From June 29 to July 5, the second international competition of young geologists from Russia and Mongolia will be held in the Altai Republic, on the banks of the Katun River. The event was organized by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, the Federal Agency for Subsoil Use (Rosnedra) and the National Geological Survey of Mongolia with the support of the Government of the Altai Republic.
Five teams from each country will meet in the tourist complex of the Chemal district. The Russian Federation will be represented by schoolchildren from the regions bordering Mongolia: Kemerovo, Tomsk, Ulan-Ude, Chita and Gorno-Altaysk.
The official opening ceremony of the Olympics is scheduled for July 1. Alexander Kozlov, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, and Gongoryn Damdin, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources of Mongolia, will send welcoming messages to the participants.
The program of competitions and contests
The judging panel will evaluate the knowledge and skills of the participants in eight specialized disciplines:
• geological route;
• Paleontology;
• Mineralogy and petrography;
• slurry testing;
• Hydrology;
• Geophysics;
• organization of field parking;
• Fundamentals of safety technology.
In addition to the main competitions, an extracurricular program has been prepared for schoolchildren: drawing and photography contests, sports games, excursions, thematic lectures, creative circles and cultural and entertainment events.
History and traditions of cooperation
The first Russian-Mongolian Olympiad of Young Geologists was held in Ulaanbaatar in 2025 by decision of the Intergovernmental Bilateral Commission. The successful experience of the first competitions laid the foundation for making these international competitions annual. According to Alexey Evsikov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Mongolia, this initiative has become an important international event, confirming that geology is one of the most dynamically developing areas of cooperation between the two countries.
The organizers also note the symbolism of the venue: exactly 60 years ago, the legendary festival of Soviet-Mongolian youth “Druzhba – Nairamdal” took place in Gorny Altai. The festival, which opened on August 18, 1966 in Manzherok, has become an important historical example of cultural unity and solidarity between the peoples of Russia and Mongolia, the traditions of which are continued today by the younger generation of researchers.