February 17 - Day of Russian Student Squads: history and traditions of the holiday

Every year on February 17, young people across the country celebrate a labor holiday - the Day of Russian Student Squads. In 2025, the celebration falls on Monday. About what famous Soviet objects were built by students of universities and what do the student teams do now, read in the material "Izvestia".

History of the Day of Russian student teams, celebrated on February 17

The holiday of Russian student teams was established by decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2015. February 17 was chosen as the date of the celebration, as it was on this day in 2004 at the All-Russian Forum of Student Squads that the youth public movement "Russian Student Squads" (RSO) was established.

However, student squads existed long before the creation of the RSO. Last year the movement celebrated its 65th anniversary. Officially its beginning is considered to be the summer of 1959, when about 400 students of the Physics Department of Moscow State University (MSU) went as volunteers to Kazakhstan to participate in the development of fertile land and construction of various facilities. The following year, 520 students from the university became members of the volunteer squad.

Groups of students have been sent to similar work before. For example, the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University has a commemorative plaque "The country's first student construction squad" dedicated to the volunteers from this university who went to build the Alakuskaya hydroelectric power plant in the Leningrad region in 1948. However, it was MSU students who made the movement mass.

Already in 1964 about 30 thousand young men from nine union republics and 178 educational institutions joined the construction teams. They worked on construction sites, held concerts, gave lectures for villagers. During this period the practice of enrolling "difficult" teenagers in the detachments for correction appeared, international groups of students began to travel to the virgin lands.

In 1966 there were already more than 100 thousand fighters in the student squads. Some of them helped to rebuild Tashkent after the devastating earthquake that almost completely destroyed the central part of the city. In the same year, the first ever All-Union meeting of student squads was held in the Kremlin. Soon after, the main documents regulating the activities of the fighters and their interaction with various organizations and authorities were signed.

Gradually new types of squads began to appear: guides, restorers, fishermen and other professions. In particular, students worked on the restoration of the Solovetsky Monastery. The movement was gaining momentum, so in 1967 the Central Headquarters of the Komsomol student squads was formed to coordinate it.

In the 1970s, the student squads participated in the construction of the Volga and Kamsky automobile plants, Krasnoyarsk hydroelectric power station, the North-Center and Central Asia-Center gas pipelines, the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) and thousands of other facilities across the country. In total, from 1965 to 1991, 13 million young people became members of student teams. They participated in a variety of works on the territory of all Union republics.

Today the Russian Student Brigades are the largest youth organization of the Russian Federation. It includes more than 200 thousand students of universities and colleges from 82 regions of the country. The movement provides young people with temporary work in the summer period, as well as engaged in their civic, cultural, physical and patriotic education. Fighters of modern student brigades participated in the construction of facilities for the APEC-2012 summit, the Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014, the Plesetsk and Vostochny cosmodromes and many others.

In their free time, student squads hold concerts, exhibitions, lectures, and participate in social actions aimed at supporting disadvantaged groups of the population.

Traditions of the Day of Russian Student Squads - 2025

Not only current members of the Russian Student Squads, but also veterans of the movement take part in the celebration of the Day of the Russian Student Squads. Youth concerts, contests, flash mobs, exhibitions, interactive programs and other events are held all over the country in honor of the celebration. Sports competitions, quests and relay races are organized for lovers of active recreation.

In addition, on this day in various branches of the RSO summarizing the results of the year and awarding distinguished fighters. Detachments also receive congratulations from officials, hold meetings with veterans and heads of subjects.

How to congratulate on the holiday on February 17

The best congratulations for a student squad fighter will be recognition of his merits, gratitude for his work and active life position. Therefore, on the holiday, you can visit a concert of the RSO together with him, participate in a flash mob or take part in a charity event. And dinner in the circle of friends and relatives will be a pleasant end of the evening.

For a student soldier it is better to choose a practical gift that will come in handy on a trip or at work. Good options will be a thermal mug, a universal set of tools, thermal underwear, a professional handbook, a diary, accessories for the car.

Earlier "Izvestia" told how Student's Day was celebrated in Russia.