At the IV South-Russian Mathematical Olympiad “Assara” for girls, which took place from October 24 to 28 at Adyghe State University, the best results were achieved by representatives of Adygea, North Ossetia-Alania, Tatarstan, as well as the Moscow, Kurgan, and Tyumen regions.

The Assara Olympiad was established by Adyghe State University to promote Olympiad Mathematics and to strengthen friendships among mathematics-enthusiastic schoolgirls. The event is supported by Sberbank and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Adygea. Co-organizers include the Republican School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the Polaris-Adygea Regional Educational Center.

The IV South-Russian Mathematical Olympiad “Assara” for girls was attended by 50 schoolgirls from Abkhazia, Uzbekistan, and 20 regions of Russia—including Adygea, Dagestan, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Kalmykia, North Ossetia-Alania, Tatarstan, Udmurtia, Chechnya, Krasnodar and Stavropol Krais, Astrakhan, Volgograd, Kurgan, Moscow, Rostov, and Tyumen Oblasts, as well as the FT “Sirius”.

The closing ceremony was attended by Yevgeny Lebedev, Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Adygea; Murad Bedanokov, First Vice-Rector of ASU; and Askhad Dyshekov, Deputy Manager of the Adygea branch of Sberbank. Olga Petrova, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, and Olga Tsukanova, Managing Director and Head of Academic Partnerships at Sberbank, addressed the participants via video link.

The Olympiad was held in two rounds, with winners determined in two age categories: the Junior League (8th grade) and the Senior League (9th-10th grades). The participants’ performances were evaluated by a distinguished jury, headed by Kirill Sukhov, the head coach of the Russian team at the International Mathematical Olympiad for Schoolchildren and the head of the ASU Scientific Laboratory for Technologies for Teaching Mathematical Ideas.

In addition to the competition, an extensive cultural program was organized for the participants. It included meetings with People’s Artist of the Republic of Adygea, Meleachet Zekhova, and the President of the Caucasian Yoga Association, Advisor to the Rector of ASU, Zaur Zhane. Participants also attended a “Drawing in the Sand” master class with Mezagi Tesheva, head of the M.A.R.S. creative studio. Walking tours of Maykop and visits to Adygea’s natural attractions were also part of the program.

The names of the winners and prize recipients of the Olympiad were announced at the closing ceremony.

Gold medals in the junior league were won by Kamilla Salagaeva from North Ossetia-Alania, Sofia Gabrielyan from the Kurgan region, and two representatives of the Republic of Adygea—Polina Lifanova and Saniyat Mirzaalieva.

In the senior league, the top performers were Ksenia Shchipkova from Tatarstan, Anna Sanina from the Tyumen region, Tala Nikitina, and Anna Manukyan from the Moscow region.

The Republic of Adygea was represented at the Olympiad by nine students from the Republican School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. In addition to two gold medals, our team also won three bronze medals: Maria Gornostaeva and Sofia Kislyakova received the Assara prize in the junior league, and Yara Mamiy won a bronze medal in the senior league. The jury also awarded Maryam Mkrtumova a Certificate of Commendation for her outstanding performance.

About the Olympics

The South-Russian Mathematical Olympiad “Assara” for girls was established in 2022 at the initiative of Adyghea State University. The Olympiad is named after the Assara mountain peak in Adygea, the republic’s southernmost point. The main idea of the Olympiad is to empower girls to pursue careers in science.

The first Olympiad was held at the Sirius Educational Center and was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the statehood of the Republic of Adygea. Since 2023, it has been held annually in Maykop.