The All-Russian Public Organisation, the Russian Geographical Society, is one of Russia's oldest public organisations and is also among the world's oldest geographical societies.

The 13th Congress of the Russian Geographical Society was held in November 2009 and became a landmark event in the contemporary history of the Society. After that, the Society virtually experienced a renaissance. The Board of Trustees was reinstated at the congress, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin was placed at the head of the board. Sergei Shoigu, the then Minister of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Relief, was elected President of the Russian Geographical Society. A Media Council was established and subordinated to the Board of Trustees. The Media Council, which is made up of top managers of major media bodies and public activists, is headed by Dmitry Peskov, Spokesperson for Prime Minister. An Expert Council headed by Nikolai Kasimov, Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Dean of the Moscow Lomonosov State University's Geography Faculty, was established to assess applications for grants.

The Society's Board of Trustees allocates grants making it possible to implement projects of state significance, which conform to specific guidelines of the Society's activity. Such projects must be subjected to comprehensive expert examinations. In all, more than 70 R&D, expeditionary, information-educational, publishing and media projects were approved under the 2010-2011 grants policy. Such projects are called upon to promote environmental tourism nationwide.

Moreover, the Russian Geographical Society has organised several major events. The International Arctic Forum, "The Arctic: Territory of Dialogue," has been held under the auspices of the Society since 2010. The forum involves scientists, statespersons, officials of governmental organisations and business community representatives from 16 countries.

The Russian Geographical Society has initiated and organised the All-Russian Congress of Geography Teachers for the first time in the nation's history. More than 600 people took part in the work of the congress. The delegates discussed all the main relevant issues and problems, the state of school-level geography education and its prospects in the context of the main principles of the national educational initiative, "Our New School."

In 2011, the Russian Geographical Society launched the large-scale archaeological expedition, "Kyzyl-Kuragino." The expedition is intended to preserve objects of cultural-historical heritage in the vicinity of the Kuragino-Kyzyl railway construction project. More than 70 archaeological monuments currently located along the railway route have not been studied to date. The five-year expedition will be financed in line with a grant of the Russian Geographical Society. A number of artifacts were excavated in the mounds of Tuva during the first season. The best among them were displayed in late 2011 at the Society's headquarters in St Petersburg.

The Russian Geographical Society currently possesses a ramified network of its regional chapters nationwide. In all, there are 80 chapters all over Russia. Eight new chapters were established in 2011.

In an effort to support the initiatives of regional branches, the Society's top executives actively facilitate the creation of local boards of trustees. In all, there are now 15 regional boards of trustees consisting of regional governors, speakers of regional legislatures, leaders of public organisations, representatives of big-time business, as well as public-political activists. Boards of trustees are also being established in 14 other regions. Regional boards of trustees support grass-roots grant programmes, which promote research projects, publishing activities, as well as public and environmental protection projects.