The geography enthusiasts in the audience were addressed by most interesting speakers. Ilya Timin – well-known Karelian photojournalist and a state environmental inspector for a national park – spoke about the latest expedition to the Russian Arctic National Park and about the Arctic Floating University. His captivating story was supplemented with professional photographs. The audience enjoyed the amazing views of Russia's northernmost islands with their pristine nature, ruinated huts formerly used by Pomor hunters and earlier scientific expeditions, as well as portraits of people—researchers, students, and workers of stations situated at the Earth’s edge.

The next lecturer, Dmitry Belenikhin, founder of the Onego diving center, an instructor certified by 5 international associations, and a diver with 25 years of experience, immersed the audience in the underwater world. Dmitry told the audience about the specific features of training deep-sea divers and about his own dive to 120 meter depth. Dmitry has been to virtually every ocean, but he also revealed a new perspective of the seemingly familiar White Sea.

The concluding lecturer was boxer, skier, parachutist, and pilot Konstantin Sergeev, who spoke about conquering the planet's highest peak—Mount Everest (Chomolungma). Konstantin unfurled the flag of the Republic of Karelia on the "roof of the world”. His account of the ascent was rich in details and the most interesting part of it was not just the description of the life of the Himalayas' conquerors but the story of pushing one's limits.

- This was the first time a lecturing session is held in this format. Previously, we would gather at the Northern Water Problems Institute after expeditions, but that was a relatively small group of RGS activists. Today’s event, held to mark the 180th anniversary of the RGS and the 80th anniversary of its Karelian branch, is a trial. I must admit, I definitely liked it. The Arctic ice, the underwater environment, the conquest of the planet's highest mountains — it all turned out really exciting, - said Alexey Tolstikov, Chairman of the Karelian Branch of the Russian Geographical Society and Head of the Laboratory of Geography and Hydrology at the Northern Water Problems Institute KarRC RAS.

According to the chairman, the plan is to make such lecturing sessions regular, not just tied to Geographer's Day. The lecture topics could include not only expeditions but also, for example, interesting publications or exhibitions. A relevant topic, for instance, could be the Atlas of Karelia—a recent RGS project.

- On Geographer's Day, I would first like to wish everyone health, good spirits, and new interesting journeys. An important thing to remember is that this is a holiday not only for geographers but for everyone related to geography. Most of us love to travel. An essential side to RGS activities is the ability to deliver interesting information to the public, to broaden horizons. Today, we succeeded in all of this, and I wish all of us to continue these activities, to come to our office and to share information, - said Alexey Tolstikov wrapping up the event.

Photos from Ilya Timin’s VK page