The Convention at Kazan University attracted over 150 people from 20 Russian regions.

Search parties are a specific part of Russian student culture. They are engaged in searching for the remains of fallen soldiers, mostly that of the Second World War (there are thousands of them still buried across the country and unidentified). The movement unites 42 thousand people in Russia; there are over 1.5 thousand search parties.

This convention is hosted by KFU together with the Regional Youth Organization “Fatherland Union” and federal and republican ministries. The University was chosen for a reason – it is right here where the first search party was established in 1968; it was named “Snow Squad”. The squad currently comprises 40 KFU students. Republic of Tatarstan in whole has 7 such parties formed by students and more than 60 parties overall.

First Vice-Rector Riyaz Minzaripov greeted the participants, “This work is where students come in contact with our national history and the people who protected our freedom and independence. Such patriotic work is very important”.

Alexander Konoplyov, a search party veteran and KFU alumnus, reminisced about his student days and said that the establishment of the Russian Association of Student Search Parties is long overdue, «Students have always been the progressive part of society. I’d like for the youth to be directed to the right path and learn effective methods of search work».

After all the greetings a minute of silence was held, and the participants laid flowers to the war memorial plaque in the Rector’s Garden behind the KFU Main Building.

The forum takes up four days, three of them outside of Kazan on a picturesque Vertolyotny (Helicopter) Island on the river Volga.