About events

The participants include major municipal construction companies, mortgage agencies and banks, leading realty companies, developers and suburban market builders, as well as foreign real estate agencies.

Developers – Normann, Navis Development Group, Baltiyskaya Zhemchuzhina, SC Pioner, Severny Gorod, SPb Renovation and others are presenting already built and new objects. The visitors choose apartments in low and multi-story buildings and townhouses in St. Petersburg and Leningrad region.

The foreign exhibition displays numerous objects for seasonal or permanent dwelling abroad and on the Black Sea coast. For example, the Crimean builder ISK VSK-Invest presents a new project “Italian Village in the Crimea”, consisting of 17 phases of construction of townhouses, villas and cottages on the Black Sea coast.

All stages of construction of the suburban house, from selection of the design and construction materials to design of the interior and area development are shown in a special exhibition “We Build a Suburban Home”. The participating companies demonstrate the technologies and materials, innovations in the construction industry in several areas: house design and construction, turnkey finished houses, engineering, foundations and geodetic work, roofing, construction and finishing materials, etc.

There is a separate area for free public topical seminars and workshops. The events cover the most diverse issues of investors and owners of suburban real estate: legal aspects of transactions and the latest in land legislation, outlook for changes in housing prices, construction technologies, a sensible approach to choosing a design and materials, and more.

“Tens of thousands of people are looking for their house at the Real Estate Fair, and the Fair itself has found itself in EXPOFORUM. This is already the fifth time we have brought it to the Pulkovskoe Heights. From year to year, the convention and exhibition centre has become even better and more convenient for the participants and visitors”, stressed Sergei Voronkov, CEO of ExpoForum International at the exhibition opening.

The new exhibitors include Russian and foreign manufacturers of equipment for paper processing and coating, x-ray emitters, water-purification systems and commercial forests: Bekaert Solaronics (France), GAW Technologies (Austria), PCMC (Italy), Layher (Russia), RIF Spa (Italy), Ekotekhnika (Russia) and others.

Canada is a new country which is represented by the waste paper equipment manufacturer Emery International, and it is familiar with the North American technologies for the industry. Germany, Finland and China have set up pavilions.

“Companies from 24 global countries are participating in the exhibition, with about 50 first-time exhibitors, including Slovakian and Canadian participants. There are already 10% more registered visitors than two years ago. This indicates that the industry is alive, is developing and there is still interest in it”, noted Grigory Zaraisky, CEO of Relks at the official opening.

The Russian group of companies SFT Group, the manufacturer of a full mining industry cycle, from waste paper collection to production of cardboard and corrugated cardboard packaging.

“The company’s booth symbolises a careful approach to nature: the stylised trunks are made from corrugated cardboard, paper for crimping. Our business is linked to waste paper, we do not use primary fibre and do not participate in felling trees”, the Marketing Director of SFT Group Vladimir Khan said.

The ecologisation trend of the pulp and paper industry was presented by Dakt-Engineering, the manufacturer of equipment for degreasing and processing sediment: “Using our equipment, you can separate water from solid fibre and obtain a transportable sediment that is suitable for use, for example, as fertiliser, or landfill which does not harm the environment”, the company specialist related.

The forum is taking place on the site for the second time following the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the St. Petersburg International Gas Forum, the International Forum Russian Industrialist, and more. “The new site is quite suitable for all the requirements of international exhibitions. The convention centre has been completely revamped and can simultaneously accommodate up to 10,000 delegates, navigation has been improved, food stations and a lounge area have been added, the Hampton by Hilton Hotel has been launched, and a customs-logistics centre has been opened”, Sergei Voronkov, ExpoForum-International CEO emphasised.

Today was the opening by EXPOFORUM of the All-Russian Forum of Volunteers, which united the social, events, medical, cultural, “silver” and young volunteers of Victory and emergency volunteers. Over 1,000 volunteers from 85 Russian cities were met to discuss the future and the efficacy of the volunteer movement.

The welcoming speech was given by the Acting Director of the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs, Alexei Palamarchuk: “It is wonderful that volunteerism in Russia picking up speed. People of all ages are trying to help society and each other. When the desire to do good comes from the heart, this is also an example of true patriotism and love for Country”.

Ksenia Razuvayeva, the Director of FGBU Rospatriottsentr: “Every year our traditional forum is becoming less formal and more like a friendly meeting”. Ksenia noted that last year young people were twice as more active in the volunteer movements, and today there are more than 4 million young people volunteering.

The Director of the Centre for Studies of Civil Society and the Non-Profit Sector of the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Irina Mersiyanova said that previously, in order to estimate the scope of volunteerism we only used sociological surveys, while in 2016 volunteers for the first time became the object of the Russian Federal State Statistics Service. “The first data show that 13% of the adult population is organised in volunteer movements, and 34% are involved in unpaid volunteer work on their own”.

Children are also actively involved and the Russian student movement is gaining strength”, Irina Vladimirovna stressed.

Several discussion platforms will be held during the four days in the forum, including the launching of the volunteer programme of the XIX World Festival of Youth and Students, the first congress of youth volunteers of the Russian Student Movement, the final All-Russian competition Volunteer 2016 and other important events for the professional community of Russian volunteers.

Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom, named certain problems of the global economy that can’t be solved unless the global consumption of natural gas increases: “Firstly, the scope of energy consumption increases due to the steady growth of the global population, which today comes to 7.3 mlrd people, and by the middle of this century will reach 10 mlrd. Today the volume of global gas consumption is 3.5 trillion m3 a year. Within the nearest 25 years annual average growth rates of these parameters in the world will become 3.5 times higher than consumption of liquid hydrocarbons and carbon, and will reach 30% in 15 years”. Another challenge encountered by the global economy, as Alexey Miller sees it, is that main economically developed countries like Germany, Italy, France, Great Britain, USA, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and India are short of their own power resources and are net-importers of gas. Notably, the Indian market is the most rapidly growing now. Within the last 10 years the share of gas import in the fuel and power balance of India increased by 1.5, and in the nearest future Gazprom is going to pay close attention to the Indian market.

And still the Head of Gazprom said China was the most rapidly developing, the largest market with the highest potential. The largest PRC corporation – CNPC was presented by its Vice President Xu Wenrong. “Since 2000 the natural gas market of China has been rapidly growing, and annual volume of consumption increased from 24.5 mlrd to 191.6 mlrd m3 by 2015, and if we compare the data of the previous year with the current one, the growth comes to 15%”, the speaker said. “However, the industry is still in its incipient state: last year gas consumption per head of population in China was 144 m3, which is only 1/3 against the average global value. However, the gas infrastructure is rapidly developing – we have 72 000 km of main gas pipelines built along with 12 terminals for LNG capable of 43,8 mln tons a year, and 18 gas storages with operating volume of 5.5 mlrd m3 a year”.

Ben van Beurden, CEO of Royal Dutch Shell plc, noticed that cooperation of the largest players within the gas industry is unavoidable and necessary. “Shell related its activities to Russia as early as in 1892, and in 2007 Shell and Gazprom started to work together in the project Sakhalin 2, which was the first Russian plant for production of liquefied natural gas. This cooperation was highly efficient, and we are ready to level up, as new partnership means exchange of assets. We are planning cooperation in projects “Baltic LNG” and “Northern Stream 2”, Mr. Beurden said.

Klaus Schäfer, Member of the Board and CEO of Uniper SE, brought up the issue of safety and reliability of gas supply. “Europe has to deal with new challenges, striving to balance the levels of energy production and consumptions, companies implement new business-models and generate added values”, Mr. Schäfer said. “It is important to rely on trustworthy partners in case of gas supply, to develop equipment for liquefaction and transportation that would allow to diversify supplies”.

Manfred Leitner, Member of Board of Directors at OMV AG, agreed with his colleagues on the matters of partnership between Russia and Europe, “This symbiosis is necessary to ensure development of the regional economy. Gas recovery in Europe is going to reduce by 50 mlrd m3 every year, and shortage of gas is to be recovered by means of import, which means consumption growth is inevitable. Owing to supplies from Russia Europe will be able to reach certain balance between gas demand and its offer”.

Program activities and participants were introduced by Vice Governor of St. Petersburg Sergey Movchan, Chairman of the Science and Higher School Committee Andrey Maximov, Chairman of the Industrial Policy and Innovations Committee Maxim Meyksin, Chairman of the Labor and Employment Committee Dmitry Cherneyko, First Vice President of the Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Union of St. Petersburg Mikhail Lobin, and First Deputy Chairman of the Education Committee Yuri Solyanikov.

The project architecture was presented by Elena Ublieva, Deputy General Director of ExpoForum International for Commerce. She said that several major events would be held at the area of over 25,000 square meters. Pavilion H of ExpoForum will become a venue for St. Petersburg Innovation Forum and the  anniversary “Russian Industrialist” Forum. Pavilion G will host the Regional Open Championship of “Young professionals” (WorldSkills Russia), “Step into profession” City Competition, Abilimpics Regional Championship among people with disabilities and the Second Regional JuniorSkills Open Championship, and pavilion F will be the place for the citywide job and training fair.

Vice Governor Sergey Movchan expressed hope in the success of the event: “We would like to do something different as compared to all other innovative forums held recently throughout Russia. The combination of these projects on the same venue will create a good cumulative effect, which will be directed at young people that we motivate to choose high-tech occupations and professionals who we encourage not only to invent but to innovate.” The Forum will include some 100 events, which is double the number of events a year ago. A total of 1305 applications have already been submitted, including applications from 14 foreign countries such as Finland, Belgium, Israel, Sweden, Norway, Montenegro, Belarus, Latvia, Japan and from more than 30 regions of Russia.

“Promotion of an active lifestyle among people with special needs is one of the most important issues in today’s society. You have managed to prove that courageous and motivated people’s capabilities are truly limitless. We are proud that such competitions are being held in our great city”, Vyacheslav Makarov, Chairman of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg, said to the participants in the competition.

This is the third tournament of this kind to be held in St. Petersburg. This year the competition is attended by over 150 athletes from Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Korea, Slovenia and Finland. Russia, a one of the favorites of the competition is represented by dancers from Voronezh, Lipetsk, Moscow, Perm, St. Petersburg, Sevastopol, Sochi and Tyumen. For three days, participants will compete in several programs. For example there will be duets with both partners in wheelchairs and combined ones (where one of the partners will perform on his or her feet) will demonstrate the European, Latin American and optional programmes, whereas men and women without partners will show their skills in the obligatory and free programmes.

Unlike traditional dance competitions, an international judge panel will assess not only the dancer’s technique and artistry, but also his or her skill of operating the wheelchair, which in this event acts as sports equipment that helps the athlete to turn and perform dance elements.

The tournament will also include ensemble competitions, which are still not included in international rating competitions. The points obtained in this program will not apply toward participation in European and World Cups, but organizers are nevertheless hopeful, because the same situation used to apply to duets, in which both dancers are in wheelchairs.

The championship will finish with a world premiere – Champions Show Gala Concert, held at Wheelchair Dance Sport World Cup for the first time. The Gala Concert will present performances by the world’s best dancers.

“Do you believe that blue roses grow only in China?”, the EXPOFORUM presenter of the Gardener’s Day asks the audience. “Do you believe that a horse spits to warn a human about some danger?” Guests confer, look for answers to interesting and tricky questions. The announcement of the next event is very soon, a showy performance of the group “Kazachiya Dolya” was met with enthusiasm by the audience.

Special guests are also present at the festival. By tradition, the Head of the St. Petersburg Gardening Department Andrey Lyakh awarded the best gardeners and participants in annual competitions “Most, Most, Most”, “The Best St. Petersburg Balcony” and “The Best Garden Plot”. The lucky winners received deserved diplomas and presents, such as dish sets, juice squeezers, electric tea kettles, and so on. Visitors could see their achievements on a multimedia screen on the main stage, where awards were given: a gigantic cucumber, glass jars with juicy canned vegetables, balconies decorated with plenty of flowers, tended lawn plots, swings and cozy arbours, etc.

As Andrey Lyakh noted, every other person in St. Petersburg has a garden plot; over two million people work actively on the land; every year gardeners grow tonnes of organic, ecologically-green products, including such rare exotic crops as grapes, watermelon and muskmelon.

As a part of the targeted programme, a civil infrastructure is being created in gardening, budget funds are being devoted to construction and repair of roads, power lines, water supply systems and medical aid. “In the last decade, from 2004 to 2015, more than 1.406 bln roubles have been allocated to and spent on development of horticultural and summer non-commercial associations of citizens”, Andrey Lyakh stressed.

Andrey Vladislavovich also told about the latest innovations. “Gardeners are now released from network maintenance: electrical, gas and road networks were transferred to the government and municipal entities. There are more domestic products on our tables. Before the sanctions, we used to eat products from the Netherlands and Poland, now it’s all homegrown.”

The Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Fisheries Industry of the Leningrad Region, Alexander Varenov, added his congratulations with the Gardener’s Day. He recalled that there were about 4,000 horticultural associations and more than 550,000 gardening plots in the Leningrad Region. “This is a huge army of people who are in love with their occupation and are ready not only to rest, but to work as well. Every year your voice is heard louder and louder”, he noted.

Alexander Drozdenko handed an honorary diploma to the CEO of ExpoForum-International, Sergey Voronkov, at the official opening ceremony of the Day of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region.

He recalled that 25 years ago the exhibition and trade fair started as “The Russian Farmer”. The project was created to help the developing farmers’ movement, lift the agricultural industry, enlighten people, and put in order the exchange of goods between regions. The exhibition gradually turned into the leading agro-exhibition of Russia: enterprises from all regions of the country take part in it, serious contracts are entered into concluded at the venue, and the latest technologies are demonstrated.

“I’m grateful to those who stood at the origins of “The Russian Farmer”, those who today lead the exhibition “Agrorus”, because it’s an opportunity to show all the best, advanced, modern things we have”, the Governor of the Leningrad Region emphasized.

Sergey Voronkov, in turn, noted that the exhibition has long deserved a spacious and modern site: the new convention and exhibition centre includes three functional pavilions, spacious conference halls and the most modern convention centre in Eastern Europe. It is symbolic that the convention and exhibition centre moved closer to the borders of the Leningrad Region: the platform is situated near the Agrarian University.

“Welcome, dear guests, help yourself, please”, participants of the Exhibition and Trade Fair “Agrorus” are greeted by the Governor of the Leningrad Region Alexander Drozdenko. The accordion is playing, girls in folk costumes with red floral motifs strike up a Russian folk song – the Day of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region is declared open! The tour around the exhibition is made in a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

All districts of the Leningrad Region represent their opportunities and achievements in the pavilion of EXPOFORUM: Gatchina, Volosovo, Tikhvin, Luga, Boksitogorsk, Kirov, Vsevolozhsk districts, and others. Residents of the region meet the Governor, Alexander Drozdenko, and other important guests with bread and salt, fermented baked milk, cheese, meat jerky and other homemade products. Girls and boys in folk costumes read poems, sing ditties, play the accordion and balalaika. Everyone wants to surprise the Governor with something special: beautiful loaves, an excavator spade, a colourful three-tier cake with the “Agrorus” logo and a pastry cream cow.

“At ’Agrorus’ we represent not only agricultural enterprises of the Leningrad Region, processors or farmers, but the districts of our region as well. Believe me, at the Exhibition and Trade Fair ’Agrorus’ we always find something new, interesting and fascinating“, the Governor says at the official opening ceremony.

Thus, for example, one can see a wide range of vegetables of the peasant farm enterprise Lebed, such as onions, peppers, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkins and corn, at the booth of the Luga district. There is a great choice of meat products represented by Idavang Luga, and one of dairy products represented by the stud farm Rapti.

At the booth of the Tikhvin district one can see a great choice of bakery products made by the Tikhvin bread-baking complex: various sorts of bread, flaky pastry, turnovers, crescent rolls with different flavours and fillings.

The Vsevolozhsk district exhibited products of the stud farm Prinevskoye. The enterprise cultivates vegetables, potatoes, meadow mushrooms, and flowers; breeds cattle and goats, and processes its own products from cow and goat milk.

According to Alexander Drozdenko, the Leningrad Region is the current leader in agricultural production of the Northwest region with a share of 42%. The government plans the region to become one of top-15 regions of Russia before 2030. “We’ll have challenges: we are in the area of risk farming, we are seriously affected by weather conditions, we have no black soil, no guaranteed clear days and large fields. However, we are doing our best to be a top region in agriculture”, the Governor stressed.