Students of YKSUG took part in an intellectual tournament about Belarusian and Russian prominent figures
On April 1, on the eve of the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Belarus and Russia, Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno hosted the IV International Student Intellectual Tournament in a mixed (in-person and online) format titled "Belarusian and Russian Public Figures (Philosophers, Writers, Politicians) – Jubilarians of 2026". The event brought together nine teams from eight universities across the two countries.
The tournament was dedicated to the anniversaries of prominent figures of Belarus and Russia: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Konstantin Ostrogsky, Kondrat Krapiva, and Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin.
The competition was held in two stages. During the first – correspondence – stage, participants were required to submit an application along with a video business card of their team. In this video, they had to talk about one of the jubilarians, explain why that person was chosen by the team, and briefly clarify the significance of celebrating the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Belarus and Russia in the team's view.
In the second stage, teams tested their knowledge in the main part of the tournament. Three tasks awaited them. In the first task, teams prepared a short presentation on the topic "Challenges and Prospects for the Development of East Slavic Peoples in the 21st Century." The second task, titled "Five Whys?", required participants to first familiarize themselves with the biographies of the prominent jubilarians and then answer questions about them. The third task was a reflective one. Teams were given quotes from the jubilarians, which they had to interpret, explaining what they believed the main idea of the statement was and how relevant it is in our time.
Following a fierce competition, the team from Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno deservedly took first place, sharing it with representatives from Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia.
The jury of the competition included representatives from both countries: Tatyana Leontyeva, Doctor of Philology, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Mass Communication Languages at the School of Public Administration and Entrepreneurship of Ural Federal University; Svetlana Varyanitsa, Deputy Chairperson of the Grodno Regional Organization of the "Belaya Rus" Public Association; Irina Kalecheva, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Leading Specialist of the Research Department of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the National Library of Belarus; and Alexandra Dubravina, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Philosophy at Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno.
The goal of the tournament was not only to jointly celebrate a holiday important to both countries but also to strengthen the East Slavic unity of Belarus and Russia and to popularize the ideas of prominent figures among young people.
The tournament organizers were the Department of Philosophy of the Faculty of Pedagogy at Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno, the Grodno Regional Organization of the "Belaya Rus" Public Association, and the School of Public Administration and Entrepreneurship of Ural Federal University.
