All-Russian Chemistry Olympiad¶

Всероссийская олимпиада школьников по химии

Overview¶

Logo

The All-Russian Olympiad for School Students in Chemistry (Всероссийская олимпиада школьников по химии) is Russia's national academic olympiad in chemistry, organized by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation in partnership with the Faculty of Chemistry at Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU). It is one of the largest chemistry olympiads in the world by participation numbers, with hundreds of thousands of students competing each year across multiple stages.

Key Website¶

Competition Format¶

The olympiad follows a multi-tier pyramid structure, progressing from school-level competitions to the national final.

School stage
- Held at individual schools across Russia
- Over 550,000 students participate nationally in recent years
Municipal stage
- Top performers from the school stage advance
- Tens of thousands of students compete at city and district level
Regional stage
- The strongest municipal-level students represent their regions
- Several thousand students compete across Russia's federal subjects
National final (Заключительный этап)
- Typically 300–490 students compete
- Includes both theoretical and practical (laboratory) components
- Medals (gold, silver, bronze) and diplomas are awarded

The All-Russian Chemistry Olympiad is widely regarded as one of the most rigorous national selection competitions worldwide, as evidenced by Russia's consistent IChO dominance (81 gold medals all-time). The national final includes both a theoretical round and a practical/laboratory round (including titration tasks requiring determination of exact solution concentrations). Problems are known for requiring deep physical chemistry and synthesis knowledge, and the multi-tier pyramid structure — from 550,000+ school-level participants down to 300–490 national finalists — creates intense competitive pressure at every stage.

The competition's difficulty is comparable to the IChO itself, as Russia's national finalists regularly win gold at the international level.

IChO Selection¶

The top performers at the national final are invited to intensive training camps, from which the four-member Russian IChO team is selected. Training typically takes place at MSU and includes advanced theoretical instruction and laboratory practice.

Participants¶

Open to students in grades 9–11 of Russian secondary schools. Younger students may also participate in the school and municipal stages.

The Russian Chemistry Olympiad carries substantial academic benefits:

National-level winners and prize-winners receive exam-free admission to chemistry, biology, pharmacy, and related programmes at Russia's top universities, including Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), Higher School of Economics (HSE), and Sechenov University
Regional-level winners receive significant bonus points on university entrance examinations
National-final medalists receive an annual scholarship of 20,000 rubles from the Russian government

Top-Performing Regions¶

Moscow is dominant in Russian chemistry olympiad results. At the 2025 All-Russian Chemistry Final, Moscow won 53 diplomas (11 winners + 42 prizewinners) out of ~141 total awards, from 301 participants across 61 regions. Six of the ten-member IChO national team were from Moscow.

Other consistently strong regions include:

St. Petersburg
Republic of Tatarstan
Moscow Oblast
Sverdlovsk Oblast
Chelyabinsk Oblast
Novosibirsk Oblast
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Republic of Bashkortostan
Krasnodar Krai
Samara Oblast

History¶

1938 — The Moscow City Chemistry Olympiad for school students was first held, making it one of the oldest subject olympiads in the Soviet Union
1960s–70s — The All-Union chemistry olympiad was formalized and expanded across the Soviet republics
1968 — The USSR was a founding participant of the International Chemistry Olympiad
1975 — The Soviet Union hosted the 7th IChO in Moscow
1992 — Following the dissolution of the USSR, the competition was reorganized as the All-Russian Olympiad for School Students
1996 — Russia hosted the 28th IChO in Moscow
1997 — The Mendeleev International Chemistry Olympiad was founded by MSU and the Russian Academy of Sciences
2007 — Russia hosted the 39th IChO in St. Petersburg
2022–present — Russia suspended from IChO participation following the invasion of Ukraine. Students compete under the neutral designation "Individual 2" (Independent Delegation 2) without the Russian flag or national symbols, but have continued to win gold medals (4 gold in each of 2024, 2025, and 2026)
2026 — Arseny Gasanenko (Moscow) became the absolute world champion at the 58th IChO in Tashkent, competing as "Individual 2"

IChO Performance¶

The combined results of the USSR and Russia at the IChO total 81 gold, 53 silver, and 27 bronze medals, and 1 honourable mention — one of the strongest records in IChO history. The Soviet Union was a founding participant of the IChO in 1968, and Russia has continued this tradition as one of the competition's most successful nations.

Russia hosted the IChO on three occasions: Moscow (1975, the 7th IChO), Moscow (1996, the 28th IChO), and St. Petersburg (2007, the 39th IChO).

IChO Suspension and Current Status (2022–present)¶

Following Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Russia was suspended from the IChO — part of a broader pattern of international scientific olympiads excluding Russia (similar actions were taken by the IOI, IPhO, and others). Russia missed IChO 2022 (Tianjin) entirely.

Russian students returned at the 55th IChO in 2023 (Zurich), but under the neutral designation "Individual 2" (also called "Independent Delegation 2" by the IChO). Students compete as individuals without the Russian flag, anthem, or national team designation. This neutral status has continued through IChO 2024 (Riyadh), IChO 2025 (Dubai), and IChO 2026 (Tashkent). The IChO Steering Committee has not publicly announced whether or when the full national designation will be restored. The official "Russian Federation" country page at icho-official.org ends at 2021.

Despite the neutral designation, Russian students have maintained outstanding performance:

2023: Returned under "Individual 2" designation
2024: 4 gold medals (Riyadh)
2025: 4 gold medals (Dubai)
2026: 4 gold medals + absolute world champion Arseny Gasanenko (Moscow). Team led by Alexander Belov, associate professor at Lomonosov MSU

Belarusian students compete under a parallel designation, "Individual 1", since the same period. Domestic Russian media often refer to the team as "the national team of Russia" while omitting the neutral designation.

Institutes & Other Competitions¶

Sirius Educational Center¶

The Sirius Educational Center (Образовательный центр «Сириус»), located in Sochi (now part of the Sirius Federal Territory), plays a central role in Russia's chemistry olympiad ecosystem. Sirius manages all stages of the All-Russian School Olympiad in six science subjects, including chemistry. Its olympiad platform (siriusolymp.ru) hosts the invitational stage of the All-Russian Olympiad.

Sirius provides full methodological support — task creation, evaluation criteria, and jury work — and runs chemistry educational programmes for grades 7–11, drawing educators from Russia's top chemistry and biology schools. The centre also prepares students for international olympiads. The 2026 All-Russian Chemistry Final was held at Sirius, with 73 regions represented.

Lomonosov Olympiad¶

The Lomonosov Olympiad (olymp.msu.ru) is a separate competition organized directly by MSU's Chemistry Faculty for grades 5–11. It holds Tier 1 status in the Ministry of Education registry, granting university admission benefits to winners. It is distinct from the All-Russian Olympiad but provides another pathway for talented chemistry students.

Mendeleev International Chemistry Olympiad¶

The Mendeleev Olympiad (mendeleevolympiad.org), founded in 1997 by MSU and the Russian Academy of Sciences, grew from a post-Soviet competition to 40 participating countries by 2025. The 60th Mendeleev Olympiad was held in Moscow in April 2026. Russia's top chemistry students often compete in both the Mendeleev and the IChO.

Role of MSU Faculty of Chemistry¶

The Lomonosov Moscow State University Faculty of Chemistry plays a central role across the entire Russian chemistry olympiad ecosystem: providing team leaders (such as Alexander Belov, who led the 2026 IChO team), problem authors, and jury members for both the All-Russian and Mendeleev Olympiads. MSU serves as the intellectual backbone of Russia's chemistry olympiad programme.