Published on: 2026-04-28
Source: Government of the Russian Federation – Government of the Russian Federation –
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Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko and the head of Rosmolodezh Grigory Gurov summed up the results of the application campaign for the All-Russian mentoring competition “To Be, Not Just to Seem,” which is being held for the third time under the instructions of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The project is aimed at identifying the best mentoring practices in the country, developing the system of patriotic education, creating a professional personnel reserve, and searching for new leaders, including among participants of the special military operation.
“Education of a harmoniously developed, patriotic, and socially responsible individual is a priority task facing us within the framework of the national project “Youth and Children.” The All-Russian competition for mentors “To Be, Not to Seem,” held for the third time under the directive of President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, helps achieve this goal. More and more people from among the mentors share their experience. This season, a record 80 thousand applications from mentors have been submitted for the competition.””The average age of the contestants is 30 years, while a third of them are young people up to 18 years old,” said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.
This year, participants could submit applications in the categories: “Beginner Mentor,” “Experienced Mentor,” “Mentor-Leader,” “Own Mentor,” “Mentor on Duty,” as well as in the new direction “Be an Example,” aimed at specialists who work with adolescents in socially at-risk groups and require special pedagogical attention. In this category, teams of two people — a mentor and a mentee — could participate. The leaders in the number of applications submitted were the categories “Experienced Mentor” (38%) and “Beginner Mentor” (35%).
Thanks to the “To Be, Not Just Appear” competition, mentors can join a professional community and enter the personnel reserve. The contenders for victory are people from all over the country of various professions and ages: these are schoolchildren and teachers, veterans of the special military operation, firefighters, microbiologists, ballet masters, and representatives of other professions. The largest number this year came from residents of the Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Kemerovo, Belgorod regions, and the Republic of Tatarstan. For the first time, applications were submitted by citizens of the Republic of Abkhazia.200 winners from last year continue to work in the region, implementing their projects and helping young people find their own path,” noted the head of Rosmolodezh Grigory Gurov.
Mentorship is becoming a key mechanism in educating the younger generation responsible for the future of the state. Currently, more than 60 thousand military-patriotic clubs operate, the share of clubs where veterans of combat operations become mentors is growing. Sectoral standards have been introduced into the activities, and a comprehensive mentorship program is also in effect.
In 2024, Alina Panteleeva participated in the competition as a contestant and won in the nomination “Young Mentor.” In 2025, she became an expert of the competition, and now she is an employee of the RosPatrioCenter Rosmolodezh. She works on the development of the competition “To Be, Not to Seem” and teaches at the Presidential Academy.
Timur Kuserbaev from Bashkiria received severe wounds near Ugledar, but this did not prevent him from winning the contest “To Be, Not to Seem” and becoming a mentor for children from orphanages in his region. And the veteran of the special military operation Dmitry Belitsky began working with teenagers with deviant behavior.
The selection of candidates by experts from among the competition partners, as well as winners and finalists from previous years, is currently underway. The results of the preliminary stage will be summed up in May. In the summer, the semifinalists will go through face-to-face round-table interviews and complete thematic tasks. The first semifinal for the Volga and Ural federal districts will be held from June 7 to 13 in Tyumen.
In the autumn, the final stage of the competition will take place, in which 400 finalists will participate.
The organizers of the competition are Rospatriotcenter Rosmolodezh together with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Russian Society “Znanie”, the program “More Than a Journey”, “First Movement” and the “Warrior” center.
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