Student brigades

As Russia's largest youth organization, student brigades help students find part-time jobs, acquire new skills, and contribute to the development of their university and region. Active in 85 Russian regions, the organization currently involves over 400,000 members. Student brigades can focus on pedagogy, medicine, agriculture, services, railway industry, or other fields depending on students’ interests.

A precursor of student brigades appeared in 1924, when the USSR’s All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions developed a manual on practical training for students: they were supposed to work at industrial plants, in agriculture, or in construction of power stations. However, back then, such initiatives weren’t referred to as “brigades.”

The first official student brigade was founded by students of Lomonosov Moscow State University’s Faculty of Physics in 1958 – now considered the starting point of the organization's history. The tradition of student brigades continued through the breakup of the USSR; on February 17, 2004 the youth movement was officially re-established. A year later, in 2015, February 17 was chosen as the Day of Student Brigades.

ITMO’s student brigades then… 

The first student brigades at ITMO (then-LITMO) were formed in 1950 – their members helped restore small-town hydropower plants destroyed during WWII. One major site was the Andreevskaya plant on the Karelian Isthmus.

At that time, brigades weren’t a recognized organization, which meant that often they didn’t have any special uniform or gear. Members did manual work in extreme conditions – with no electricity or equipment, using only spades, crowbars, and stretchers. Despite it all, the students carried on. Eventually, ten LITMO activists were awarded certificates by the Central Committee of the Komsomol (a Soviet youth organization – Ed.), while Lidiya Nikiforova, the brigade’s head and graduate of the class of 1951, stayed on at the university for decades as a senior lecturer in automation and telecom engineering.

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…and now

In 75 years, these first activist-filled brigades grew into a major organization at ITMO with its own headquarters, now including 7 brigades.

Members of Terra, an agricultural brigade, travel to the south of Russia in the summer to help collect fruits and berries; while pedagogical brigades Future and Caramel spend their summers working as summer camp counselors in Leningrad Oblast and Krasnodar Krai. There’s also an archaeological brigade, Azimut, the members of which join excavations and help preserve cultural heritage sites. Students from the service brigade Dragon spend their summers at major Russian resorts, working as lifeguards and hospitality staff, while members of the brigade Ocean help out as conductors on trains while travelling all over the country. ITMO’s newest brigade is called Impulse – its members travel to smaller towns of Leningrad Oblast and its neighbors to assist the locals in various ways – conducting workshops, renovations, and performances among other things. 

Last year, ITMO’s Student Brigade Headquarters won the second place in the competition of heads of St. Petersburg’s regional organizations at the national Festival of Student Brigades; the organization’s press service also landed in the top three in the city. Moreover, the community as a whole, too, was named among the top three in St. Petersburg. 

Several members received individual commendations: Demyan Naumov – the best brigade head, Anna Ilyina – the best master (a title within a brigade – Ed.), and Fedor Kuzikov – the best caretaker (a title within a brigade – Ed.). Anna Shcherba (Future) and Anastasia Sokolova (Azimut) were also named best in their respective brigades.

“Joining a student brigade means getting your first work experience, travelling the country, being around new people, and testing your limits in ever new conditions. However, most importantly, members of our brigades gain friends during their summers of unforgettable memories. Supporting student brigades is one of Russia’s key youth policy activities, and there’s a demand for it from among students themselves, their potential employers, and the state – which leads to the best results,” says Anton Kabakov, the head of the Student Initiatives Support Department and the Patriotic Education Department at ITMO University.

How to join a student brigade at ITMO

ITMO’s Student Brigade Headquarters regularly hosts presentations and open meetings for everyone curious about the initiative and interested in gaining their first experience the coming summer. The meetings will be held until February 21; you can learn more about them in the organization’s Telegram channel.