On October 4th, 2026, the second All-Russian Sports Dictation event took place. This initiative, organized by the Russian Olympic Committee, is a large-scale project aimed at promoting a healthy lifestyle and enhancing knowledge about physical culture, sports, and the Olympic Games.
Just like last year, the main highlight was the National Centre RUSSIA in Moscow, which hosted over 300 guests at the event. The ceremony was opened by Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation, President of the Russian Olympic Committee Michael Degtyarev, who also read the first question of the dictation.
The Minister of Sports announced that this year, the ‘Sports Dictation’ event is taking place for the second time, expanding its reach. Over 80,000 participants are answering questions offline at 1,500 venues, including universities, Olympic reserve sports schools, along with various cultural institutions and organizations from scientific and civil society sectors. This is the first time the dictation has been conducted in the Russian Houses across Kazakhstan, Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, China, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Turkmenistan. In total, over 250,000 participants have joined in, including those writing the dictation online.
Michael Degtyarev explained why he believes it is crucial to be aware of the achievements of Russian athletes in sports.
‘In 1894, one of the founders of the International Olympic Committee, along with Pierre de Coubertin, was Russian general Alexey Butovsky, who was a subject of the Russian Empire. Russia is by rights at the forefront of the contemporary Olympic movement and is also excelling in sports achievements. We are one of just nine countries that have hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Today, under the direction of the President of Russia, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, a significant diplomatic and legal initiative is being undertaken by the Ministry of Sports of Russia and the Russian Olympic Committee. This effort has successfully led to the full reinstatement of the ROC’s status and the lifting of sanctions on Russian athletes across 25 sports, as well as 35 categories for junior athletes. This effort will continue until we achieve complete victory.’ - Michael Degtyarev said.
The event was led by three-time Olympic synchronized swimming champion Maria Kiseleva, who is the driving force behind the project, alongside renowned sportscaster Dmitry Guberniev.
The dictation questions were presented by two-time Olympic biathlon champion Svetlana Ishmuratova, Olympic rowing champion Alexey Svirin, Olympic Games cross-country skiing champions Nikita Kriukov and Veronika Stepanova, two-time Olympic champions in artistic gymnastics Svetlana Khorkina and Lidia Ivanova, and Olympic Games handball champion Vladlena Bobrovnikova, multiple world champions in synchronized swimming Aleksandr Maltsev and Mayya Doroshko, vice world champion in diving Ruslan Ternovoi, European rowing champion Maria Rakova and other athletes with titles as well as emerging talents. Stepan Bortnik, a future participant in the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar was among them. A separate video question was recorded at the Gagarin Research & Test Cosmonaut Training Center.
Regional venues in St. Petersburg, Sirius, Novogorsk (near Moscow), and Khanty-Mansiysk participated in the ceremony via video call. The questions were presented by world fencing championship medalist Andrei Deev, Olympic rhythmic gymnastics champion Vera Shimanskaya, Paralympic sledge hockey medalist Konstantin Shikhov, and silver medalist in short track from the 2022 Winter Olympics Konstantin Ivliev. The Russian House in Astana also took part, with water polo medalist Irek Zinnurov reading out one of the dictation tasks.
And on top of that, the Igor Butman quintet performed for the audience, and the renowned musician himself read one of the questions.
During the dictation, there were a total of 25 questions. By the end of the event, all participants received personalized certificates. Those who participated online could easily download their certificates from their personal accounts.
