On August 22, the Day of the National Flag of the Russian Federation, the 5th Rosatom’s Scientific and Educational Expedition “Icebreaker of Knowledge” returned to Murmansk. On the occasion of the National Flag Day, the project participants from 15 countries unfurled a large tricolor on board the icebreaker.
This year “Icebreaker of Knowledge” is the first international expedition under the project. A team of talented schoolchildren from Russia and countries where Rosatom is running nuclear technology projects made a voyage to the top of the planet and back on board the icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy.
“The “Icebreaker of Knowledge” participants covered 2979 miles on board the nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy. For the first time, the kids traveled to the North Pole, watched fascinating landscapes of the Franz Josef Land archipelago. We saw icebergs, walruses and whales. Sailors, scientists, engineers, researchers, the Arctic is waiting for you! The “Icebreaker of Knowledge 2024″ returned to Murmansk ready to reach the top of the planet again next year,” said Ruslan Sasov, Captain of the nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy, upon return of the expedition.
As part of the “Icebreaker of Knowledge” educational program, Russian and international experts including an international team of 15 representatives of the World Youth Festival (WYF) worked with the participants of the project. In the port of Murmansk, Daniil Bisslinger, Director of the WYF Directorate, addressed the expedition participants with a greeting speech. He invited them to continue communicating within the international friendship clubs, which are now appearing in every region of Russia, as well as on Sirius premises, where the Festival took place in March 2024.
“Last time we met in the subtropics, and now we are in Murmansk on a nuclear icebreaker. This means that the whole world is open to us! This means that international friendship has no borders,” said Daniil Bisslinger.
During the expedition, Rosatom and Znanie Russian Society ran the first northernmost lecture course including presentations by scientists and popularizers of science on board the icebreaker and even at the North Pole, where the expedition participants could listen to Artem Oganov, Russian crystallographer-theorist, mineralogist, chemist, teacher, professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Stanislav Drobyshevsky, paleoanthropologist and popularizer of scientific knowledge; Polina Lyon, Director of the Sustainability Department of Rosatom; Andrey Akatov, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Engineering Radioecology and Radiochemical Technology of St. Petersburg State Institute of Technology; Ruslan Sasov, Captain of the nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy, and others. Znanie Russian Society is going to demonstrate the lectures and a documentary series about the life of an international team of schoolchildren filmed on board the nuclear-powered icebreaker on its platforms in the near future.
The leader of the first continental expedition “Russia. 360”, traveler Bogdan Bulychev, tested the domestic ATV “Rys” (“Lynx”) with improved cross-country performances at the North Pole as part of the “Icebreaker of Knowledge” project. The tests confirmed the vehicle readiness for an autonomous ATV expedition to the North Pole in 2026. In addition, a world record was set at the Pole – the first fastest ATV trip around the world. The participants also saw the science fiction film “In One Hundred Years Ago” on board the icebreaker. Mark Eidelstein, laureate of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and the actor who played the main character, introduced the film to the expedition participants.
“It was an incredible adventure! I think I am the first child from India to visit the North Pole on a nuclear icebreaker. On the voyage, we learned a lot about science and technology, actively communicated with experts and discussed various issues. It was a very valuable experience. I really enjoyed traveling on a nuclear icebreaker – it is fast and powerful, and very comfortable,” said Neeven Ved, fourteen-year-old participant of the expedition from India.
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The “Icebreaker of Knowledge” scientific and educational project was organized by the network of Information Centers on Atomic Energy with the support of Rosatom. The project aims to popularize natural sciences and nuclear technologies, find and support talented and gifted children, develop their abilities and provide them with career guidance. Since the start of the project, a total of more than 300 gifted schoolchildren, winners of numerous competitions and projects from different regions of Russia, have participated in Rosatom’s Arctic expeditions.
Rosatom’s anniversary Arctic expedition “Icebreaker of Knowledge 2024” was timed to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the nuclear icebreaker fleet. Its intellectual partner was the Znanie Russian Society. The core team of the Arctic expedition ” Icebreaker of Knowledge” consisted of 63 talented schoolchildren, including 10 participants from abroad – the countries where Rosatom is deploying nuclear technologies (Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and others). Representatives of Cameroon, Iraq, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Belarus, Uzbekistan and other countries participated in the expedition as WYF delegates.
Large Russian companies continue to expand the range of their solutions for unlocking the potential of schoolchildren, employees and postgraduates, as well as their prospective employees. Rosatom and its companies support scientific and educational initiative while being also involved in cultural projects and sponsorship programs.
