The Scarlet Sails annual school festival in St. Petersburg is an event intended for school graduates in Russia. In 2025 the festival’s organizers decided to invite Uzbek schoolchildren from the Samarkand province, to attend this festival.

The official invitation letter sent by the Russian side, a delegation of 9th-11th grade students from the Samarkand province was invited to participate in the festival due on June 28, 2025.

The Foreign Ministry of Uzbekistan, while conveying this invitation to the provincial and city administrations, also made an important recommendation when forming the list of participants to give priority to students who have demonstrated excellent academic results, have won or actively participated in national and international science olympiads.

After that, the Samarkand Provincial Department of Preschool and School Education sent a letter to the Ministry of Preschool and School Education regarding this trip, requesting consent to form a list of 14 senior students and 1 responsible employee within the quota proposed by the Russian side. The documents state that once the ministry's consent is received, the list of participants will be submitted to the provincial administration.

According to the Samarqand_LIVE channel on Telegram, the list of participants included the son of the chief of the Samarkand Provincial Department of Preschool and School Education, Muzaffar Khamdamov, 11, and his nephew, 14. It has also been found that the children of some chiefs of departments and officials of the department also participated in this trip.

According to the source, none of the students in the list never participated in international science Olympiads, and some did not even participate at the district or city level.

“According to our initial investigation, even some students had low attendance and were sent to school by acquaintances and relatives who were not doing well,” writes Samarqand_LIVE.

The provincial department of preschool and school education commented on the situation. According to it, a delegation of 14 gifted students and 1 accompanying person was initially formed for this event. However, the list was modified due to the fact that some students’ passports for traveling abroad were not ready on time and some of their parents did not give permission for the trip.

As a result, a “team of 8 excellent students and 2 responsible persons” was formed, and a total of 10 participants from the province participated in the event in St. Petersburg. Gulmira Salimova, a qualified specialist with excellent knowledge of the Russian language, was also appointed as the group’s leader.

The department’s official statement did not comment on the fact that the son and nephew of the head of the department were among the students. Information such as the list of 8 students and their place in the Olympiad was not given.