Published on: 2026-09-18
Source: Government of the Russian Federation –
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Deputy Prime Minister – Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev held a meeting of the organizing committee for the fourth annual open international high-precision shooting tournament in memory of Hero of the Soviet Union F.M. Okhlopkov.
The tournament will take place from October 8 to 11, 2026, in Yakutsk at the
“Traditionally, in Yakutia, we hold a regular high-precision long-distance shooting tournament. This year, the tournament is planned in an international format. There are several applications from citizens of friendly countries who, despite the complex foreign political situation, hold Russia in respect and support it. We must conduct the tournament at a high organizational level. The goals of the tournament remain unchanged. They are connected with preserving the memory of the victories of our fighters in the Great Patriotic War, exchanging combat experience, and improving the qualifications of the participants. Today, I would like to hear about the progress of the preparation, and specifically focus on the issues of security and infrastructure readiness,” Yuri Trutnev opened the meeting.
The head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Aisen Nikolaev, reported on the preparation for the tournament: “We are preparing to hold the fourth open international long-distance shooting tournament in memory of Hero of the Soviet Union Fyodor Matveyevich Okhlopkov. This year it is gaining a new status and for the first time will be accompanied by youth team competitions. The expansion of the geography of participants clearly demonstrates a great interest in precision shooting and the growing authority of our competitions on the federal and international stage. Yakutia carefully preserves and continues the glorious traditions of outstanding snipers. Hosting such large-scale events not only revives the unique Yakut sniper art, but also provides a strong impetus for the patriotic education of the younger generation.”
Four hundred people participated in the three past tournaments, including civilians as well as law enforcement officers and active military personnel.
120 sniper pairs signed up for the fourth tournament, including foreign athletes from friendly countries.
“Discussions are being held on the participation of representatives from other countries. The participation of citizens of the Republic of Belarus is planned. Negotiations are underway with India and the United Arab Emirates. The application acceptance will end on September 22,” said Yuri Trutnev.
The tournament is organized by the office of the plenipotentiary representative of the President in the Far Eastern Federal District, the government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Russian Combat Sniping Federation, the Center for Military-Sports Training and Patriotic Education of Youth “Warrior”, and the Russian Union of Martial Arts.
The chief judge of the tournament is Yuri Trutnev, Deputy Chairman of the Government and Plenipotentiary Representative of the President in the Far Eastern Federal District. The deputy chief judges are Hero of Russia, Chairman of the International Public Organization “Federation of Combat Sniping of Russia” Yaroslav Yakubov, and head of the Moscow branch of the Combat Shooting Federation Marat Diveev.
The tournament consists of qualification and two stages: “day” and “night.” The weapon caliber is up to 12.7 mm inclusive.
Military personnel of the Ministry of Defense, employees of law enforcement agencies, instructor staff of training centers of security forces, and civilian shooters are allowed to participate.
Participation in the tournament is only possible as part of a pair, where one member is the shooter and the other is the observer-corrector; role switching is not permitted. No participant in a pair can simultaneously be part of another pair. It is possible to swap the roles of the corrector and the shooter. Such a pair is considered new, requires a new rifle, and must undergo qualification.
The transfer of rifles is not allowed. The general rule is “one rifle during the competition is fired in the hands of only one shooter.”
All pairs who have applied and arrived at the tournament are required to pass the qualification to be admitted to the stages.
All shots during the tournament (including the qualification) are fired from the prone position.
The competitions are based on pairs declaring the distance at which they want to hit the target before the start and confirming their declaration by hitting the target. Tournaments are held at distances of 1100–1600 m, 1700–2100 m, and 2200–3500 m.
The following major changes have been added to the competition:
— the qualification will take place simultaneously for five pairs of participants from five shooting ranges;
— each stage of the competition will take place simultaneously for three pairs of participants from three lines;
— from 1.7 thousand meters participants are allowed three rounds of ammunition to complete the exercise;
— from 2.2 thousand meters, participants are allowed four rounds of ammunition to complete the exercise.
The winners and prize-winners of the tournament will receive cash prizes. For first place (day or night), a cash equivalent of 250 g of gold will be awarded, for second place – 100 g of gold, and for third – 50 g of gold.
This year, for the first time, a small tournament in small-caliber rifle shooting will be held among shooters aged 16 to 18. It will feature 11 teams from all regions of the Far East. The participants in the competition are shooters training in military-patriotic clubs and organizations, as well as studying at the “Warrior” center in the sniper direction. The goal of the small tournament is to promote shooting sports among youth and to identify the strongest sniper pairs of the Far Eastern Federal District.
“Teaching kids combat disciplines, and shooting is a combat discipline, must start from a young age. Such work is conducted by the ‘Warrior’ center in the regions. And now the bar has been raised to the level of an international tournament. It will be interesting to see what talents we discover. The tournament is an incentive that will encourage the kids to train more and pay more attention to the necessity of learning to defend our Motherland,” noted Yuri Trutnev.
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