Scientific archive
Maria Matveeva - Head of the Scientific Archive of the Russian Geographical Society
Free phone number in Russia: 8 (800) 700-18-45
Phone number for inquiries: 8 (812) 315-62-82
E-mail: marija.matveeva@rgo.ru
Simultaneously with the founding of the Russian Geographical Society (1845), the scientific archive began to form – the oldest and only geographical archive in the country.
The first manuscripts were donations. The largest number of accessions was related to the activities of the IRGS Branches, with responses to programs and questionnaires. In 1852, 1,290 manuscripts were received. The first complete accounting and systematization of the entire fund was carried out by P.P. Semenov. In 1873, the foundations of the organizational design of the Archive were laid. V.I. Lamansky, V.N. Mainov, and F.I. Istomin were engaged in the cataloging of manuscripts at various times. In 1908, the head of the archive, I.P. Murzin, checked the manuscripts from the catalogues, and there were 2,902 of them.
The founders of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. Photo: Scientific Archive of the RGS
40 years later, by order of of the Council of the Society, D.K. Zelenin was engaged in the description of the archive. He compiled a detailed inventory of 40 governorates of European Russia (alphabetically from Arkhangelsk to Tambov). (see the electronic library of the RGS)
After the description, the guidebook “Opisanie rukopisey Uchenogo arhiva Geograficheskogo obshchestva” (eng. "Description of the manuscripts of the Scientific Archive of the Geographical Society") was published in three volumes, 1914-1916. In 2019, the fourth volume of "Descriptions of the manuscripts ..." was published, starting from the Semipalatinsk Governorate to Yaroslavl Governorate.
The extensive archive fund consists of documents from the office of the Geographical Society itself since its foundation. The fund joined the scientific archive in 1936 and is currently the largest archive fund.
A letter from Przhevalsky's mother, Elena Alekseevna. Photo: Aleksandr Filippov, Scientific Archive of the RGS
In 1933, at the First Geographical Congress, academician I.Y. Krachkovsky made a report "The Archive of the Geographical Society and its tasks in the upcoming work of the Society". In a resolution to the report, the Congress decided to take decisive measures to protect and record handwritten materials, and allocate a special amount to ensure the archive's activities. Implementing the resolution of the congress, the Council of the Society provided the archive with a separate room. Since 1933, the archive began receiving personal funds from prominent Russian geographers and travelers: N.M. Przhevalsky, N.N. Miklukho-Maklay, P.K. Kozlov, G.E. Grumm-Grzhimailo, N.I. Vavilov, P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, V.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, Yu.M. Shokalsky, and others.
First-All-Union-Congress-of-the-Society-1933-a-Group-of-Participants1.јрg Photo of the first All-Union Geographical Congress in 1933. Photo: scientific archive of the RGS
The collections of rare photographs, negatives, slides, and a collection of portraits of members of the Geographical Society and other scientists are extremely interesting.
The collection of drawings, engravings, lithographs, and postcards is particularly highlighted; medals, objects of Buddhist worship, unique Japanese and Chinese bronze and porcelain vases are stored in the archive as historical relics.
In November 2009 the Geographical Society held an Extraordinary Congress at which Sergei Shoigu was elected President of the Russian Geographical Society. Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Geographical Society became Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. On March 15, 2010, at a meeting of the Board of Trustees, the archive received a grant in the category "Preservation of the Heritage of the Russian Geographical Society". The archive staff is doing a lot of work to preserve the national heritage. The archive is equipped with a restoration workshop, which employs professional restorers. The storages have been redesigned in accordance with the requirements and rules for storing unique documents.
The collections of the Scientific Archive of the RGS fully reflect the activities of the Russian Geographical Society from its foundation to the present day.
Currently, there are 144 personal collections in the Society's archive, which is more than 50,000 archival units.
Extremely interesting are the collections of rare photographs, negatives, slides, systematized by parts of the world and countries (about 3,000 archival units), as well as a collection of portraits of members of the Geographical Society and other scientists.
The repository of the Scientific Archive of the RGS. Photo: Natalya Mozilova
The Scientific Archive of the RGS is visited by researchers from different regions of Russia: Yakutia, Altai, Tuva, the Volga Region, the Caucasus, CIS countries, near and far abroad.
In addition to the scientific use of archival materials in the reading room, the Scientific Archive participates in various exhibitions, joint publications, selects and provides documents for documentaries, etc.
The reading room of the Scientific Archive of the RGS. Photo: Natalya Mozilova
When working normally, researchers are allowed into the reading room on the basis of personal application and an identity document. Researchers conducting scientific work in accordance with the plan of scientific institutions or performing official tasks, submit letters from the organizations that sent them indicating the topic and purpose of the research.
Permission to work in the reading rooms is given by the management of the archives for the period required by the users, usually for 1 year from the date of registration.
The archive's reading room is open by appointment: Tuesday, from 11:00 to 17:00; break from 13:00 to 14:00; Thursday, from 14:00 to 17:00.
There is no charge for visiting the archive's reading room and using documents.
Copying and issuance of copies of archival documents made by user orders is carried out in accordance with the regulations for the transfer of electronic copies from the archive of the RGS, approved by the Executive Director on September 5, 2017.
Paid services are provided to users by the archive in accordance with the price list for works and services provided by the Society’s Archive for a fee, approved by the Executive Director of the Russian Geographical Society on March 29, 2015.
Regulations for the provision of copies of documents from the archive of the RGS