The Land of the Snow Leopard Festival took place on September 17 in Gorno-Altaisk. The goal of the festival was to draw attention to the issue of snow leopard preservation in Altai and the rest of the world. The Altai Mountains are the snow leopard's primary habitat.

Participants in the festival received comprehensive information about the snow leopard, and attended a special concert. There were opportunities to win prizes in contests and to have their photos taken in special hats that gave them the appearance of a snow leopard. Throughout the day, video clips about snow leopards were shown on the city's screens.

During the concert, local children made an appeal to preserve this species: "We, the children of Altai, want all people in Russia and the rest of the world to pay attention to these wonderful animals that live around us. Their numbers are decreasing all the time. We can still save these beautiful big cats – our friends, and sacred animals of Altai – rather than having to convey our memories of them to our children. We ask for your help in preserving the snow leopard."

The festival, which was aimed at raising awareness of and respect for snow leopards, has become the first event of this format and scale in Siberia. The festival is expected to be held every year, and to become as popular as Tiger Day in the Far East. Alongside Russians, the festival was attended by guests from Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the United States. Experts on snow leopards also visited the Republic of Altai for the festival.