The first stage of the “Russia in the Electronic World” Olympiad, organized by the Presidential Library and the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE), concludes on January 25, 2026. The competition takes place from September 25, 2025, to March 26, 2026, in specific subjects: History, Social Studies, and the Russian Language. Participants include high school students and students of secondary vocational education institutions enrolled in arts programs.
During the Olympiad, students from Russia and foreign countries can test their skills in each discipline or choose only the subject they know best. The final results will be based on individual scores. Winners and runners-up will be awarded diplomas. Participants with the best results will also receive additional admission points for the National Research University Higher School of Economics and several other universities (the list of which is available on the Olympiad website).
The competition includes two mandatory stages. The first is held remotely from September 25, 2025, to January 25, 2026. The second stage will be held in person from March 24 to March 26, 2026. Winners and runners-up of the previous academic year’s Olympiad who are continuing their education are also eligible to participate in the final stage. Finalists from St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region will meet at the Presidential Library — in the historic Synod building at 3 Senate Square. Participants from other regions will gather at the library’s electronic reading rooms, as well as the Reserve Center in Moscow and the Tyumen branch.
The Olympiad tasks are developed using materials from the library’s electronic fund, which contains over 1,200,000 digitized copies of rare documents representing the historical and cultural heritage of our country. Studying the library’s resources on the official portal can help participants answer the contest questions as fully and accurately as possible. Students can also practice using tasks from previous years located in the “Archive” section of the website.
The main goal of the competition is to involve students in working with archival information sources on the history, theory, and practice of Russian statehood. The project aims to identify and support young talents and popularize humanitarian knowledge among youth. Since its launch in 2010, tens of thousands of students have participated, many of whom later enrolled in leading Russian universities.
Registration is available on the official portal. For more information, visit http://olympiada.prlib.ru/, contact the Department of Educational Programs at (812) 305-16-51 (ext. 243, Yulia Vladimirovna Golotenko), or email: olympiada@prlib.ru.
