening of the exhibition “Geography Lessons” was held at the National Centre. The Centre stated that this is not merely a unique collection of maps and exhibits, but an invitation to a live conversation about the land that must be preserved for future generations. Officials noted that the National Centre “Russia” is becoming a point of attraction that unites people, ideas, and the future of the country, and that its scale is only growing.
