Officials in the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk have unveiled plans for a $65 million youth center aimed at promoting patriotic education and state-approved values among Russian children and teenagers.
According to a government tender published this week, the complex, dubbed the “Youth Palace,” will be built in a square along the Yenisei River in the city of Krasnoyarsk.
The regional government is now accepting bids for the 5.2-billion-ruble project, which is expected to begin construction in 2026 and be completed by October 2028.
The facility will serve as a flagship site for the Movement of the First, a Kremlin-backed youth organization created by presidential decree following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The movement seeks to involve young people in state-sanctioned volunteer efforts while promoting what President Vladimir Putin has called “traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.”
The group received over $190 million in government funding in 2023, according to its former leader.
The Youth Palace will comprise two buildings covering nearly 30,000 square meters. One building will house a concert hall, exhibition space, coworking areas and training centers focused on first aid, financial literacy and interethnic cultural dialogue.
The second will feature labs for media, IT, automotive design and renewable energy, alongside classrooms for drone and robotics programs.
Plans also call for a three-story training complex, on-site hotel-style accommodations and an outdoor “Patriot” park with zones for walking, extreme sports and military-themed activities.
The project will be financed through a regional budget subsidy, with the federal government’s blessing.
Putin personally approved the plan in March during a meeting with Krasnoyarsk Governor Mikhail Kotyukov, who described the center as a space “with a patriotic focus” that would help “realize the ideas of young talents.”
The site had originally been allocated for a contemporary art space called the Pozdeev Center as well as a new campus for the regional Choreography College.
Both plans were scrapped after a local court invalidated their state contracts due to irregularities in the bidding process. The land was reassigned for youth-focused development in September 2024.
Applications for the construction tender will remain open until Aug. 13, according to the local news outlet ngs24.
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