Every year, on 10 February, our country celebrates the Day of Remembrance of Alexander Pushkin - Russian poet, prose writer, playwright, literary critic, founder of the Russian literary word.

On this day it is customary to remember the poet, read his immortal poems, being inspired by them and paying tribute to his talent. During his short life, Alexander Sergeyevich created a huge number of literary works that have become classics of Russian literature.   This year marks the 225th anniversary of the birth of the great Russian poet.

The Lopasnya-Zachatievskoye Estate Museum traditionally hosted the first stage of the regional poetry contest "On the Bank of Lopasnya" on the eve of the Poet's Memorial Day. Schoolchildren from grades 8-11 of the Chekhov district took part in this stage.

Before the contest the participants, jury members and museum staff took part in a memorial service at the necropolis of A.S. Pushkin's descendants and laid flowers at the tomb of his son A.A. Pushkin.

The performance of the contestants was evaluated by a very competent jury:

- Elena Vyacheslavovna Saburova is a descendant of A.S. Pushkin in the 6th generation.

- Svetlana Nikolaevna Khripach - Head of the Methodological Department of the Training and Methodological Centre of the Education Department of the Chekhov City District.

- Rakhmatulina Alfiya Bakhitzhanovna is the author of creative projects related to the history and culture of Russia, honoured cultural worker of the Republic of Tatarstan.

CHAIRMAN OF THE JURY: Elmira Maratovna Afanasyeva, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Head of Pushkin Projects, Chief Researcher of the Pushkin State Institute of Russian Language.

Pupils read works by A.S. Pushkin and works by poets and writers of the 19th-21st centuries about A.S. Pushkin. All the participants performed very well. A total of 19 schoolchildren took part in this stage of the competition.

The jury members unanimously awarded the winning entry:

- Ulanov Semyon, student of secondary school No. 1 and

- Yelizar Polyakov, a pupil of secondary school No. 8.

Contest Winners:

- Kobzeva Lilia, a student of Chekhov secondary school - 2.

- Liliya Fomina, a student of secondary school No. 10.

- Vodopyanova Sofia, pupil of gymnasium No. 2.

- Ilgizov Bogdan, pupil of secondary school No. 10.

- Vladimir Galkin, a pupil of Lyubuchanskaya secondary school.

- Ekaterina Khitsova, pupil of secondary school No. 8.

- Elena Khromysheva, pupil of Stolbovskaya secondary school.

Prizes and diplomas for the victory in the nomination "For the stage image" were awarded to:

- Margarita Malkova, pupil of secondary school No. 3.

- Alina Bespalova, pupil of Nerastannovskaya secondary school.

The winners of the competition: Fomina Lubov, Kobzeva Lilia and Khromysheva Elena received additional gifts from the delegation of the Republic of Tatarstan.

On 9 February, students of secondary and vocational schools and schoolchildren from Serpukhov and Chekhov will take part in the competition.