St. Petersburg students show their knowledge of the Northern Convoys’ history

On October 28, 2021, an intellectual tournament on the history of the Arctic (Allied) Convoys was held for students of higher educational establishments in the Corporate University of St Petersburg Administration. The tournament was organized by the St Petersburg Committee on Arctic Affairs and held as part of the city events plan to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the arrival of the first Allied convoy Dervish in the Soviet Union.

Students from five St. Petersburg universities took part in the intellectual competition (i.e. Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping, St. Petersburg Marine Technical University, Herzen State Pedagogical University, The Bonch-Bruevich Saint Petersburg State University of Telecommunications and St. Petersburg Polytechnic University).

"The arrival of the first Allied convoy Dervish is widely commemorated not only in St Petersburg, but also in other Russian and European cities. Commemorative events, international conferences and exhibitions take place. Our today's tournament is the final event of this cycle in 2021, but this heroic page of our history must be remembered and known", said Anna Bulatova, deputy chairman of St. Petersburg Committee on Arctic Affairs and member of the jury of the tournament in her welcoming speech on behalf of the St. Petersburg Government.

The jury also included advisor to the Governor of St. Petersburg, Captain First Rank Mikhail Yurchenko and Vitaly Bronnikov, researcher at the “Icebreaker Krasin” branch of the World Ocean Museum.

The students’ teams had to pass five rounds and answer questions of varying difficulty level on both the events directly related to the feat of seamen who took part in the convoys, and in general to the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

As a result of intellectual battles, the students of Herzen State Pedagogical University managed to take the lead, as they gave the greatest number of accurate and complete answers.

The youth intellectual tournament dedicated to the history of the Arctic Allied Convoys is the part of the city events plan, approved by the Governor of St. Petersburg, and is aimed at preserving historical memory and patriotic education of young people, as well as increasing the interest of the younger generation towards the Arctic.

The information provided by St. Petersburg Committee on Arctic Affairs.