Creative progress: grants to gifted students will be extended to the field of art

The grant support program for gifted students should be extended to young athletes, musicians, artists, artists and winners of creative competitions. Vladimir Putin instructed the government to make the necessary changes to the relevant regulations and legal acts. On May 19, during a working trip to the Sirius Educational Center, the President called for more active use of the site in achieving national goals and asked the center to participate in the development of a new methodology for teaching creative subjects at school. Vladimir Putin also visited the new Sirius music school, where the head of the center, Elena Shmeleva, told him about the problems with the availability of musical instruments and suggested establishing an annual youth art festival of the EAEU and BRICS countries in Sirius.

Putin talked to Sirius students

The central item on the agenda of the head of state on May 19 was an international topic — his telephone conversation with American leader Donald Trump, which attracted the attention of the entire world community. However, it is no secret that the Russian leader contacted the head of the White House not from his office in the Kremlin, as usual, but from the music school building on the territory of the Sirius educational center, which is located near Sochi. The Head of state's statement on the results of the call was also made here.

Immediately after talking to the press, Vladimir Putin went to the large concert hall of the new Sirius secondary special music school, where he talked with the students of the educational institution. The doors of the school opened only on September 1, 2024: about 60 people started studying. In 2025, the school's management plans to accept about 80 students, said the director, Russian pianist Vadim Rudenko. "For now, from other plans, we will retrofit the school, programs, complete and supplement something. A lot of things. There is no "maximum" in Sirius," he told Izvestia.

The children had time to rehearse their speech and questions several times before the president's arrival: since they were obviously worried, the teachers tried to support them and helped them find more appropriate words for greeting and their story. In the end, everything went well — in almost an hour, the children asked all their questions to the president. Each of them wanted to tell the head of state about his path in music: those who were younger — 12-13 years old — asked the president about his childhood dreams, about the role of family in his life, and even about the cherished wish that he would make of a goldfish.

"Based on environmental considerations, I would let the fish go free, I would not bother it to fulfill my desires <...> I would try to formulate my goals myself and achieve them,— the head of state shared.

The older guys — 16-17 years old — were already interested in more specific questions. In particular, how to develop leadership skills, what values art should convey, and how Vladimir Putin personally chose his profession.

— Boys often choose: they wanted to be a pilot, they wanted to be a sailor, they chose such heroic professions. But gradually, gradually, he was formed as a personality, as a person. Of course, I was very attracted to the way people act, the way people live who dedicate their lives to their country. That's where the desire to work in foreign intelligence agencies came from, and then everything went on and came to what I'm doing today," he shared.

In addition to the children, famous musicians were also present in the hall, for example, the famous cellist Sergei Roldugin. He is the founder of the Talent and Success Foundation, on the basis of which the Sirius Center operates. Vladimir Putin also told how, during his years in St. Petersburg, it was the cellist who invited him to concerts and helped him plunge into the world of music.

— I lived in a very simple family, it was far from music, from art, it's a working family. But somehow it so happened that somewhere in high school I started attending concert halls, the Philharmonic society - in St. Petersburg, fortunately, there is a place to go to listen to good music," Putin said.

Sirius Graduates: how many of them are there and what are they doing

Sirius was created exactly 10 years ago. Vladimir Putin always pays special attention to the educational center, since it was his initiative back in 2015 to create a special platform that would help identify and develop children's abilities in the fields of art, sports, natural sciences and technical creativity. Up to 800 children from 10 to 17 years old come here from all regions of Russia every month. Thus, the head of state regularly participates in meetings of the Board of Trustees, which, by the way, he heads himself.

— Through the joint efforts of many people, a real team of like-minded people, Sirius has become a unique phenomenon in our country. A platform where young talents, and from all over Russia, get ample opportunities for a confident start in life," the president said at a regular meeting of the Board of Trustees.

Moreover, the youth at Sirius are already involved in the creation of advanced technologies and products, and innovative teaching approaches need to be scaled up, Putin believes. It is also necessary for the center to participate in the development of a new methodology for teaching creative subjects at school.

— It is important that music and fine art lessons are held at a truly decent modern level. At the same time, of course, not by increasing the burden on children. It's about strengthening the teaching of, say, music. It was about music both in preschool institutions and in the first grades of school," Vladimir Putin noted.

The center's role should also increase in achieving the country's national goals, since now both technological breakthroughs and triumphs in the field of sports and art are equally important for the Russian Federation. Thus, the president proposed extending the system of presidential grant support for gifted students to young athletes, musicians, artists, artists, winners and prize-winners of reputable Russian and international creative contests and sports competitions.

"I ask the government to make the necessary changes to the relevant regulations and legal acts so that the grant allocation mechanism better meets not only the objectives of ensuring technological leadership, but also our cultural and value sovereignty," he added.

Today, out of 77,000 children who have completed Sirius programs, 21,000 are graduates in the field of art, said Elena Shmeleva, head of the center. At the same time, she also touched upon the problematic side in the organization of work.

— Musical instruments, they are only available on the market. These are either some samples of not very high quality, or very expensive professional tools that are inaccessible to most students. There are practically no three-quarter-size musical instruments, or just children's size. Especially in the segment of wind instruments and complex instruments — bayan, accordion, which were previously produced mainly abroad and required specialized production. And, of course, this directly affects the effectiveness of children's education," she said.

Elena Shmeleva also proposed the establishment of an International Festival of Cultures of the EAEU and BRICS countries, which will become a center for creative exchange and intercultural dialogue between children and teachers from all friendly countries.