Russia signed its participation agreement in December 2025 and has announced its pavilion slogan — "Play to be" — framing play as essential to music, medicine and high technology.
| Slogan | "Play to be — I play in order to live, in order to exist" [source] |
|---|---|
| Status | Participation agreement signed 24 Dec 2025 [source] |
| Commissioner | Alexey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade [source] |
| Concept | Play across music, medicine and high technologies [source] |
| Size / budget | Not disclosed |
A Russian government decree in July 2025 endorsed participation, with Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov designated to head the organizing committee and four ministries tasked with drafting proposals. The Participation Agreement was signed on 24 December 2025 in Belgrade by Alexey Gruzdev, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade and Russia's Commissioner for Expo 2027, together with Serbia's Commissioner General Jagoda Lazarević and Expo Director Danilo Jerinić.
The pavilion's announced slogan is "Play to be — I play in order to live, in order to exist". Russia intends to show how important play is across spheres of life including music, medicine and high technologies. The country has participated in Expo exhibitions since 1981; pavilion design and budget have not been made public.
“We will be preparing for Russia's participation in EXPO 2027 to demonstrate the special nature of relations between our countries.” — Alexey Gruzdev, Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade and Commissioner for Expo 2027 Belgrade [source]
National pavilions sit in the International Participant Area of the 25-hectare Expo site at Surčin, in the western part of Belgrade — the zone that becomes the city's new Belgrade Fair after the event. The site is about 5 km from Nikola Tesla Airport and roughly 13.5 km southwest of central Belgrade (official planning figures), so if you fly in, you land closer to the Expo grounds than to town. Exact positions within the zones haven't been published yet; we'll add the location when the site plan lands.
"Play to be — I play in order to live, in order to exist." Russia intends to show how important play is across spheres of life including music, medicine and high technologies.
A government decree endorsed participation in July 2025, and the Participation Agreement was signed in Belgrade on 24 December 2025 by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Alexey Gruzdev, Russia's Commissioner for Expo 2027.
No — the pavilion's design and budget have not been made public as of mid-2026. Russia has participated in Expo exhibitions since 1981.
More on the Expo: participant tracker · all pavilion profiles · who's coming to Expo 2027 · the full Expo 2027 guide