Scientists — color: Putin called Knowledge Day a holiday of national importance

On the eve of Knowledge Day, Vladimir Putin visited Moscow State Pedagogical University on August 29. The President appreciated the new unified textbooks on social studies, got acquainted with the history of the university and informally talked with students and teachers about the prestige of the teaching profession, the importance of generational continuity and the role of mentors in educating young people. The head of state also launched the work of renovated and built schools across Russia directly from the walls of the university via video link: in the new academic year, 17.6 million schoolchildren will sit at desks in the country, of which 1.5 million are first—graders.

From Guerrier's traditions to Medvedev's textbooks

Preparing for the new academic year is a difficult and responsible task for our large country. The Head of state personally emphasized the importance of this process. On August 29, Vladimir Putin arrived at Moscow State Pedagogical University (MPGU), which, like other Russian universities, is preparing to receive students. But the choice of this particular educational institution is a tribute to the status of the main pedagogical university in the country. Even during his first visit to Moscow State University in 2001, Vladimir Putin noted that it was here that the bar was set for the entire pedagogical education system.

The university, founded more than 150 years ago by the historian Vladimir Guerrier, has long outgrown the framework of an ordinary university. In its history, Moscow State University has trained more than 250,000 specialists. Today, over 27,000 students study here, including foreign citizens from 50 countries. The university is proud of the 22 winners of the Teacher of the Year competition, and among its famous graduates are legendary teachers Evgeny Yamburg and Alexander Katolikov, Olympic champions and leading journalists.

An interesting detail: in the courtyard of the Main building of the Pedagogical University there is a monument to the students of the Singing Institute. The fact is that graduates of the Faculty of Philology from different years literally shaped the cultural code of the era and the movement of the author's song: students still sing to the guitar at the sculptural images of famous graduates Yuri Vizbor and Ada Yakusheva.

Vladimir Putin personally got acquainted with the achievements of the university, in particular, with an exhibition dedicated to the development of the Russian education system. Moscow State University is actively involved in the creation of textbooks for secondary and higher education, including the development of unified state textbooks. The Head of State also saw new school textbooks on social studies for grades 9 and 10, edited by Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council. The program of the subject is completely changing: now they will start studying social studies from the 9th, and not from the 6th grade. The President was also shown textbooks on the history of Donbass and Novorossiya. Starting from September 1, schoolchildren in the territories of the reunified Russian regions will receive them.

The role of generations, the North Pole and the Larisa drum

After visiting the exhibition, Vladimir Putin talked with teachers and students. The meeting was held in a lively, warm and relaxed atmosphere. The conversation turned to the prestige and difficulties of the profession and the new decree on the status of a teacher. The President stressed that a key role in the development of the school belongs to continuity and the transfer of experience from senior teachers to beginners. According to the head of state, no textbook or modern gadget can replace live communication and professional flair.

The topic of mentoring is deeply personal for the president. Vladimir Putin still maintains cordial relations with his homeroom teacher Vera Dmitrievna Gurevich. The Head of State regularly invites the teacher to important and solemn events. He repeatedly singled out Vera Gurevich among those people who had the most powerful influence on him. The president's interlocutors also remembered her, and they also had something to share.

Elena Gushchina, a history teacher from Perm school No. 47, told about her mentor Larisa Viktorovna, who worked at the school for more than 40 years: "She came to school at the age of 17 as a pioneer teacher, and her drum with the inscription "Larisa" is still kept in our school museum.

Some students came to the meeting with their mentors. Among them is Matvey Yushin, a graduate of Nizhny Novgorod Vyaznovskaya secondary school, who scored 100 points in two subjects. He was accompanied by Deputy Director Pavel Alexandrovich Kuporosov. He proudly noted in a conversation with Izvestia that his student had achieved such a result thanks to his own work and schooling, without the help of tutors. Matvey plans to become a civil servant in the future.

The audience was noticeably animated by a dialogue with Dmitry Balanchukov, the winner of the Teacher of the Year 2025 competition, a Chinese language teacher from the Belgorod Region. He is already thinking about the title of labor veteran, which is due for 25 years of experience.: "At the age of 45, I will already be a veteran!" he said. The teacher shared the most memorable episode about a trip to the North Pole on a nuclear icebreaker. The teacher suggested organizing similar field trips for veterans of pedagogical work. The President supported the idea.

The conversation also touched upon modern technologies, from mobile technology parks to chatbots for teacher development. However, the president reminded again that nothing can replace the living word of a teacher.:

— As soon as printing appeared, it was already possible to say: a teacher is not needed. Well, what about it? Take a book and read it. You just have to teach a person to read, and that's it. No. Then other sources of information began to appear, then television, and all sorts of things appeared. Now there's the Internet, artificial intelligence, and so on. But teaching a person, especially a young person, a child to think independently is a separate teacher's mission," the head of state said.

The meeting ended on a very positive note: Vladimir Putin congratulated future and current teachers on their choice of profession, wished them success and promised that all their proposals would be worked out in detail by the relevant ministry.

New schools will open all over the country

From Moscow State University, Vladimir Putin participated via video link in the grand opening of new and reconstructed educational facilities across the country — from Bashkortostan to Dagestan. Sergey Kravtsov, the head of the Ministry of Education and Science, reported to the President on the full readiness of the national system by the beginning of the school year.

— 17.6 million children will go to school, 1.5 million of them are first-graders. We eliminated the third shift and stopped the growth of the second. By the end of 2030, we will build another 100 new schools and 150 new kindergartens," the minister said.

Large-scale modernization has covered both megacities and small towns. Special attention is paid to the village: a 604-seat school was opened in Dagestan Bayramaul, and a 1.1 thousand-seat complex was built in the village of Bokino in the Tambov region, which will become the center of an educational and industrial model. And in Moscow, on September 1, the renovated school building No. 656 on Beskudnikovsky Boulevard will open.

— We are simultaneously launching 100 renovated schools. To understand the scale of this work: at the same time, about 40 thousand people worked at the peak, because it was necessary to complete the process within a year. This is a feat of the builders... In addition, on September 1, we will launch 20 new schools — more than 10% of Moscow schoolchildren will go to new and renovated buildings," said Sergei Sobyanin, Mayor of the capital.

The infrastructure in Cherkessk is also being actively built. The school building No. 6 has been built there for 400 places for grades 1-4, which will reduce the number of students in the second shift.

In Ufa, the first students are accepted by the second building of school No. 88 with more than 1.2 thousand places. The head of Bashkortostan, Radiy Khabirov, shared his future plans: on September 1, 2027, a mathematical boarding school for 350 places will open. According to Radiy Khabirov, the future mathematical elite of Russia and Bashkortostan will be trained there.