Registration Opens for "Geographical Dictation 2026" Venues

The Russian Geographical Society invites organizations to join its international educational campaign and become part of one of the country’s largest public geography events. This season, the Geographical Dictation will run in an updated format: the structure of the questions will change, an additional advanced-level version will be introduced, and international participants will receive adapted questions.

For the twelfth time, thousands of venues across Russia and abroad will welcome participants. Over the years, the campaign has reached every region of the Russian Federation and every continent. One of the most unusual venues has been the International Space Station. The Dictation has long moved beyond ordinary classrooms: it has been held during expeditions and journeys, at research stations, and in some of the most remote corners of the planet. New venues join the project every year, expanding the geography of its audience.

The in-person Geographical Dictation 2026 will take place on November 22. On that day, participants will gather at venues in Russia and other countries. An online version will also be available for those who prefer to take the test from home.

Several changes await participants this season. They affect both the structure of the tasks and the level of difficulty.

The main version will be shortened from 40 questions to 30. The familiar split by difficulty will remain: the first 10 questions will be based on well-known geographical facts and will match the school curriculum; the remaining 20 will require not only knowledge, but also logic, imagination, and general erudition.

A special adapted version with fewer questions will be prepared for international audiences and translated into more than 10 languages.

For those who want a tougher challenge, the campaign will for the first time offer Geographical Dictation: Advanced Level. This additional set of 20 more difficult questions in Russian will unlock automatically after the main version is completed. Anyone who answers 18 or more of the advanced questions correctly will receive a special award certificate and an extra prize.

The content of the Geographical Dictation is created by the project’s own participants. Since 2024, 95% of the tasks have come from the “Write Your Question for the Geographical Dictation” contest. People of different ages and professions from Russia and other countries — united by an interest in geography — submit their ideas. This year the contest received a record 1,460 entries. Once again, every version of the Dictation will be made up of questions sent in by geography enthusiasts from around the world. Which questions participants will see on November 22 will, as usual, remain a secret until the day of the event.

Venue registration for Geographical Dictation 2026 is already open in the personal account. Almost any organization ready to welcome participants on November 22 can become an organizer. Your venue may be the one that adds a new point to the project’s map this year.

Terms and Conditions are available at the link.

The project is implemented with funding from the Presidential Grants Fund.