ST. PETERSBURG, April 11. /TASS/. The Russian State Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic begins a new project to promote the history of the polar regions' studies - "The Goal is Pole: genius of place". Every year, the museum in cooperation with other institutions will organize educational scientific and practical conferences dedicated to famous and not that popular polar explorers who have made a great contribution to the development of the poles, the museum's Director Natalia Petrova told a news conference at TASS.
"The purpose of our conferences is to create discussion and educational platforms for those who want to learn more about the Arctic and for professional historians, geographers, and other specialists. <...> We want people to know their heroes, since very often they are near us, though not always noticeable. Our task is to make this information available to those who want to learn as much as possible about the history of the poles' exploration," she said.
The first big conference at the museum is scheduled for April 16. The event will be timed to coincide with the birthday of Russia's outstanding writer Veniamin Kaverin, the author of a popular novel - Two Captains. The audience will hear presentations by specialists of the Russian Museum, the Arktikugol Company, the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, the Arctic Development Project Office, the Museum of the Navy, and other institutions.
The current year is rich in anniversaries related to many outstanding participants in the development of the polar regions, the museum director continued. Those people are Admiral Stepan Makarov, twice hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Papanin, the North Pole explorer Georgy Sedov, polar explorer Vladimir Rusanov, scientist Dmitry Mendeleev - who was involved in the creation of the first Russian icebreaker, and many other "geniuses of the place."
Participation in the conferences will be both offline and online - all lectures will be broadcast and posted on the museum's portals. Next year, a new conference will feature a wider range of partners and co-organizers, and the event will be bigger. The organizers will attract audience from across Russia.
The Russian State Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic was founded in 1930 and has unique collections dedicated to the history of scientific research in the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as the Soviet and Russian territories adjacent to the Arctic, and the Northern Sea Route.