The Russian Geographical Society is a public organization aimed at a deep and comprehensive study of the geographical, environmental and cultural aspects of the history of Russia. This organization unites not only specialists in the field of geography, travelers, ecologists, but also people seeking to gain new knowledge about Russia and ready to help preserve its natural resources and wealth.
The Russian Geographical Society (RGO for short) was founded in 1845 by the order of Emperor Nicholas I.
From 1845 to the present time, the Russian Geographical Society has been active. It should be noted that the name of the Society changed several times: first it was called the Imperial Geographical Society, then it became the State Geographical Society, then the Geographical Society of the USSR (All-Union Geographical Society), and finally, it became the Russian Geographical Society.
The founder of the Russian Geographical Society is Admiral Fyodor Petrovich Litke. He created the Society in order to master Russia and study it comprehensively.
Among the founders of the Russian Geographical Society, one can single out famous seafarers, such as Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel. Members of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences took part in the creation of the Society, for example, the naturalist Karl Maksimovich Baer, \u200b\u200bthe statistician Peter Ivanovich Keppen. Military leaders also contributed to the development of the Russian Geographical Society: geodesist Mikhail Pavlovich Vronchenko, statesman Mikhail Nikolaevich Muravyov. Among the Russian intelligentsia, who took an active part in the creation of the Society, one can single out the linguist Vladimir Ivanovich Dahl, the philanthropist Vladimir Petrovich Odoevsky.
The leaders of the Society were members of the Russian Imperial House, travelers, researchers and statesmen. These are representatives of the Imperial House of Romanovs, and presidents of the Society, such as the Russian and Soviet geneticist and geographer Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov, who participated in dozens of expeditions and created the doctrine of the world centers of origin of cultivated plants. The head of the Russian Geographical Society was also the Soviet zoologist and geographer Lev Semenovich Berg, who made a huge contribution to science. He collected materials about the nature of different regions, in addition, he created a textbook called "The Nature of the USSR". L.S. Berg can be considered the creator of modern physical geography, since he is the founder of landscape science. By the way, the landscape division proposed by Lev Semenovich has survived to this day.
For 7 years (since 2009) the post of President of the Russian Geographical Society has been held by the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation Sergey Kuzhugetovich Shoigu. And in 2010, the Board of Trustees was formed, headed by the President of the country Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. At the meetings of the Council, the results of the work of the Russian Geographical Society for the year are summed up, and plans for the future are discussed. In addition, various grants from the Russian Geographical Society are awarded at the meetings.
The Russian Geographical Society has its own charter. The first one was issued on December 28, 1849 under Nicholas I. And the charter that exists today was approved on December 11, 2010 during the 14th Congress of the All-Russian public organization "Russian Geographical Society". In accordance with this, the society received the status of an “all-Russian public organization”.
The main goal of the Russian Geographical Society is a comprehensive knowledge of Russia and the world in all its diversity. To achieve this goal it is necessary:
1. active participation of society in its activities;
2. collection, processing and dissemination of various information about Russia in the field of geography, ecology, culture, ethnography.
3. drawing attention to the historical, cultural sites of Russia for the development of tourism.
The Russian Geographical Society is trying to attract representatives of the youth environment to its activities in order to reveal their creative potential for organizing various competitions, as well as to foster a respect for nature.
The company closely cooperates with ecological, geographical, nature conservation and charitable organizations, educational institutions (including federal universities), research and scientific centers, with commercial organizations working in the field of tourism and education. The Russian Geographical Society also cooperates with the media.
Today the Society has about 13,000 members in Russia and abroad. The RGS is a non-profit organization and therefore does not receive government funding.
The RGS is covered in a variety of media. For example, in the magazine "Argumenty i Fakty", in the newspapers "Kommersant", "Rossiyskaya Gazeta", on the TV channels "St. Petersburg", "Channel 5", "NTV"
There is a website of the Russian Geographical Society, which contains all the necessary information about the Society, as well as a library, grants and projects. One of the most important projects is the youth movement, which was created in 2013. Today, about 80 thousand schoolchildren and students from all regions of Russia, as well as about 1 thousand specialists in the field of geographical and environmental education, are participants in the movement. The youth movement was created in order to organize all-Russian youth projects, with the help of which the participants could show their activity, creativity and initiative.
The Russian Geographical Society awards special awards for achievements in the field of geography or for assistance to the Russian Geographical Society.
This award is received by members of the Russian Geographical Society for their successes and usefulness in geography. The Konstantin Medal was awarded to Vladimir Ivanovich Dal for the Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language (1863), Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev for his works on the geology of Asia (1900) and many others.
2. Big gold medal:
The award is presented for scientific work every 2 or 3 years. Only those scientists who have accomplished a brave feat can get it. Another criterion is successful expeditions, the result of which was an important discovery. Nikolai Vasilyevich Slyunin received a large gold medal for his essay "Okhotsk-Kamchatka Territory" (1901), Grigory Nikolaevich Potanin for his work entitled "Sketches of Northwestern Mongolia" (1881).
3. Large silver medal:
The award is presented for works in the field of science once every 1 or 2 years for contributions to the Russian Geographical Society, or for achievements in the field of geography.
4. Gold medal. Fyodor Petrovich Litke:
Only scientists who have made major discoveries in the oceans and polar countries can receive such an award. For the first time, the medal was awarded to Konstantin Stepanovich Staritsky for hydrographic research in the Pacific Ocean (1874). In different years, the medal was received by Mikhail Vasilyevich Pevtsov for his work "An Outline of a Journey in Mongolia" (1885), Leonid Ludvigovich Breitfus for the study of the Barents Sea (1907 g.) and others.
5. Gold medal. Petr Petrovich Semyonov:
This medal is awarded for the study of environmental issues, scientific works on soil geography and description of vast parts of Russia and other countries. It was established in 1899, it was received by Peter Yulievich Schmidt for studying water conditions in the Far East (1906), Lev Semenovich Berg for studying the Aral Sea (1909) and other scientists.
6. Gold medal. Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky:
The medal is awarded for discoveries in deserts and mountainous countries, for expeditions to study the peoples of Russia and other countries. Established on August 29, 1946 and awarded once every 2 years. One of those who received this award is Alexander Mikhailovich Berlyant.
7. Gold medal. Alexander Fedorovich Treshnikov:
The medal is awarded to participants of expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, dedicated to the study of climatic conditions, as a result of which scientific discoveries were made, as well as for the development of the polar regions.
8. Gold medal. Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklukho-Maclay:
Awarded for research in ethnography, historical geography, cultural heritage.
9. Small gold and silver medals:
They can be obtained once a year. Small gold was awarded to the authors of scientific papers in one of the directions of the Russian Geographical Society, which systematize the results of research done on any subject. Silver is awarded for unselfish assistance to the Society. Both medals were established in 1858. Small gold medals were awarded to Petr Petrovich Semenov for the work and services rendered to the Society (1866), Venedikt Ivanovich Dybowski and Viktor Alexandrovich Godlevsky for the exploration of Lake Baikal (1870) and others. Small silver medals were awarded to Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky for the article "Nonresident population of the southern part of Primorskaya Oblast" (1869), Alexander Andreevich Dostoevsky for his help in compiling the "History of the Society" (1895) and many other scientists.
In addition to medals, the Society annually awards the following awards:
1. Prize to them. Semyon Ivanovich Dezhnev:
2. Honorary Diploma:
Awarded to scientists for research in geography and related sciences. The decision to award a diploma is published on the Russian Geographical Society website.
3. Certificate of honor:
The diploma is awarded for the contribution to the development of the Society. As a rule, the presentation takes place on an anniversary or is associated with an important date.
4. Personal scholarship:
Awarded at least 10 times a year. It is awarded to young scientists in the field of geography for the best scientific works.
The Russian Geographical Society provides grants in priority areas - funds for financing research and educational projects aimed at achieving the goals and solving the problems of the Society.
Grant projects should be of great public importance and be oriented towards achieving practical results in the interests of Russia.
Grants are awarded every year since 2010 on a competitive basis. The competition is organized at the end of the year and lasts a month. For example, in 2010 the Russian Geographical Society provided financial assistance to 13 projects in the amount of 42 million rubles, a year later the number of projects increased greatly - to 56. More than 180 million rubles were allocated for them. In 2012, almost 200 million rubles were allocated for 52 projects. And in 2013, grant support in the amount of more than 100 million rubles was provided to 114 projects.
The Russian Geographical Society has many periodicals. For example, "Bulletin of the Imperial Geographical Society", "Living Antiquity", "Questions of Geography", "Geographic News", etc.
The RGS has 85 regional branches in the Russian Federation. Their activity is to increase the level of knowledge of citizens about their region, increase the number of activists of the Russian Geographical Society, and draw attention to the environmental protection.
Novosibirsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society (RGO)
Our site was created by a group of members of the Novosibirsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society (RGO), more than 400 authors. The Novosibirsk branch is located in Siberia, and this determines its goals and objectives: uniting all geographers, scientists, teachers, professionals and simply nature lovers, studying and solving urgent problems of the environment, interaction between society and nature. Description of the most beautiful and interesting places, assistance in organizing tourism.
The Russian Geographical Society is one of the oldest in the world.
The Russian Geographical Society is a public organization, one of the oldest geographical societies in the world. On August 18, 1845, by the Highest order of Emperor Nicholas I, the proposal of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia, Count L.A. Perovsky, on the creation of the Russian Geographical Society (later the Imperial Russian Geographical Society) in St. Petersburg was approved.
The main goal of the founders of the Society was: the study of "the native land and the people living in it", that is, to collect and disseminate geographical, statistical and ethnographic information about Russia itself.
Among the founders of the Russian Geographical Society: Admirals I.F.Kruzenshtern and P.I. Rikord, Vice Admiral F.P. Litke, Rear Admiral F.P. Wrangel, Academicians K.I. Arseniev, K.M.Ber, P.I. Keppen, V. Ya. Struve, military geographer, surveyor and writer M.P. Vronchenko, etc. The idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a society turned out to be so interesting and useful that from the moment of the foundation of the Russian Geographical Society the best minds of Russia took part in its activities, and son of Nicholas I - Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich agreed to become its first chairman.
The main task of the Russian Geographical Society is the collection and dissemination of reliable geographical information. Expeditions of the Russian Geographical Society played an important role in the development of Siberia, the Far East, Central and Central Asia, the World Ocean, in the development of navigation, the discovery and study of new lands, in the formation of meteorology and climatology. Since 1956, the RGS has been a member of the International Geographical Union.
The Novosibirsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society is headed by the Academic Council and the Presidium elected by it.
Currently, the NO RGS has about 200 full members.
The Novosibirsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society organizes seminars and conferences, photo exhibitions.
Field research, expeditions, travels in different regions of the world are organized.
The first in Russia was organized in Novosibirsk Expeditionary Centerallowing to carry out large-scale, complex expeditions in any region of Asia
Website The Novosibirsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society is the largest in Russia, it contains more than 5000 articles and materials. The site unites travelers and scientists, photographers and people who want to know about the world around them.
We invite everyone to take part in the work of the Geographical Society.
We will be happy to post on our website information about your travels, expeditions, unusual phenomena.
We are ready to post your information if it is interesting and meets the objectives of the Russian Geographical Society.
We are ready to help members of the Russian Geographical Society to create their own section on our website.
Contact: Komarov Vitaly
Russian Geographical Society Novosibirsk branch
Among the founding members of the Society were also the geographer and statistician K.I. Arsenyev, the director of the Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Internal Affairs A.I. Levshin, the traveler P.A.Chikhachev, linguist, ethnographer, personal secretary and official at special assignment of the Minister of the Interior V. I. Dal, Orenburg Governor-General V. A. Perovsky, writer and philanthropist Prince V. F. Odoevsky.
Start of activity
Form IRGO, 1914
IRGO emblem, 1915
IRGO stamp, 1915
VGO emblem, 1970s
The Russian Geographical Society was conceived as a geographic and statistical society, under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but by the order of the emperor it was named Geographic. The initial financing of the Society was state-owned and amounted to 10 thousand rubles a year; subsequently, patrons of art made a significant contribution to financing the enterprises of the Russian Geographical Society.
The society quickly covered the whole of Russia with its subdivisions. In 1851, the first two regional departments were opened - Caucasian in Tiflis and Siberian in Irkutsk, then departments were created: Orenburg, North-West in Vilna, South-West in Kiev, West-Siberian in Omsk, Priamursky in Khabarovsk, Turkestan in Tashkent. They conducted extensive research into their regions.
During the imperial period of its activity, the Society played the role of a platform for informal dialogue between departments that carried out cartographic, statistical and research work: "In its (Society's) environment, the heads of various state institutions involved in cartography of Russia came together to discuss their subjects."
Structure
- Department of Physical Geography
- Department of Mathematical Geography
- Department of Statistics
- Department of Ethnography
- Political and Economic Committee
- Arctic Research Commission
- Seismic commission
The creation of a permanent commission of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (IRGO) for the study of the Arctic made it possible to systematize expeditionary activities and generalize the unique information obtained about the nature, geology and ethnography of the Far North. The world famous Chukotka, Yakutsk and Kola expeditions were held. The report on one of the Arctic expeditions of the society interested the great scientist D.I.Mendeleev, who developed several projects for the development and research of the Arctic.
The Russian Geographical Society became one of the organizers and participants of the First International Polar Year, during which the Society established autonomous polar stations at the mouth of the Lena River and on Novaya Zemlya.
The Seismic Commission of the Russian Geographical Society was created in 1887 after a strong earthquake in the city of Verny (Alma-Ata). The commission was created on the initiative and with the active participation of IV Mushketov.
On March 5, 1912, the Council of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society approved the regulation on the Permanent Environmental Commission.
Honorary Members of the Society
During the imperial period, members of foreign royal families were elected honorary members of the society (for example, the personal friend of P.P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansk, the Belgian king Leopold I, the Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid II, British Prince Albert), famous foreign researchers and geographers (Baron Ferdinand von Richtofen, Roald Amudsen, Fridtjof Nansen and others).
In addition to the immediate leaders of the Russian Empire and members of the royal family, more than 100 ministers, governors, members of the State Council and the Senate were active members of the Geographical Society in different years. It was their fruitful work in the Geographical Society that helped many of them achieve such high results: it was D.A.Milyutin, who restored the prestige of the Russian army after the defeat in the Crimean War, who received the post of Orenburg governor thanks to outstanding Asian studies, Ya.V. Khanykov, senator and academician V. P. Bezobrazov and many others. dr.
Public opinion in those years was formed by members of the Russian Geographical Society, Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow and Bishop Jacob of Nizhny Novgorod, book publishers Alfred Devrien and Adolf Marks, editors of the largest Russian and foreign newspapers E.E. Ukhtomsky and Mackenzie Wallace (Donald Mackenzie Wallace).
Philanthropists of the Society
The Russian Geographical Society also laid the foundations of the national reserve management, the ideas of the first Russian specially protected natural areas (SPNA) were born within the framework of the Permanent Environmental Commission of the IRGO, the creator of which was Academician I.P. Borodin.
With the assistance of the Russian Geographical Society in 1918, the world's first higher educational institution of a geographical profile, the Geographic Institute, was created.
In 1919, one of the most famous members of the Society, V.P.Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, founded the first geographical museum in Russia.
During the Soviet period, the Society was actively developing new areas of activity related to the promotion of geographical knowledge: a commission of the corresponding orientation was established, an Advisory Bureau under the leadership of L. S. Berg was opened, the famous lecture hall named after L. Yu.M. Shokalsky.
In the post-war period, a rapid increase in the number of members of the Society was recorded, if in 1940 it consisted of 745 people, then in 1987 the number of members reached 30 thousand, that is, it increased almost 40 times.
Patrons and trustees of the society
Chairman of the Board of Trustees and President of the Russian Geographical Society, 2015
Company charter
The Russian Geographical Society is the only public organization in Russia that has continuously existed since its creation in 1845. The charters of the Russian Geographical Society convincingly demonstrate the legally irreproachable legal succession of society throughout its 170-year history. The first charter of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society was approved by Nicholas I on December 28, 1849 (January 9, 1850).
The current charter, according to which the Russian Geographical Society received the status of an "All-Russian public organization", was approved by the XIV Congress of the All-Russian public organization "Russian Geographical Society", minutes of December 11, 2010.
Society management
Portraits of leaders along the stairs of the main building of the Russian Geographical Society
Over the years, the Russian Geographical Society was led by representatives of the Russian Imperial House, famous travelers, researchers and statesmen.
Chairs and Presidents
From 1845 to the present, 12 leaders of the society have changed:
| № | Years of leadership | FULL NAME. | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1845-1892 | Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich | The chairman |
| 2. | 1892-1917 | Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich | The chairman |
| 3. | 1917-1931 | Shokalsky, Yuliy Mikhailovich | The chairman |
| 4. | 1931-1940 | Vavilov, Nikolay Ivanovich | The president |
| 5. | 1940-1950 | Berg, Lev Semyonovich | The president |
| 6. | 1952-1964 | Pavlovsky, Evgeny Nikanorovich | The president |
| 7. | 1964-1977 | Kalesnik, Stanislav Vikentievich | The president |
| 8. | 1977-1991 | Treshnikov, Alexey Fyodorovich | The president |
| 9. | 1991-2000 | Lavrov, Sergey Borisovich | The president |
| 10. | 2000-2002 | Seliverstov, Yuri Petrovich | The president |
| 11. | 2002-2009 | Komaritsyn, Anatoly Alexandrovich | The president |
| 12. | 2009-present in. | Shoigu, Sergey Kuzhugetovich | The president |
Honorary Presidents
- 1931-1940 - Yu.M. Shokalsky
- 1940-1945 - V. L. Komarov
- 2000-n. in. - V. M. Kotlyakov
Vice Presidents (Vice Presidents)
- 1850-1856 - M. N. Muravyov (vice-chairman)
- 1857-1873 - F.P. Litke (vice-chairman)
- 1873-1914 - P. P. Semyonov (vice-chairman)
- 1914-1917 - Yu.M. Shokalsky (vice-chairman)
- 1917-1920 - N. D. Artamonov (vice-chairman)
- 1920-1931 - G.E. Grumm-Grzhimailo (vice-chairman)
- 1931-1932 - N. Ya.Marr (since 1931, deputy heads became known as vice presidents)
- 1932-1938 - the post remained vacant
- 1938-1945 - I. Yu. Krachkovsky
- 1942-19 ?? - Z. Yu. Shokalskaya (acting vice president)
- 19??-1952
- 1952-1964 - S. V. Kalesnik
- 1964-1977 - A.F.Treshnikov
- 1977-1992 - S. B. Lavrov
- 1992-2000 - Yu. P. Seliverstov
- 2000-2002 - A. A. Komaritsyn
- 2002-2005 - ?
- 2005-2009 - ?
- 2009-2010 - ?
- 2010-present in. - A. N. Chilingarov (first vice president); NS Kasimov (first vice president); A. A. Chibilev; P. Ya.Baklanov; K. V. Chistyakov;
Chiefs of staff
Chiefs of staff (assistants to the chairman, academic secretaries, executive directors)
Governing bodies
According to the current Charter (section 5), the structure of the governing bodies of the Society includes: Congress, Board of Trustees, Media Council, Governing Council, Academic Council, Council of Elders, Council of Regions, President of the Society, Executive Directorate and Audit Commission.
Headquarters function in Moscow and St. Petersburg
Congresses of the Media Council
In 2010, the My Planet TV channel won the Golden Ray award in the Best Educational TV Channel of the Year nomination.
There is a program of the Russian Geographical Society on Radio Mayak.
Governing Council Academic Council Council of Elders Council of Regions Executive Directorate Audit Commission
Regional offices
The first "peripheral departments" of the society were created in:
- 1850 - Caucasian in Tiflis
- 1851 - Siberian in Irkutsk
Other branches of the society were created in Vilna (1867), Orenburg (1867), Kiev (1873), Omsk (1877), Khabarovsk (1894), Tashkent (1897) and other cities. Some organizations were completely autonomous - for example, the Society for the Study of the Amur Region, created in Vladivostok in 1884 and only formally included in the IRGO in 1894. In 1876, the departments in Vilna and Kiev ceased their activities.
Awards of the Russian Geographical Society
The RGS awarding system includes a number of medals of various denominations (large gold medals, personalized gold medals, small gold, silver and bronze medals); various awards; honorary reviews and diplomas. In the period from 1930 to 1945, no awards were given.
- Big gold medals
- Personalized gold medals
- P.P.Semenov Gold Medal (1899-1930, since 1946).
- Medal named after Count F.P. Litke (1873-1930, since 1946).
- Gold Medal named after N.M. Przhevalsky (since 1946).
- Small Gold and Equivalent Medals
- Small gold medal (1858-1930, since 1998) - was awarded for useful geographical research that did not fit the conditions of the Konstantin Medal (S.V. Maksimov in 1861; B. Ya.Sweitzer; N.A. Korguev; A.N. Afanasyev; P. N. Rybnikov; P. O. Bobrovsky)
- Medal named after N.M. Przhevalsky (silver; 1895-1930).
- Unnumbered Minor Medals
- Small Silver Medal (1858-1930, since 2012).
- Small bronze medal (1858-1930).
- Prizes
- Prize named after N.M. Przhevalsky
- Tillo Prize
- Honorary reviews and diplomas
Scientific Library of the Russian Geographical Society. 1916 year
Library of the Russian Geographical Society
Entrance to the library of the Russian Geographical Society, Main building, St. Petersburg
Library of the Russian Geographical Society. 2004 year.
In 1845, simultaneously with the Russian Geographical Society, its library was created. The beginning of the book collection was laid by books donated by members of the Society and personally sent by authors. The acquisition of the fund provided for the purchase of books and the exchange of publications with Russian and foreign scientific institutions. The creation and operation of such a library is of great cultural importance for Russia. Realizing this, 4 years after its foundation, the leadership of the Society entrusted the first work to put the library in order to Peter Semyonov (later - Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, the most famous Russian geographer and statesman).
The collection of the Library of the Russian Geographical Society (490,000 copies) includes publications on the entire spectrum of geographical sciences and related disciplines - from physical geography to medical geography and geography of art. Foreign publications make up a significant part of the collection, which emphasizes the scientific nature of the library.
As part of the rare book fund of the XVI-XVIII centuries. there are editions Rossica (reports of foreigners about Russia), publications of the era of Peter I, classic descriptions of travel and discoveries.
The cartographic collection, numbering 42,000 copies, contains rare and single copies of handwritten maps and atlases.
The richest reference fund is represented by encyclopedias, dictionaries, guidebooks, bibliographic publications.
The RGS Publishing Fund contained copies of all publications published under the heading "Russian Geographical Society". Unfortunately, the lack of funding for regional offices in the 1990s broke this tradition. Today, the collection of publications of the Russian Geographical Society can no longer be characterized by maximum completeness.
The collection includes books from the personal libraries of the members of the Russian Geographical Society, who stood at its origins - the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky and other prominent Russian geographers - Shokalsky, Pavlovsky, Shnitnikov, Kondratyev.
From 1938 to the present day, the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences (BAN) has been involved in purchasing publications for the RGS Library. Since the middle of the 20th century, the library of the Russian Geographical Society has been a department of the BAN.
The history of the RGS Library is inseparable from the history of Russia. During the Civil War, the Society's Library was a kind of "club" of the geographers of Petrograd. During the Great Patriotic War, the library was not intended for evacuation from the besieged Leningrad, providing its funds to the soldiers and commanders of the Soviet Army even at night, when time was freed up to study literature. Materials on the hydrometeorological regime of Lake Ladoga were used to build the Road of Life.
The uniqueness of the RGS Library fund is emphasized by the books inscribed by famous travelers and researchers of the 2nd half of the 20th century - T. Heyerdahl, Y. Senkevich, Soviet cosmonauts, L. Gumilyov.
The constant task of the Library is to provide information for the professional and social activities of the members of the Russian Geographical Society and employees of academic institutions in Russia.
Library Leaders
Publications of the Russian Geographical Society
- Izvestia of the Russian Geographical Society is the oldest Russian geographical scientific journal, published by the Society since 1865. It comes out in a very small circulation (about 130 copies), it is known mainly to specialists. Editorial office in St. Petersburg.
- Questions of geography - a series of scientific thematic collections on geography, published since 1946. By 2016, more than 140 collections were published in all branches of geographical science.
- Ice and Snow is a scientific journal covering issues of glaciology and cryolithology.
At present, the RGS publication includes the popular science magazine Around the World, published since 1861, with an editorial office in Moscow.
Scientific archive of the Russian Geographical Society
Stained glass in the main building of the Russian Geographical Society
Simultaneously with the foundation of the Society (1845), the Scientific Archive began to form - the oldest and only specially geographic archive in the country. The first manuscripts that entered the archive were private donations. Somewhat later, the archive began to be systematically replenished with the personal funds of members of the Russian Geographical Society.
Especially many manuscripts were received from members of the Society, lovers of geography from the broad masses of the rural intelligentsia: teachers, doctors, clergy in response to the Society's ethnographic program, published in 1848 and sent out in an amount of seven thousand copies to all corners of Russia. The program included six sections: about appearance, about language, about home life, about the peculiarities of social life, about mental and moral abilities and education, about folk legends and monuments.
Of the large number of programs developed by the Department of Ethnography, it is worth mentioning some that had a noticeable impact on the replenishment of the manuscripts of the archive, these are: "A program for collecting information on folk superstitions and beliefs in Southern Russia" (1866), "A program for collecting folk legal customs "(1877)," A program for collecting information about wedding ceremonies among the Great Russians and foreigners of Eastern Russia "(1858). The manuscripts are distributed among the provinces. The collections of the Caucasus, Central Asian Russia, Siberia, the Baltic region, Belarus, Poland, and Finland are especially distinguished. The manuscripts of entire groups of nationalities - Slavs (eastern, western, southern), nationalities of Central Asian Russia, Siberia, European Russia - are highlighted. Materials related to foreign countries are classified by parts of the world: Europe, Asia, Africa, America, Australia and Oceania.
In total, there are 115 ethnographic collections in the archive, which is more than 13,000 items.
Among the documentary materials of the archive, the fund of the Chancellery of the Russian Geographical Society, numbering more than 5000 storage units, stands out for the richness and diversity. These are manuscripts on organization and creation. Societies, materials on scientific and organizational activities, materials on the organization of numerous expeditions equipped by the Society, correspondence on international relations of the Society, and so on.
A unique collection of documents is the personal funds of the great Russian geographers and travelers: P.P.Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, N.M. Przhevalsky, N.N. Miklukho-Maklai, P.K. Kozlov, G.E. Grumm-Grzhimailo, A. I. Voeikova, L. S. Berga, V. L. Komarov, V. A. Obruchev, N. I. Vavilov, Yu. M. Shokalsky, B. A. Vilkitsky and others. Being prominent scientists and travelers, they left the most interesting descriptions of natural conditions, economy, life, folk art of the visited places. For example, the personal fund of N.M. Przhevalsky - 766 items, including manuscripts and field diaries of all five travels to Central Asia.
At present, there are 144 personal funds in the archives of the Society - this is more than 50,000 items.
The photo archive is rich and varied, numbering over 3000 items.
These are photographs from expeditionary research, photographic landscapes, types of population, everyday subjects, types of cities and villages, and so on. Photos of the Resettlement Office.
The collection of drawings - 227 items of storage - is especially distinguished.
As historical relics, the archive stores medals - these are 120 storage units.
The archive contains 98 items that are of historical value - these are objects of Buddhist worship, unique vases made of bronze and porcelain of Japanese and Chinese work, and so on.
The archive of the Russian Geographical Society is a scientific department where representatives of various specialties study its materials.
The Society's archive participates in various international exhibitions and is engaged in publishing activities. Archive staff advise and select documents for documentaries and feature films, and so on.
Scientific archive managers
A significant contribution to the development of the scientific archive of the Geographical Society was made by E.I.Gleiber, who was in charge of it from 1936 to 1942. During the blockade of Leningrad, on January 14, 1942, he died of exhaustion in the archive building.
- After the death of E.I.Gleiber, B.A.Valskaya was appointed head of the archive.
- After BA Valskaya the archive was headed by TP Matveeva for several decades.
- 1995 - present - Maria Fedorovna Matveeva.
Museum of the Russian Geographical Society
In 1860, Academician K.M.Bair headed a commission for the scientific selection of exhibits that were to be included in the fund of the Museum of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. But only 100 years later, in 1970, the V Congress of the USSR Civil Society adopted a Resolution on the organization of the museum, approved and financed by the Museum Council under the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The Museum of the Geographical Society of the USSR was included in the list of museums of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
The museum was opened on December 9, 1986, reflecting the rich and colorful history of the Russian Geographical Society.
The exposition of the museum clearly showed the original documents and exhibits, paintings and old tomes, which arouse the sincere interest of visitors to this intimate and very cozy corner of the building.
During the construction of the RGS house, there were no halls for the museum, but the interiors of the building itself - the lobby, stairs, library, archive, offices and assembly halls - are museum premises, one of which houses the Museum.
Small in area, but large in documentary content, the museum did not become an exhibition of documents or an "iconostasis" of portraits. Plane material in showcases is decorated with artistic techniques, not monotonously, but lively and interesting. After all, as early as 1891, the IRGO was transferred to the museums of St. Petersburg: the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, the Botanical and Zoological Museums, the Museum of the Mining Institute (for lack of space for their placement in the IRGO).
The exposition contains many historical photographs, letters and maps of famous explorers-travelers: A.I. Voeikov, N.M. Knipovich, R. E. Kols, G. Ya. Sedov, I. V. Mushketov, S. S. Neustruev, V.K. Arsenyev, B.P. Orlov, Yu.M. Shokalsky, I.D.Papanin, S.V. Kalesnik, A.F. Treshnikov. But there are also voluminous objects. Among the materials of V.A.Obruchev, there are cute little things of a field first-aid kit, an old cookery, a smoking pipe. Next to the diary, written during the expedition to the Pamirs in 1885-1886, written in the amazing handwriting of G. Ye. Grumm-Grzhimailo, a barometer and a box for feathers; perfectly preserved drawings of butterflies, which he collected together with the Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich (later chairman of the IRGO). Immediately there is the "correspondence" of these researchers who are keen on entomology. And next to it is the "visiting card" of the Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich Romanov, the chairman of the IRGO, with his request to withdraw from himself the powers of the IRGO chairman in connection with the change of power in the country.
Historical reference
The Russian Geographical Society was founded in St. Petersburg by the Imperial Order of Emperor Nicholas I in 1845 under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which emphasized its state status.
The idea of \u200b\u200bcreating a community of scientists for a comprehensive study of the nature of the native country, its population, economy, literally "hovered in the air" after the greatest geographical research and discoveries of the 18th and first half of the 19th century.
Such expeditions as the Second Kamchatka Expedition 1733-1742, Academic Expeditions 1768-1774, the discovery of the first section of the Antarctic land. F.F.Bellingshausen and M.K. Lazarev in 1820 - 1821, expedition A.F. Middendorf (1843 - 1844) to Eastern Siberia did not know equal in scale in the history of geographical research.
And yet, for such a huge country, all this was negligible, which was perfectly understood by the most far-sighted scientists, who realized the need for serious comprehensive knowledge of their country, and to achieve this, a special organization was needed to coordinate such work.
In 1843, under the leadership of PI Keppen, an encyclopedic scientist, an outstanding statistician and ethnographer, a circle of statisticians and travelers began to meet regularly. Later, the well-known naturalist and traveler K.M. Baer, \u200b\u200ba scientist with an extraordinary breadth of scientific interests, and the famous navigator Admiral F.P. Litke, explorer of Novaya Zemlya, head of the round-the-world expedition of 1826-1829, joined the circle. This collection can be considered the predecessor of the Geographical Society.
The first meeting of the founders took place on October 1, 1845. It elected the full members of the Society (51 people). On October 19, 1845, in the conference hall of the Imperial Academy of Sciences and Arts, the first general meeting of the full members of the Russian Geographical Society was held, which elected the Council of the Society. Opening this meeting, F.P. Litke identified the main task of the Russian Geographical Society as "cultivating the geography of Russia." physical, mathematical geography, statistics and ethnography.
In 1851, the first two regional departments were opened - the Caucasian (| in Tiflis) and the Siberian (in Irkutsk).
The first de facto head of the Russian Geographical Society was its vice-chairman F.P. Litke - until 1873. He was replaced by P.P. Semenov, who later received the addition of Tyan-Shansky to his surname and led the society for 41 years until his death in 1914.
Already in the first decades of its activity, the Society united the most advanced and educated people of Russia, who were close to the acute socio-economic problems of the era. The Russian Geographical Society has taken a prominent place in the scientific and social life of the country.
Traveling is one of the oldest methods of knowing the world around you. For geography in the past, it was, in fact, the most important, when only the testimony of eyewitnesses who visited certain countries could provide reliable information about the peoples, economy and physical appearance of the Earth. Scientific expeditions, which gained a large scale in the 18th and 19th centuries. were, according to the apt expression of N.M. Przhevalsky, essentially "scientific reconnaissance", as they could meet the needs of descriptive regional studies and satisfy the needs of primary and general acquaintance with the essential features of a particular country. Numerous expeditions organized by the Russian Geographical Society contributed to his fame and recognition of his merits.
A.P. Chekhov wrote about travelers of the last century: "Composing the most poetic and cheerful element of society, they excite, comfort and ennoble." And in the same place: “One Przewalski or one Stanley is worth a dozen educational institutions and hundreds of good books.
The most notable expeditions of the Russian Geographical Society in the Caucasus were the studies of plant geography by V.I. Masalsky, N. Kuznetsov, G.I. Radde, A.N. Krasnov.
The RGS paid most attention to the white spots of the Northern Urals, Siberia and the Far East. These unexplored lands were devoted to: the Vilyui expedition, travels in the Ussuriysk region of N.M. Przhevalsky, the exploration of Siberia by P.A. Kropotkin, B.I. Dybowski, A.L. Chekanovsky, I.D. Chersky, N.M. Yadrintsev, a large ethnographic expedition that covered the expanses of Eastern Siberia (which was financed by the rich Lena gold miner A.M. Sibiryakov) under the leadership of D.A. Klements, V.A.Obruchev's research, V.L.Komarov's travels in Kamchatka.
Central Asia and Kazakhstan were not forgotten. The first who, on behalf of the Society, began researching these vast territories, was P.P. Semenov. His work was continued by N.A. Severtsov, A.A. Tillo, I.V. Mushketov, V.A.Obruchev, V.V. Bartold, L.S. Berg.
The work was carried out outside Russia as well. In Mongolia and China, scientists worked whose names are not forgotten even today: N.M. Przhevalsky, M.V. Pevtsov, K.I.Bogdanovich, G.N. Potanin, G.E. Grumm-Grzhimailo, P.K. Kozlov, V.A. Obruchev - all active figures of the Russian Geographical Society.
In Africa and Oceania, the travels and explorations of N.S. Gumilyov, E.P. Kovalevsky, V.V. Yunker, E.N. Pavlovsky made a significant contribution to the study of the African continent, and N.N. Miklukho-Maclay's travels to the Pacific Islands oceans are arguably the most remarkable events of the Russian Geographical Society.
The life of the Russian Geographical Society was not interrupted even in the most difficult and hungry years - 1918, 1919, 1920 ... In the most difficult year of 1918, the Society held three General Meetings with scientific reports, in 1919 - two meetings. It is also surprising that 44 people joined the Society in 1918, 60 in 1919, and 75 in 1920.
In 1923 P.K. Kozlov's remarkable work "Mongolia and Amdo, and the dead city of Khara-Khoto" was published. In the same year, the Council of People's Commissars approved the organization of a new Mongol-Tibetan expedition "with the release of the necessary funds for this expedition."
One of the important scientific directions of the Society's work for the state was the compilation of the Geographic-Statistical Dictionary of the USSR, which was to replace the one that was published in 1863-1885. the dictionary, compiled by P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, is outdated in many parts.
Post-revolutionary Russia found the strength to defend its national interests, and this was done on the initiative of the Russian Geographical Society. Thus, in 1922, the Society protested against the proposal of the Royal Geographical Society of London to remove the names in Tibet associated with the names of Russian travelers. In 1923, the Council of the Russian Geographical Society protested against the Norwegian renaming on the Novaya Zemlya map. Since 1923, the international relations of the Society have been gradually restored, thanks to the efforts of YM Shokalsky and VL Komarov. The scientific blockade of the young state did not last long; it became impossible to ignore Russian science further. Of course, there were also big losses - some of the Russian scientists who did not accept the revolution were exiled abroad.
The 30s were a period of expansion and consolidation of everything that was done after the revolution, years of strengthening the Society itself, the growth of its branches and departments. Since 1931, N.I. Vavilov became the president of the Society. In 1933, the First All-Union Congress of Geographers convened in Leningrad, which was attended by 803 delegates - a record figure for today. Many reports at the congress (A.A. Grigoriev, R.L. Samoilovich, O.Yu. Schmidt) were, as it were, final, noting the enormous growth of geographical research in our country and the responsible role of the State Geographical Society in the new conditions.
On March 21, 1992, the Scientific Council of the Society adopted a historic decision - "In connection with the liquidation of the union structures and the need to rename the Geographic Society of the USSR, its original historical name -" Russian Geographical Society ".
Today the Russian Geographical Society is an all-Russian public organization that unites 27 thousand members on the territory of all constituent entities of the Russian Federation and abroad and has regional and local branches, as well as branches and representative offices throughout Russia. The largest branches are Primorskoe and Moskovskoe.
The central organization of the Russian Geographical Society is located in St. Petersburg, in a house on Grivtsov Lane, built in 1908 with money from members of the Society, largely thanks to the efforts of P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. Today, in the halls of the Society, members of various departments and commissions of the Central Organization (there are 33 of them) gather every day to discuss modern problems of geography and related disciplines. The building houses the Scientific Archives, Museum, Library, Central Lecture Hall named after YM Shokalsky, printing house.
The Russian Geographical Society continues to work for the benefit of the people of our country, offering its great scientific potential to both the state and individual subjects of the Russian Federation. Thus, the Society is trying to work and even earn. But ... The main problem in the activities of the Russian Geographical Society, as, apparently, and in general institutions of science and culture, remains the financial one. It seems that today everyone has already understood that if an institution of science and culture becomes "self-sustaining", then it turns into a commercial enterprise. However, the times when the mayor wrote to P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky: "Show mercy, accept 10 thousand rubles in silver" (for the needs of the Society), have not yet returned.
Since the founding of the Russian Geographical Society, the state understood the need to financially support the Society and did this until the early 1990s. Today, high government officials responded with a cold refusal to the request of a full member of the Society, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma A.N. Chilingarov to help the pride of Russian and world geographical science, referring to new laws that do not allow funding the activities of public organizations from the state budget. By the way, the new laws do not even prohibit doing this, and in the Tsarist and Soviet times, the laws were hardly softer.
Science develops only when scientists can communicate, exchange the results of their research. For this, the Russian Geographical Society regularly holds congresses.
In 1974, local branches of the Russian Geographical Society were organized in Kislovodsk and Pyatigorsk. The Kislovodsk branch currently has 26 people. They annually hold scientific conferences, at which the Deputy Director of the Regional Museum named after V.I. Prozriteleva - Prave, chief archaeologist of the Stavropol Territory Sergei N. Savenko, candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, astrophysicist Chernyshov Vladimir Ivanovich, geologists and local historians of the cities of Kavminvod, including the author of this article.
Since 2007, efforts have been made to revive the Pyatigorsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society. Expeditions are organized by the Scientific Tourism Department of the Russian Geographical Society. Reports about them are published and posted on the Internet.
Full member of the Russian Geographical Society V.D. Stasenko
"The main idea of \u200b\u200bthe founders of the Society – to involve in the study of the native land and the people living in it all the best forces of the Russian land"
P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky
The Russian Geographical Society was founded by the Imperial order of Emperor Nicholas I in 1845. On August 18 (August 6, old style), 1845, the emperor approved the provisional charter of the Russian Geographical Society.
The idea of \u200b\u200bcreating the Society belonged to Admiral Fyodor Petrovich Litke, educator of the future first Chairman of the Russian Geographical Society, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. The main task of the new organization was to gather and send the best young forces of Russia to a comprehensive study of their native land.
Among the founders of the Russian Geographical Society were famous navigators: admirals Fedor Petrovich Litke, Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel, Pyotr Ivanovich Rikord; members of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences: naturalist Karl Maksimovich Baer, \u200b\u200bastronomer Vasily Yakovlevich Struve, geologist Grigory Petrovich Gelmersen, statistician Pyotr Ivanovich Keppen; prominent military leaders (former and current officers of the General Staff): Quartermaster General Fyodor Fedorovich Berg, geodesist Mikhail Pavlovich Vronchenko, statesman Mikhail Nikolaevich Muravyov; representatives of the Russian intelligentsia: linguist Vladimir Ivanovich Dal and philanthropist Prince Vladimir Fedorovich Odoevsky.
This is how the famous geographer, traveler and statesman Pyotr Petrovich Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky described the essence of the Russian Geographical Society: "Free and open to all who are imbued with love for their native land and deep, unbreakable faith in the future of the Russian state and the Russian people, the corporation".
Since its foundation, the Russian Geographical Society did not stop its activities, however, the name of the organization has changed several times: it bore its modern name in 1845-1850, 1917-1926 and from 1992 to the present. It was named Imperial from 1850 to 1917. In Soviet times, it was called the State Geographical Society (1926-1938) and the Geographical Society of the USSR (or the All-Union Geographical Society) (1938-1992).
Over the years, the Russian Geographical Society was led by representatives of the Imperial House of Romanovs, famous travelers, researchers and statesmen. The Chairmen of the Russian Geographical Society were: Grand Dukes Konstantin Nikolaevich (1845-1892) and Nikolai Mikhailovich (1892-1917), and Vice-Chairmen were: Fedor Petrovich Litke (1845-1850, 1857-1872), Mikhail Nikolaevich Muravyov (1850-1856 ), Pyotr Petrovich Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky (1873-1914), Julius Mikhailovich Shokalsky (1914-1917), from 1917 to 1931 was the Chairman of the Society. Since 1931, the Society has been led by the Presidents: Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov (1931-1940), Lev Semyonovich Berg (1940-1950), Evgeny Nikanorovich Pavlovsky (1952-1964), Stanislav Vikentievich Kalesnik (1964-1977), Alexei Fyodorovich Tryoshnikov (1977-1991 ), Sergey Borisovich Lavrov (1991–2000), Yuri Petrovich Seliverstov (2000–2002), Anatoly Aleksandrovich Komaritsyn (2002–2009), Sergey Kuzhugetovich Shoigu (2009-present).
The Russian Geographical Society has made a major contribution to the study of European Russia, the Urals, Siberia, the Far East, Central and Central Asia, the Caucasus, Iran, India, New Guinea, polar countries and other territories. These studies are associated with the names of famous travelers, such as Nikolai Alekseevich Severtsov, Ivan Vasilyevich Mushketov, Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky, Grigory Nikolaevich Potanin, Mikhail Vasilyevich Pevtsov, Grigory Efimovich and Mikhail Efimovich Grumm-Grzhimailo, Pyotr Petrovich Semenov-Afanchevas Ob , Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov, Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklukho-Maclay, Alexander Ivanovich Voeikov, Lev Semyonovich Berg and many others.
Also an important tradition of the Russian Geographical Society is communication with the Russian fleet and sea expeditions. Among the full members of the Society were famous marine researchers: Pyotr Fedorovich Anzhu, Vasily Stepanovich Zavoiko, Zagoskin Lavrenty Alekseevich, Platon Yuryevich Lisyansky, Fedor Fedorovich Matyushkin, Gennady Ivanovich Nevelskoy, Konstantin Nikolaevich Posiet, Stepan Osipovich Makarov.
During the imperial period, members of foreign royal families were elected honorary members of the Society (for example, the personal friend of Peter Petrovich Semyonov-Tyan-Shansk, the Belgian king Leopold II, the Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid, British Prince Albert), famous foreign researchers and geographers (Baron Ferdinand Richtofen, Roald Amudsen , Fridtjof Nansen and others).
The largest philanthropists who channeled significant funds for the activities of the Society were: merchant Platon Vasilyevich Golubkov, tobacco manufacturer Vasily Grigorievich Zhukov, after whom one of the most prestigious awards of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, Zhukovskaya, was named. A special place among the patrons of the Russian Geographical Society is occupied by the gold miners Sibiryakovs, who financed a number of expeditionary and educational projects.
In 1851, the first two regional departments of the Russian Geographical Society were opened: Caucasian in Tiflis and Siberian in Irkutsk. Then new departments were created: Orenburg, North-West in Vilno, South-West in Kiev, West-Siberian in Omsk, Priamursky in Khabarovsk, Turkestan in Tashkent. They conducted extensive research into their regions. By 1917, the Imperial Russian Geographical Society consisted of 11 departments (including the headquarters in St. Petersburg), two sub-departments and four departments.
During the Soviet era, the work of the Society changed. The Russian Geographical Society has focused on relatively small, but deep and comprehensive regional studies, as well as large theoretical generalizations. The geography of regional branches has significantly expanded: as of 1989–1992, the Central Branch (in Leningrad) and 14 republican branches worked in the Geographical Society of the USSR. In the RSFSR, there were 18 branches, two bureaus and 78 departments.
The Russian Geographical Society also laid the foundations of the national reserve management, the ideas of the first Russian specially protected natural areas were born within the framework of the Permanent Environmental Commission of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, the creator of which was Academician Ivan Parfenievich Borodin.
The most important event was the creation of the Permanent Commission of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society for the Study of the Arctic. The result of her work was the world famous Chukotka, Yakutsk and Kola expeditions. The report on one of the Arctic expeditions of the society interested the great scientist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev, who developed several projects for the development and study of the Arctic.
The Russian Geographical Society became one of the organizers and participants of the first International Polar Year, during which autonomous polar stations were created at the mouth of the Lena River and on Novaya Zemlya.
With the assistance of the Russian Geographical Society in 1918, the world's first higher educational institution of a geographical profile, the Geographic Institute, was created. And in 1919, one of the most famous members of the Society, Veniamin Petrovich Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, founded the first geographical museum in Russia, during the heyday of his collection they occupied the third place in Russia after the Hermitage and the Russian Museum.
During the Soviet period, the Society was actively developing new areas of activity related to the promotion of geographical knowledge. The famous Yuli Mikhailovich Shokalsky lecture hall began its work.
In November 2009, Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu was elected President of the Russian Geographical Society, and a representative Board of Trustees was formed, the chairmanship of which was assumed by the President of Russia Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.
Today the Russian Geographical Society has over 25,000 members in Russia and abroad. Regional offices are open in all 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
The main activities of the Russian Geographical Society are expeditions and research, education and enlightenment, nature conservation, book publishing and work with young people.
The Russian Geographical Society is a non-profit organization and does not receive government funding.