The Russian Geographical Society (RGS) is one of the oldest geographical societies in the world. The most important task of the Russian Geographical Society is to unite people who are not indifferent to the nature of the Motherland.
The society was founded in St. Petersburg by order of Emperor Nicholas I, who on August 18 (August 6, old style), 1845, approved the proposal of the Russian Minister of Internal Affairs, Lev Perovsky. The society was established under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which emphasized its state status.
The idea of creating the Society belonged to Admiral Fyodor Litka. The main task of the new organization was to gather and direct 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 Fyodor Litke, Ivan Krusenstern, Ferdinand Wrangel, Peter Ricord; members of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences - naturalist Karl Baer, astronomer Vasily Struve, geologist Grigory Helmersen, statistician Peter Keppen; prominent military figures (former and current officers of the General Staff) - Quartermaster General Fyodor Berg, surveyor Mikhail Vronchenko, statesman Mikhail Muravyov; representatives of the Russian intelligentsia - linguist Vladimir Dal, philanthropist Prince Vladimir Odoevsky.
On October 19 (October 7, old style), 1845, the first general meeting of full members of the Russian Geographical Society took place in the conference hall of the Imperial Academy of Sciences and Arts, which elected the Council of the Society. Opening this meeting, Fyodor Litke defined the main task of the Russian Geographical Society as “cultivating the geography of Russia.”
When the Society was created, four departments were envisaged: general geography, geography of Russia, statistics of Russia and ethnography of Russia. According to the permanent Charter of 1849, the list of departments became different: departments of physical geography, mathematical geography, statistics and ethnography.
In the early 1850s, the first regional departments appeared in the Society - Caucasian (in Tiflis) and Siberian (in Irkutsk). Then the Orenburg and North-Western (in Vilna), South-Western (in Kyiv), West Siberian (in Omsk), Amur (in Khabarovsk), Turkestan (in Tashkent) departments were opened. By 1917, the Russian Geographical Society consisted of 11 departments (including the headquarters in St. Petersburg), two subdivisions and four divisions.
The first chairman of the society was Grand Duke Konstantin (1821-1892), the second son of Nicholas I. After his death, the society was headed by Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, and starting in 1917, chairmen (later presidents) began to be elected.
The first de facto leader of the Russian Geographical Society was its vice-chairman, Russian navigator Fyodor Litke. Later, the Society was led by famous travelers, explorers and statesmen.
Since its founding, the Russian Geographical Society has not ceased its activities, but 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 called 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 All-Union Geographical Society) (1938-1992).
Already in the first decades of activity, the society united advanced and educated people of Russia, who were close to the acute socio-economic problems of the era. The Russian Geographical Society has occupied a prominent place in the scientific and social life of the country.
From the first years of its existence, the Geographical Society launched extensive expeditionary, publishing and educational activities.
It made a major scientific contribution to the study of European Russia, the Urals, Siberia, the Far East, Middle 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 Severtsov, Ivan Mushketov, Nikolai Przhevalsky, Grigory Potanin, Mikhail Pevtsov, Grigory and Mikhail Grumm-Grzhimailo, Pyotr Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, Vladimir Obruchev, Pyotr Kozlov, Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay, Alexander Voeikov, Lev Berg and many others. At this time, the Russian Geographical Society laid the foundations of the domestic conservation business.
With the assistance of the Russian Geographical Society, in 1918, the world's first higher educational institution of a geographical profile was created - the Geographical Institute. And in 1919, one of the most famous members of the Society, Veniamin Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, founded the first geographical museum in Russia.
During Soviet times, the Russian Geographical Society focused on relatively small but deep and comprehensive regional studies, as well as large theoretical generalizations. The geography of regional branches has expanded significantly: as of 1989-1992, the Geographical Society of the USSR had a Central Branch (in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg) and 14 republican branches. In the RSFSR there were 18 branches, two bureaus and 78 departments.
Today, the Russian Geographical Society is an all-Russian public organization that unites specialists in the field of geography and related sciences, as well as enthusiastic travelers, ecologists, public figures and everyone who seeks to learn new things about Russia and who is ready to help preserve its natural resources. The organization has about 13 thousand members in Russia and abroad. There are regional branches in all 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
The Company has two headquarters - one in St. Petersburg, the other in Moscow. In St. Petersburg, it is located on Grivtsova Lane in its own house, built in 1908 with money from members of the Society. The headquarters of the society was not closed for a single day even during the years of the blockade. Today the building houses a museum, a unique library, as well as a scientific archive and a lecture hall named after. Yu.M. Shokalsky.
In 2013, the grand opening of the headquarters of the Russian Geographical Society took place in Moscow on Novaya Square.
It is located in the building where the apartment building of the Moscow Merchant Society was located in the 19th century. The headquarters in Moscow houses a library, media studio, lecture hall, and exhibition hall.
In its activities, the company is guided by its own Charter. The highest body of society is the congress, convened every six years. The Congress elects the Governing Council, the Academic Council and the President of the Society for a period of six years. The Governing Council is the permanent elected collegial governing body of the Society between congresses. The Scientific Council facilitates the Society's research, educational and outreach activities, and conducts scientific examinations.
The President of the Society is Sergei Shoigu (since November 2012, Russian Minister of Defense).
In 2010, the Board of Trustees of the Russian Geographical Society was created, headed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Council revived the long-standing traditions of philanthropy and established Society grants.
The Russian Geographical Society is a non-profit organization and does not receive government funding.
The main activities of the Society are expeditions and research, education and enlightenment, nature conservation, publishing books and working with youth.
According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the intensity of research and expeditionary work of the Russian Geographical Society is now comparable to the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century, the most fruitful period of the Russian Geographical Society.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
S.B. Lavrov
Yu.P. Seliverstov
There are few organizations in the world, the mere mention of which makes almost every person feel warmer in their soul.
Of course, these include Geographical Societies.
As soon as the reader sees these two words, an amazing mixture appears in his memory, from the heroes of the novels of Jules Verne, National Geographic magazine, Columbus, Przhevalsky, Miklouho-Maclay, stormy oceans, hot deserts...
The Russian Geographical Society is something ancient, romantic, non-commercial - of course, it makes your soul feel better.
One of the oldest and most honored geographical societies in the world - Russian - lives and works in our country.
The Russian Geographical Society was founded in St. Petersburg by the Highest order of Emperor Nicholas I, who on August 18, 1845 approved the proposal of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia L.A. Perovsky.
The society was established under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which emphasized its state status.
In the first half of the 19th century, Geographical Societies were created in a number of countries, our Society became the fourth oldest in Europe.
By this time, Russia already had considerable experience in geographical research. Expeditions were organized to study Siberia, the Trans-Caspian region, and the remote eastern and northern outskirts of the country.
World fame for Russia and its science was brought by circumnavigation of the world at the beginning of the 19th century, during one of which, under the leadership of F.F. Bellingshausen and M.K. Lazarev in 1820-1821, an outstanding success was achieved - a new continent was discovered, the first section of Antarctic land.
During the first decades of the 19th century, many expeditions were organized on the territory of Russia itself, among them the expedition of A.F., remarkable in its scientific results. Middendorf (1843-1844) to Eastern Siberia.
The development of capitalist relations in the vast territories of European Russia stimulated interest in collecting detailed information about natural resources, the state of the population, crafts, agriculture, trade, etc. Government agencies took some steps in this direction.
And yet, for such a huge country, all this was negligible, which was perfectly understood not only by the most far-sighted scientists, but also by other progressive, liberal-minded intellectuals, who realized the need for reforms and saw that without serious comprehensive knowledge of their country (for which a special organization coordinating such work) economic progress is unlikely to be achieved.
In 1843, under the leadership of P.I. Keppen, an encyclopedist, an outstanding statistician and ethnographer, a circle of statisticians and travelers began to meet regularly to discuss pressing issues of the state of the economy in the country and compile its statistical description.
Later, the famous naturalist and traveler K.M. Baer, a scientist with an extraordinary breadth of scientific interests, and the famous navigator Admiral F.P. joined the circle. Litke, explorer of Novaya Zemlya, leader of the round-the-world expedition of 1826-1829.
The main “organizational preparation” was undertaken by K.M. Baer, F.P. Litke and F.P. Wrangel, head of the Kolyma expedition of 1820-1824. and the round-the-world expedition of 1825-1827. F.P.
Litke prepared a draft Charter, which was signed by the founding members.
Among them, in addition to those mentioned above, I.F.
Krusenstern, V.I.Dal, V.Ya.Struve, G.P. Gelmersen, F.F. Berg, M.P. Vronchenko, M.N. Muravyov, K.I. Arsenyev, P.A. Chikhachev, V.A. Perovsky, V.F. Odoevsky are names that are still known today. was built in 1908 in Demidovsky Lane in St. Petersburg (now Grivtsova Lane, 10).
Societies (51 people). On October 19, 1845, the first general meeting of full members of the Russian Geographical Society took place in the conference hall of the Imperial Academy of Sciences and Arts, which elected the Council of the Society.
Opening this meeting, F.P. Litke defined the main task of the Russian Geographical Society as “cultivating the geography of Russia.”
When the Society was created, 4 Departments were envisaged: general geography, Russian geography, Russian statistics and Russian ethnography. According to the permanent Charter of 1849, the list of departments became different: departments of physical geography, mathematical geography, statistics and ethnography.
In the early 50s of the 19th century, the first regional departments appeared in the Society - Caucasian (in Tiflis) and Siberian (in Irkutsk). Then the Orenburg and North-Western (in Vilna, South-Western (in Kyiv), West Siberian (in Omsk), Amur (in Khabarovsk), Turkestan (in Tashkent) departments were opened, which took up the study of their regions with great energy.
The first Chairman of the Society was Grand Duke Konstantin (1821-1892), the second son of Nicholas I. His teacher was F.P. Litke. Konstantin Nikolaevich was one of the most educated people of that era, therefore he took an active part in carrying out the peasant reform.
After his death, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, the Society was headed by Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, and, starting in 1917, chairmen (later presidents) began to be elected.
The first actual leader of the Russian Geographical Society was its vice-chairman F.P. Litke - from 1845 to 1850. Then he was replaced for 7 years by Senator M.N. Muravyov, and from 1857 to 1873 the Society was again managed by F.P. Litke. After the death of the famous admiral, the Society was headed by P.P. Semenov, who later received the addition of Tian-Shansky to his surname and led the company 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 occupied a prominent place in the scientific and social life of the country.
Travel is one of the oldest methods of knowledge
The surrounding world.
Scientific expeditions, which gained great scope in the 18th and 19th centuries, were, in the apt expression of N.M. Przhevalsky, essentially “scientific reconnaissance”, since 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: “Constituting the most poetic and cheerful element of society, they excite, console and ennoble... One Przhevalsky or one Stanley is worth a dozen educational institutions and hundreds of good books. Their ideological spirit, noble ambition, which is based on the honor of their homeland and science, their persistent, no matter the hardships, dangers and temptations of personal happiness, invincible desire for a once-set goal, the wealth of their knowledge and hard work..., make them in the eyes of the people ascetics, personifying the highest moral strength."
Over time, the stationary method of research came to the aid of the expeditionary method, but expeditions were and remain the “golden fund” of the Society. Many of them are worthy of being mentioned here, but the scope of this review article does not allow us to talk about them all.
And yet it is impossible not to name at least the main objects of expeditionary research of the Russian Geographical Society.
European part of Russia and the Urals. Here it should be noted the First Expedition of the Russian Geographical Society under the leadership of Professor E.K. Hoffman, which studied the Northern Polar Urals in 1848-1850. and became extremely fruitful.
The ethnographic studies of P.P. were significant. Chubinsky in the Carpathian region and archaeological research in Crimea K.S. Merezhkovsky. Much attention was paid to collecting the lexical wealth of different peoples inhabiting the European part of Russia, especially the northern ones, where the language, folklore, and way of life of the population are characterized by many archaic features that have survived to this day.
Caucasus. The most notable here were the studies of plant geography by B.I. Masalsky, N.I. Kuznetsova, G.I. Radde, A.N.
Krasnova.
Vilyui expedition, travel in the Ussuri region - the first expedition of N.M. Przhevalsky, studies of Siberia by P.A. Kropotkina, B.I. Dybovsky, A.A. Chekanovsky, I.D. Chersky, N.M. Yadrintsev, a large ethnographic expedition that covered the expanses of Eastern Siberia with its routes (which was financed by the wealthy Lena gold miner A.M. Sibiryakov and was named Sibiryakovskaya) under the leadership of D.A. Clemenza, research by V.A.
Obruchev, travels around Kamchatka V.L. Komarov - the main “milestones” of the study of this huge region.
Central Asia and Kazakhstan. The first person 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, B.A. Obruchev, V.V. Bartold, L.S. Berg.
Asia outside Russia. The study of the nature and peoples of Asian countries adjacent to Russia is one of the brightest pages in the history of the Russian Geographical Society. This applies most of all to studies of Central Asia, the results of which have become known throughout the world. Here, in Mongolia and China, scientists worked whose names are not forgotten today: N.M. Przhevalsky, M.V. Pevtsov, K.I. Bogdanovich, G.N. Potanin, G.E. Grumm-Grzhimailo, P.K. Kozlov, V.A. Obruchev are all active figures of the Russian Geographical Society.
Africa and Oceania. The travels and research of N.S. Gumilyov, E.P. Kovalevsky, V.V. Junker, E.N. Pavlovsky made a significant contribution to the study of the African continent, and the travels of N.N.
Miklouho-Maclay to the Pacific Islands is perhaps the most remarkable event of the Russian Geographical Society.
And nothing is embellished here, everything here is true. In the difficult year of 1918, the Society held three General Meetings with scientific reports, and in 1919 - two such meetings. It is also surprising that in 1918 44 people joined the Society, in 1919 - 60 people, in 1920 - 75. Perhaps these are small numbers in modern times, but it should be remembered that according to the last pre-revolutionary list, the number of members of the Society was only 1318 , but the real number was much less.
In 1918, Yu.M. Shokalsky was re-elected to the position of Chairman of the Society. Under his leadership, the Russian Geographical Society was able to very accurately determine the general directions of research.
In 1920, the Committee of the North was created under the Society, chaired by Yu.M. Shokalsky, approved by the Government of the RSFSR a year later. The committee united almost all organizations related to the development of the North.
Research into Central Asia continued. In 1923, P.K. Kozlov’s wonderful 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 necessary funds allocated for this expedition.”
One of the scientific directions of the Society’s work that was important for the state was the compilation of the Geographical-Statistical Dictionary of the USSR, which was supposed to replace the one published in 1863-1885. dictionary compiled by P.P.
Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, 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 names in Tibet associated with the names of Russian travelers.
In 1923, the Council of the Russian Geographical Society protested against the Norwegian renames on the map of Novaya Zemlya.
Soon after the revolution, the Society felt the increasing dominance of power, but more in the form of editorials in its Izvestia than in the form of real instructions. Praises to the leader, who was even called the “great geographer,” became an indispensable attribute of the magazine only in the late 30s and 40s. The party composition of the Society’s leadership in the mid-30s is curious: of its 22 members, only four were members of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) - academician N.P. Gorbunov, associate professor Bogdanchikov, I.K.
Luppol and N.V. Krylenko - former People's Commissar of Justice, later executed.
The 30s were a period of expansion and consolidation of everything 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 met in Leningrad, which was attended by 803 delegates - a figure that is still a record today. Many reports at the congress (by A.A. Grigoriev, R.L. Samoilovich, O.Yu. Schmidt) were, as it were, final, noting the gigantic growth of geographical research in our country and the responsible role of the State Geographical Society in the new conditions. As L.S. Berg later noted, “the basis of the Society’s activities consists of all possible assistance to the needs of the national economy and the promotion of geographical knowledge.” Today this is called “serving totalitarianism.”
As an independent public organization, the Geographical Society existed until 1938, being supervised and partly financed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and then by the People's Commissariat of Education. At the same time, it always had close scientific contacts with the Academy of Sciences, which especially increased during the years of Soviet power, when the leaders of the Society were members of the Academy.
In 1938, the Society was included in the list of institutions of the Academy of Sciences, which L.S. Berg considered an act of “positive assessment of the Society’s activities.” The Society itself did not make any decisions on this matter. Archival materials indicate that the transfer was forced and outwardly did not pursue any special goals.
Minutes No. 3 of the meeting of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 16, 1938 reports on the “reorganization of the apparatus of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR”, it states: “To liquidate the Committee for the Management of Scientific and Educational Institutions under the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, transferring the scientific and educational institutions subordinate to it to the following organizations :
Academy of Sciences under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR:
From that moment on, the Society began to be called the All-Union.
In the 30s, Leningrad lost a number of institutes, many scientific personnel, cultural and art workers who were transferred to Moscow.
We lost our city and the Academy of Sciences. Probably, the same fate was in store for the Geographical Society; an organizing committee was even formed in Moscow to create the All-Union Geographical Society. But the idea failed thanks to the active pro-Leningrad activities of the Society’s outstanding leaders, and, above all, N.I. Vavilov, which was not in vain for him.
A separate study and narrative requires one of the most terrible and painful topics in the history of geographical science - the repressions of the 30-40s, the victims of which were the long-time president of the Geographical Society, the great Russian scientist, academician N.I.
Vavilov, Ya.S. Edelstein, the famous Eurasianist, L.N. Gumilyov and many other scientists. Here we just think about what forces “enlightened” the repressive bodies regarding what can be called “counter-revolutionary activities of the Hettnerians and centrographs”, what is “disguised geopolitics” and what is “fascist influence”.
The brilliant words of L.N. Gumilyov - “scientists imprisoned scientists” - most accurately characterize that period.
Of course, the work of the Geographical Society during the Great Patriotic War is worthy of a separate story. Dozens of geographers died either on its fronts or from hunger, saving the life of the Society itself in besieged Leningrad. The most interesting period in the Society’s activities is the time between its first and ninth congresses, in fact, the time between the “Great Patriotic War and the collapse of the USSR. During these years, the work of the Society was inextricably linked with the names of its presidents, academicians L.S. Berg, E.N. Pavlovsky, S.V. Kalesnik, A.F. Treshnikova. On March 21, 1992, the Scientific Council of the Society made a historic decision: “In connection with the liquidation of union structures and the need for renaming, return the Geographical Society of the USSR to its original historical name and henceforth, until the congress, call it “Russian Geographical Society.” This decision emphasized that we are the same Society created in 1845.
The tenth anniversary congress of the Society, held in St. Petersburg in 1995, approved this name. At this congress, the largest Russian scientist, economic geographer, professor S.B. was elected president of the Society. Lavrov, whose main merits were the preservation of the Society in unusually economically difficult times and the restoration of its name.
Today, the Russian Geographical Society is an all-Russian public organization that unites 27 thousand members in 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 of the Society are Primorskoe and Moscow.
According to the law of the Russian Federation “On Public Associations”, the Russian Geographical Society was registered after the tenth congress with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation as an independent public organization. This does not at all mean a break with the Academy of Sciences. Interaction with the Russian Academy of Sciences is discussed in the new Charter of the Russian Geographical Society. At the same time, the de jure independence of the Society, which it lost in 1938 against its own will, has been restored.
The central organization of the Russian Geographical Society is located in St. Petersburg, in its own house on Grivtsova Lane, built in 1908 with money from members of the Society, largely thanks to the efforts of P.P.
Semenov-Tyan-Shansky.
Today, members of various branches and commissions of the Central Organization (there are more than 35 of them) gather daily in the halls of the Society to discuss modern problems of geography and related disciplines. The building houses the Scientific Archive, Museum, Library, Central Lecture Hall named after. Yu.M. Shokalsky, Editorial and Publishing Department, Printing House.
The main activities of the Society's archive are the preservation of funds, their replenishment and use. It houses 136 personal funds of geographers and travelers, 115 collections on the ethnography of the peoples of Russia.
Recently, the Archive was replenished with the personal collection of the President of the Geographical Society of the USSR, Academician A.F. Treshnikov.
Unfortunately, our Archive today is more popular among foreign researchers than among domestic ones, although the number of the latter has begun to grow. After a long break, our documents also interested the city authorities: the Governor of St. Petersburg V.A. Yakovlev invited the Archive to participate in the exhibition “St. Petersburg - 300 years”.
The Museum of History of the Russian Geographical Society is included in the list of academic museums. More than 600 people visit it annually, including scientists from England, France, Sweden, Norway, Holland, USA, Germany, Hungary, Brazil and China.
The Archive and the Museum make a serious contribution to the promotion of geographical knowledge and geographical education. The latter, by the way, is one of the priority tasks of the Society, written in its Charter. Thus, in the second article of the Charter, among the goals and objectives of the Society, the following are listed: dissemination of geographical knowledge, promotion of the achievements of domestic and world geography, education of geographical and environmental culture; assistance in improving the quality of geographical and environmental education among various age and professional groups of the population; promoting the improvement of geography teaching in secondary and higher schools.
Such work is most fully carried out within the framework of the Central Lecture Hall named after Yu.M. Shokalsky, where geography consistently returns to the main place in the system of environmental sciences, which it does not occupy today due to a misunderstanding. Basically, events in the Central Lecture Hall, especially regional studies lectures, cycles dedicated to St. Petersburg and the history of Russian statehood, attract adult and youth audiences equally. And if the older generation is quite satisfied with the lecture form of acquiring geographical knowledge, then young people often lack their own geographical research work.
That is why in 1970, a student club “Planet” was created at the Russian Geographical Society, which was later transformed into the geographical society of students “Planet”, where schoolchildren and students who love geography united. “Planet” and its numerous branches across the country have completed dozens of complex expeditions, all-Union and all-Russian conferences, seminars and symposia, and even serious scientific research. Many “planet dwellers” subsequently became scientists, defended dissertations, and continue to work successfully in geography. During the “perestroika” years, the activities of “Planet” weakened, but at the XI Congress of the Russian Geographical Society, which took place in August 2000 in Arkhangelsk, on the initiative of young geographers, measures were taken to completely restore the work of the geographical society of students.
Other youth associations also actively work in the Society, for example, the ecological club “Ekosha” at the Department of Nature Conservation, the Young Ethnographer circle at the Department of Ethnography, the Russian Geographical Society of Students, etc.
One of the main ways to gain geographical knowledge is to work in the Library. The largest geographical Library in Europe (about 500 thousand volumes) continues to serve readers, most of whom, having appeared here once, then do not part with this treasury of knowledge throughout their lives.
Propaganda and dissemination of geographical knowledge are widely carried out during numerous all-Russian and international meetings and conferences held annually by the Society in St. Petersburg and other cities, as well as at the Society’s congresses, which once every five years, sum up the development of geographical science and determine its path further development. The importance of geographical education in the activities of the Russian Geographical Society is evidenced by the following fact: at the last congress of the Society in Arkhangelsk, the work of the first section was devoted to the interaction of geographical science and education.
Expeditionary activities are also being revived in the Society.
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 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Many branches of the Society conduct independent expeditions in their regions, mainly with a local history and environmental focus.
The central organization of the Russian Geographical Society conducts joint environmental expeditions around Russia with the Earthwatch Foundation.
Thus, by order of the Committee on Federation Affairs and Regional Policy of the State Duma, the Society carried out work to develop a general concept of regional policy in Russia.
The Russian Geographical Society has developed a project for a large historical and geographical Atlas of St. Petersburg, which has found support in the city Administration.
We hope that the creation of the Atlas will be included in the plan of events in preparation for the 300th anniversary of the city.
By order of the Administration of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, work has begun to study the life support resources of the regions of Russia, taking into account morals, traditions, education, culture, science, everyday life, and economy.
Under an agreement with the Administration of the Arkhangelsk Region, members of the Society are developing a strategy for the development of its transport complex.
The Department of Medical Geography of the Russian Geographical Society is working to create a medical and environmental Atlas of the Leningrad Region.
An underwater search archaeological expedition operates on Ladoga every year. For many years, the popular science expedition “Neva” was carried out along the route from the Varangians to the Greeks. Since 1996, the Integrated Northern Search Expedition (KSPE) has been actively working, studying the natural, cultural and historical heritage of the North-West, the results of which under the project “Secrets of the Russian North” are regularly covered by the media.
In 2009, the Scientific Tourism Commission of the Russian Geographical Society began implementing a new project to compile a tourist atlas, “The Sacred Geography of the Peoples of Russia.” It can definitely be said that the expeditionary activities of the Russian Geographical Society will develop noticeably in the coming years.
However, the times when the mayor of St. Petersburg wrote to P.P.
From the day the Russian Geographical Society was founded, the state understood the need to financially support the Society and did so until the early 1990s. Help was addressed to the Society in various ways - through the Ministry of Internal Affairs, through the People's Commissariat for Education, through the Academy of Sciences, and no difficulties ever arose. Today, high government officials, at the request of a full member of the Society, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma A.N. Chilingarov's help to the pride of Russian and world geographical science is met with a cold refusal, citing new laws that do not make it possible to finance the activities of public organizations from the state budget. By the way, the new laws do not prohibit doing this, and in tsarist and Soviet times the laws were hardly softer.
They won’t let us die, and, I want to believe, they won’t let us. Well, if the Russian Geographical Society lives, then it will still do a lot for Russia, St. Petersburg and the most wonderful science in the world - geography.
Thanks to the St. Petersburg authorities, the Russian Academy of Sciences, who have been helping us for several years, thanks to other organizations supporting the Society.
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Celebrated its 170th anniversary. Founded in the first half of the century before last, it is a unique phenomenon, since it has never ceased its functions during all this time. Thus, it is a kind of connecting link between Tsarist Russia, the Soviet Union and modern Russia.
Mission of the Society
Since its founding in 1845, the Russian Geographical Society, which, by the way, anyone can join, has had as its task “to gather and direct the best young forces of the country to a comprehensive study of their native land.” Therefore, any adult person who has such an aspiration as the goal of his life can join the ranks of this worthy organization. We’ll talk about the conditions for entry in the article, but a little later.
Story
First, let's take a look at the historical perspective that led the Society to its milestone anniversary. Immediately after its founding, it launched vigorous research activities throughout the entire territory of our vast country. This was accompanied by numerous expeditions to the most remote corners of the Russian Empire, extensive educational activities, since its members were the very people of that time. Among them are such pillars as Przhevalsky, Semenov-Tien-Shansky, Obruchev, Miklouho-Maclay, Berg and many others.
Another important part of the Society’s activities was cooperation with the Russian Navy. By the way, it included many famous admirals of that time. Not to mention such creators as Aivazovsky and Vereshchagin. As a result, the Society began to have divisions in many remote regions, for example, the Caucasus, Siberian, Amur, Northwestern and many others were formed. Each of them was active in their assigned regions. This is how the Russian Geographical Society steadily developed and grew.
Festival
It is impossible not to say a few words about an interesting phenomenon associated with the fact that in 2014 the Russian Geographical Society festival was held in Moscow. His main task was to show all facets of the Society’s activities. Considering that there are branches of the Russian Geographical Society in eighty-five constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and each of them is engaged in various projects dedicated to the preservation of the cultural and natural heritage of the regions in which it is represented, it should be said that there was plenty of information presented at the festival. Modern technologies have made it possible to show the public such interesting aspects of work as a trip to the North Pole, diving to the bottom of the famous Lake Baikal, studying the remains of mammoths and many other areas of activity for which the Russian Geographical Society is responsible. In the end, the festival was a great success.
And finally, let's return to the question raised by the title of the article. Obviously, it is not necessary to be a professional traveler or geographer if someone is thinking about how to join the Russian Geographical Society.
How to join
In fact, as already mentioned, you don't have to be anything out of the ordinary to do this. must be 18 years of age and may be a citizen of any country, regardless of nationality or religion. The most important thing is to study and recognize its charter, as well as contribute to the implementation of its objectives. This, in fact, is all that the Russian Geographical Society requires. How to join, by the way, is described in detail in the corresponding section of the Russian Geographical Society website.
Entry procedure
Let's look at the entry procedure in general terms. After familiarizing yourself with the charter and regulations of the Society, you should select a regional branch, contact its chairman or the person who represents the Russian Geographical Society. How to join it? You can also get answers to questions related to this by calling the all-Russian number 8-800-700-1845.
Next, you need to fill out an application, to which you should attach a color photo 3 by 4 centimeters. It is submitted to the selected regional office. After which the future member of the Society becomes a candidate. Now you need to wait six months to receive confirmation of admission. Finally, when a person is admitted to the Society, he must pay a membership fee in the amount of one thousand rubles, for which he is issued a ticket of the established form.
Subsequently, it must be extended by paying three hundred rubles per year. This procedure is proposed by the Russian Geographical Society. We figured out how to join. At this point, our acquaintance with the Russian Geographical Society can be considered complete. Next, apparently, you should think about how you can express yourself as a member of this unusual and long-existing community. We wish success in this, dear readers!
The Russian Geographical Society is a unique organization in Russia, personifying not only the geographical achievements of the largest country on the planet by territory, but also the connection of times, historical continuity between Tsarist Russia, the USSR and present-day Russia. The Russian Geographical Society is the only organization that has existed continuously for 170 years since its formation in 1845.
Over the years of its existence, the Russian Geographical Society (RGS) has been noted for numerous geographical discoveries and a number of other achievements that played a huge role in the development of Russia, turning it into one of the most powerful states in the world. And it is no coincidence that the President of the Russian Federation personally congratulated the heroes of the day.
The Russian Geographical Society was created on August 6 (18), 1845 by the Highest Order of Emperor Nicholas I, who approved the proposal of the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire, Count L. A. Perovsky, on the creation of the Russian Geographical Society in St. Petersburg (from December 28, 1849 - the Imperial Russian Geographical Society).
The first charter of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society was approved by Nicholas I on December 28, 1849.
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”, protocol dated December 11, 2010.
The idea of creating the Society belonged to the educator of the future first chairman of the Russian Geographical Society, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, admiral, future president of the Academy of Sciences F. P. Litka. The task of the Russian Geographical Society from the first days of its activity was “to gather and direct the best young forces of Russia to a comprehensive study of their native land.”
Among the founders of the Russian Geographical Society were the famous navigators Admirals F. P. Litke, I. F. Krusenstern, F. P. Wrangel, P. I. Ricord; members of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences naturalist K. M. Baer, astronomer V. Ya. Struve, geologist G. P. Gelmersen, statistician P. I. Koeppen; prominent military figures (former and current officers of the General Staff) Field Marshal F. F. Berg, Major General M. P. Vronchenko and Infantry General M. N. Muravyov-Vilensky.
Among the founding members of the Society were also geographer and statistician K. I. Arsenyev, director of the Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Internal Affairs A. I. Levshin, traveler P. A. Chikhachev, linguist, ethnographer, personal secretary and official for special assignments of the Minister of Internal Affairs , Orenburg Governor-General V. A. Perovsky, writer and philanthropist Prince V. F. Odoevsky.
The Russian Geographical Society was conceived as a geographical-statistical one, under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but by order of the emperor it was called Geographical. The initial funding of the Society was state and amounted to 10 thousand rubles per year; subsequently, patrons made a significant contribution to the financing of the enterprises of the Russian Geographical Society.
The elder brother of Mikhail Vronchenko, Minister of Finance of the Russian Empire Fyodor Vronchenko, achieved the allocation of 10 thousand rubles in silver to the Society, and also donated several books to the library of the Russian Geographical Society.
This is how its long-term vice-chairman, famous geographer, traveler and statesman P. P. Semenov described the essence of the Russian Geographical Society: “Free and open to everyone who is imbued with love for their native land and deep, indestructible faith in the future of the Russian state and the Russian people, the corporation”.
From the very beginning of its existence, the Russian Geographical Society launched extensive expeditionary and educational activities. The Russian Geographical Society has made a major contribution to the study of European Russia, the Urals, Siberia, the Far East, Middle and Central Asia, the Caucasus, Iran, India, New Guinea, polar countries and other territories.
These studies are associated with the names of famous travelers N. A. Severtsov, I. V. Mushketov, P. A. Kropotkin, I. D. Chersky, N. M. Przhevalsky, G. N. Potanin, M. V. Pevtsov, G. E. and M. E. Grumm-Grzhimailo, P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, V. A. Obruchev, P. K. Kozlov, N. N. Miklukho-Maclay, A. I. Voeikova, Yu. M. Shokalsky, F. F. Berg and many others. Military and civilian officials of the Military Topographical Depot of the Main Headquarters of the Russian Imperial Army and the Corps of Military Topographers worked very closely with the Russian Geographical Society. Another important tradition of the Russian Geographical Society was its connection with the Navy. Among the active members of the Society were many admirals and naval officers: P. F. Anzhu, V. S. Zavoiko, L. A. Zagoskin, P. Yu. Lisyansky, F. F. Matyushkin, G. I. Nevelskoy, K. N. Posyet, E. V. Putyatin and others. Members of the Society were the marine painter I.K. Aivazovsky and the battle painter V.V. Vereshchagin.
The society quickly covered all of Russia with its divisions. In 1851, the first two regional departments were opened - Caucasian in Tiflis and Siberian in Irkutsk, then departments were created: Orenburg, North-Western in Vilna, South-Western in Kyiv, West Siberian in Omsk, Amur in Khabarovsk, Turkestan in Tashkent. They conducted extensive research in their regions.
The most important event was the creation of a permanent commission of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (IRGS) for the study of the Arctic.
The Russian Geographical Society became one of the organizers and participants of the First International Polar Year, during which the Society created autonomous polar stations at the mouth of the Lena and on Novaya Zemlya.
In 1887, the Seismic Commission of the Russian Geographical Society was created after a strong earthquake in the city of Verny (Alma-Ata). The commission was created on the initiative and with the active participation of I.V. Mushketov.
In Soviet times, the work of the Society changed: until 1917, the Russian Geographical Society had, in fact, a monopoly on conducting geographical expeditions, later this function passed to the Academy of Sciences, and the Society focused on relatively small, but deep and comprehensive regional studies, as well as major theoretical generalizations . The geography of regional branches has expanded significantly: as of 1989-1992. The USSR Civil Defense had a Central Branch (in Leningrad) and 14 republican branches. In the RSFSR there were 18 branches, 2 bureaus and 78 departments. There were 8 branches and 56 departments in 14 regional offices.
In the 20th century On the initiative of a prominent member of the Russian Geographical Society, a famous scientist, statesman and public figure, the Commission for the Study of Natural Productive Forces was created, which subsequently significantly expanded its powers and played an important role in the industrialization of our country, its transformation into a leading industrial power. This organization was created for the practical application of the huge amount of knowledge about Russia accumulated by domestic geographers. Leading roles in it were played by such outstanding figures of the Russian Geographical Society as V. L. Komarov, N. N. Kolosovsky, N. I. Andrusov, A. P. Karpinsky, A. E. Fersman.
The Russian Geographical Society also laid the foundations of the domestic nature reserve business; 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 founder 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 was created - the Geographical Institute.
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 actively developed new areas of activity related to the promotion of geographical knowledge: a commission of a corresponding focus was established, an Advisory Bureau was opened under the leadership of L. S. Berg, the famous lecture hall named after. Yu. M. Shokalsky.
In the post-war period, a rapid increase in the number of members of the Society was recorded; if in 1940 only 745 people were members of the Russian Geographical Society, then in 1987 the number of members reached 30 thousand, that is, it increased almost 40 times.
The oldest scientific journal published by the Society since 1865 is “News of the Russian Geographical Society”. Published in a very small edition (about 250 copies), it is known mainly to specialists. Editorial office in St. Petersburg. Currently, the publications of the Russian Geographical Society include the popular science magazine “Around the World,” published since 1861 (edition in Moscow).
The Russian Geographical Society has its own museum, which stores unique exhibits.
In 1860, Academician K. M. Baer 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 Defense 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 USSR Academy of Sciences.
The museum was opened on December 9, 1986 in the Society's mansion, built in 1907-1908 according to the design of the architect G.V. Baranovsky, where the rich and vibrant history of the Russian Geographical Society was reflected.
The museum's exposition clearly showed original documents and exhibits, paintings and ancient volumes, which arouse the sincere interest of visitors to this intimate and very cozy corner of the building.
During the construction of the building of the Russian Geographical Society, no halls were provided for the museum, but the interiors of the building itself - the lobby, staircase, library, archive, offices and assembly halls - represent museum premises, one of which houses the Museum.
Small in area, but voluminous in documentary content, the museum did not become an exhibition of documents or an “iconostasis” of portraits. The flat material in the display cases is decorated with artistic techniques, not monotonously, but lively and interesting. After all, voluminous exhibits back in 1891 from the IRGO were transferred to museums in St. Petersburg: the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, the Botanical and Zoological Museums, the Museum of the Mining Institute (for lack of space to house them in the IRGO).
The exhibition includes many historical photographs, letters and maps of famous explorers and 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 from a field first aid kit, an old cooking utensil, and a smoking pipe. Next to the diary kept during the expedition to the Pamirs in 1885-1886, written in the amazing handwriting of G. E. Grumm-Grzhimailo, a barometer and a pen box; perfectly preserved drawings of butterflies, which he collected together with Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich (later chairman of the IRGO). Here is the “correspondence” of these researchers who are interested in entomology. And next to it is the “calling card” of Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich Romanov, the chairman of the IRGO, with his request to resign as chairman of the IRGO in connection with the change of power in the country.
Mongol-Sichuan expedition of I.K. Kozlov 1907-1909. was represented by a fragment of fabric (a Buddhist icon) found during excavations in the city of Khara-Khoto in Mongolia, and a bronze ritual bell, the ringing of which was supposed to “call the attention of God.”
The original snuff box and bag for grinding snuff attracted attention not only because it belonged to F. P. Litka’s grandfather, but also because the snuff box was made of volcanic lava and on its lid there was a sign of the Catherine era, and the bag was a kind of “mechanism” of the 17th century.
In the display cases there is a large collection of commemorative medals from the Geographical Societies of the World; a collection of fishing gear for marine animals from the islands of the Bering Sea and Polynesia (expedition of 1826-1829 by F. P. Litke); collection of archaeological excavations of the Mangazeya settlement (historical and geographical expedition of M. I. Belov in 1959).
Among the exhibits were the personal belongings of N. M. Przhevalsky, the personal secretary-box of I. F. Kruzenshtern, an elegant mantel clock of one of the participants in the Bellingshausen-Lazarev Antarctic expedition (1819-1821), personal belongings of P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky and his wonderful publication “Picturesque Russia”; carriage clock of the early 19th century by founding member of the IRGO P. I. Koeppen. In addition, the exhibition included a huge number of original drawings from the ethnographic collections of the Society.
We can say that the Museum was the hallmark of the history of the Russian Geographical Society. In 2009, due to the renovation of the Russian Geographical Society building, the museum’s exhibitions were temporarily dismantled. Exhibits in packaged form are stored in the building of the Russian Geographical Society.
S.B. Lavrov
Yu.P. Seliverstov
A.O. Brinken
There are few organizations in the world, the mere mention of which makes almost every person feel warmer in their soul.
Of course, these include Geographical Societies.
As soon as the reader sees these two words, an amazing mixture appears in his memory, from the heroes of the novels of Jules Verne, National Geographic magazine, Columbus, Przhevalsky, Miklouho-Maclay, stormy oceans, hot deserts...
One of the oldest and most distinguished geographical societies in the world - Russian- lives and works in our country.
One of the oldest and most honored geographical societies in the world - Russian - lives and works in our country.
The Russian Geographical Society was founded in St. Petersburg by the Highest order of Emperor Nicholas I, who on August 18, 1845 approved the proposal of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia L.A. Perovsky.
The society was established under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which emphasized its state status.
In the first half of the 19th century, Geographical Societies were created in a number of countries, our Society became the fourth oldest in Europe.
By this time, Russia already had considerable experience in geographical research. Expeditions were organized to study Siberia, the Trans-Caspian region, and the remote eastern and northern outskirts of the country.
World fame for Russia and its science was brought by circumnavigation of the world at the beginning of the 19th century, during one of which, under the leadership of F.F. Bellingshausen and M.K. Lazarev in 1820-1821, an outstanding success was achieved - a new continent was discovered, the first section of Antarctic land.
During the first decades of the 19th century, many expeditions were organized on the territory of Russia itself, among them the expedition of A.F., remarkable in its scientific results. Middendorf (1843-1844) to Eastern Siberia.
The development of capitalist relations in the vast territories of European Russia stimulated interest in collecting detailed information about natural resources, the state of the population, crafts, agriculture, trade, etc. Government agencies took some steps in this direction.
And yet, for such a huge country, all this was negligible, which was perfectly understood not only by the most far-sighted scientists, but also by other progressive, liberal-minded intellectuals, who realized the need for reforms and saw that without serious comprehensive knowledge of their country (for which a special organization coordinating such work) economic progress is unlikely to be achieved.
In 1843, under the leadership of P.I. Keppen, an encyclopedist, an outstanding statistician and ethnographer, a circle of statisticians and travelers began to meet regularly to discuss pressing issues of the state of the economy in the country and compile its statistical description.
Later, the famous naturalist and traveler K.M. Baer, a scientist with an extraordinary breadth of scientific interests, and the famous navigator Admiral F.P. joined the circle. Litke, explorer of Novaya Zemlya, leader of the round-the-world expedition of 1826-1829.
The main “organizational preparation” was undertaken by K.M. Baer, F.P. Litke and F.P. Wrangel, head of the Kolyma expedition of 1820-1824. and the round-the-world expedition of 1825-1827. F.P.
Litke prepared a draft Charter, which was signed by the founding members.
Among them, in addition to those mentioned above, I.F.
Building of the Russian Geographical Society was built in 1908 on Demidovsky Lane in St. Petersburg (now Grivtsova Lane, 10).
On October 19, 1845, the first general meeting of full members of the Russian Geographical Society took place in the conference hall of the Imperial Academy of Sciences and Arts, which elected the Council of the Society. Opening this meeting, F.P. Litke determined the main task of the Russian Geographical Society.
Opening this meeting, F.P. Litke defined the main task of the Russian Geographical Society as “cultivating the geography of Russia.”
"cultivating the geography of Russia"
In the early 50s of the 19th century, the first regional departments appeared in the Society - Caucasian (in Tiflis) and Siberian (in Irkutsk). Then the Orenburg and North-Western (in Vilna, South-Western (in Kyiv), West Siberian (in Omsk), Amur (in Khabarovsk), Turkestan (in Tashkent) departments were opened, which took up the study of their regions with great energy.
The first Chairman of the Society was Grand Duke Konstantin (1821-1892), the second son of Nicholas I. His teacher was F.P. Litke. Konstantin Nikolaevich was one of the most educated people of that era, therefore he took an active part in carrying out the peasant reform.
After his death, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, the Society was headed by Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich, and, starting in 1917, chairmen (later presidents) began to be elected.
The first actual leader of the Russian Geographical Society was its vice-chairman F.P. Litke - from 1845 to 1850. Then he was replaced for 7 years by Senator M.N. Muravyov, and from 1857 to 1873 the Society was again managed by F.P. Litke. After the death of the famous admiral, the Society was headed by P.P. Semenov, who later received the addition of Tian-Shansky to his surname and led the company for 41 years until his death in 1914.
In the early 50s of the 19th century, the first regional departments appeared in the Society - Caucasian (in Tiflis) and Siberian (in Irkutsk). Then the Orenburg and North-Western (in Vilna, South-Western (in Kyiv), West Siberian (in Omsk), Amur (in Khabarovsk), Turkestan (in Tashkent) departments were opened, which took up the study of their regions with great energy.
Travel is one of the oldest methods of knowledge
The surrounding world.
Scientific expeditions, which gained great scope in the 18th and 19th centuries, were, in the apt expression of N.M. Przhevalsky, essentially “scientific reconnaissance”, since 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: “Constituting the most poetic and cheerful element of society, they excite, console and ennoble... One Przhevalsky or one Stanley is worth a dozen educational institutions and hundreds of good books. Their ideological spirit, noble ambition, which is based on the honor of their homeland and science, their persistent, no matter the hardships, dangers and temptations of personal happiness, invincible desire for a once-set goal, the wealth of their knowledge and hard work..., make them in the eyes of the people ascetics, personifying the highest moral strength."
Over time, the stationary method of research came to the aid of the expeditionary method, but expeditions were and remain the “golden fund” of the Society. Many of them are worthy of being mentioned here, but the scope of this review article does not allow us to talk about them all.
And yet it is impossible not to name at least the main objects of expeditionary research of the Russian Geographical Society.
European part of Russia and the Urals. Here it should be noted the First Expedition of the Russian Geographical Society under the leadership of Professor E.K. Hoffman, which studied the Northern Polar Urals in 1848-1850. and became extremely fruitful.
the surrounding world. Much attention was paid to collecting the lexical wealth of different peoples inhabiting the European part of Russia, especially the northern ones, where the language, folklore, and way of life of the population are characterized by many archaic features that have survived to this day.
Caucasus. The most notable here were the studies of plant geography by B.I. Masalsky, N.I. Kuznetsova, G.I. Radde, A.N.
Krasnova.
Vilyui expedition, travel in the Ussuri region - the first expedition of N.M. Przhevalsky, studies of Siberia by P.A. Kropotkina, B.I. Dybovsky, A.A. Chekanovsky, I.D. Chersky, N.M. Yadrintsev, a large ethnographic expedition that covered the expanses of Eastern Siberia with its routes (which was financed by the wealthy Lena gold miner A.M. Sibiryakov and was named Sibiryakovskaya) under the leadership of D.A. Clemenza, research by V.A.
Obruchev, travels around Kamchatka V.L. Komarov - the main “milestones” of the study of this huge region.
Central Asia and Kazakhstan. The first person 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, B.A. Obruchev, V.V. Bartold, L.S. Berg.
Asia outside Russia. The study of the nature and peoples of Asian countries adjacent to Russia is one of the brightest pages in the history of the Russian Geographical Society. This applies most of all to studies of Central Asia, the results of which have become known throughout the world. Here, in Mongolia and China, scientists worked whose names are not forgotten today: N.M. Przhevalsky, M.V. Pevtsov, K.I. Bogdanovich, G.N. Potanin, G.E. Grumm-Grzhimailo, P.K. Kozlov, V.A. Obruchev are all active figures of the Russian Geographical Society.
Africa and Oceania. The travels and research of N.S. Gumilyov, E.P. Kovalevsky, V.V. Junker, E.N. Pavlovsky made a significant contribution to the study of the African continent, and the travels of N.N.
Miklouho-Maclay to the Pacific Islands is perhaps the most remarkable event of the Russian Geographical Society.
And nothing is embellished here, everything here is true. In the difficult year of 1918, the Society held three General Meetings with scientific reports, and in 1919 - two such meetings. It is also surprising that in 1918 44 people joined the Society, in 1919 - 60 people, in 1920 - 75. Perhaps these are small numbers in modern times, but it should be remembered that according to the last pre-revolutionary list, the number of members of the Society was only 1318 , but the real number was much less.
In 1918, Yu.M. Shokalsky was re-elected to the position of Chairman of the Society. Under his leadership, the Russian Geographical Society was able to very accurately determine the general directions of research.
In 1920, the Committee of the North was created under the Society, chaired by Yu.M. Shokalsky, approved by the Government of the RSFSR a year later. The committee united almost all organizations related to the development of the North.
Research into Central Asia continued. In 1923, P.K. Kozlov’s wonderful 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 necessary funds allocated for this expedition.”
One of the scientific directions of the Society’s work that was important for the state was the compilation of the Geographical-Statistical Dictionary of the USSR, which was supposed to replace the one published in 1863-1885. dictionary compiled by P.P.
Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, 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 names in Tibet associated with the names of Russian travelers.
In 1923, the Council of the Russian Geographical Society protested against the Norwegian renames on the map of Novaya Zemlya.
Soon after the revolution, the Society felt the increasing dominance of power, but more in the form of editorials in its Izvestia than in the form of real instructions. Praises to the leader, who was even called the “great geographer,” became an indispensable attribute of the magazine only in the late 30s and 40s. The party composition of the Society’s leadership in the mid-30s is curious: of its 22 members, only four were members of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) - academician N.P. Gorbunov, associate professor Bogdanchikov, I.K.
Luppol and N.V. Krylenko - former People's Commissar of Justice, later executed.
The 30s were a period of expansion and consolidation of everything 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 met in Leningrad, which was attended by 803 delegates - a figure that is still a record today. Many reports at the congress (by A.A. Grigoriev, R.L. Samoilovich, O.Yu. Schmidt) were, as it were, final, noting the gigantic growth of geographical research in our country and the responsible role of the State Geographical Society in the new conditions. As L.S. Berg later noted, “the basis of the Society’s activities consists of all possible assistance to the needs of the national economy and the promotion of geographical knowledge.” Today this is called “serving totalitarianism.”
As an independent public organization, the Geographical Society existed until 1938, being supervised and partly financed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and then by the People's Commissariat of Education. At the same time, it always had close scientific contacts with the Academy of Sciences, which especially increased during the years of Soviet power, when the leaders of the Society were members of the Academy.
The ethnographic studies of P.P. were significant. Chubinsky in the Carpathian region and archaeological research in Crimea K.S. Merezhkovsky. Protocol No. 3 of the meeting of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 16, 1938
Minutes No. 3 of the meeting of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated April 16, 1938 reports on the “reorganization of the apparatus of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR”, it states: “To liquidate the Committee for the Management of Scientific and Educational Institutions under the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, transferring the scientific and educational institutions subordinate to it to the following organizations :
Academy of Sciences under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR:
From that moment on, the Society began to be called the All-Union.
In the 30s, Leningrad lost a number of institutes, many scientific personnel, cultural and art workers who were transferred to Moscow.
We lost our city and the Academy of Sciences. Probably, the same fate was in store for the Geographical Society; an organizing committee was even formed in Moscow to create the All-Union Geographical Society. But the idea failed thanks to the active pro-Leningrad activities of the Society’s outstanding leaders, and, above all, N.I. Vavilov, which was not in vain for him.
A separate study and narrative requires one of the most terrible and painful topics in the history of geographical science - the repressions of the 30-40s, the victims of which were the long-time president of the Geographical Society, the great Russian scientist, academician N.I.
Vavilov, Ya.S. Edelstein, the famous Eurasianist, L.N. Gumilyov and many other scientists. Here we just think about what forces “enlightened” the repressive bodies regarding what can be called “counter-revolutionary activities of the Hettnerians and centrographs”, what is “disguised geopolitics” and what is “fascist influence”.
The brilliant words of L.N. Gumilyov - “scientists imprisoned scientists” - most accurately characterize that period.
Of course, the work of the Geographical Society during the Great Patriotic War is worthy of a separate story. Dozens of geographers died either on its fronts or from hunger, saving the life of the Society itself in besieged Leningrad. The most interesting period in the Society’s activities is the time between its first and ninth congresses, in fact, the time between the “Great Patriotic War and the collapse of the USSR. During these years, the work of the Society was inextricably linked with the names of its presidents, academicians L.S. Berg, E.N. Pavlovsky, S.V. Kalesnik, A.F. Treshnikova. On March 21, 1992, the Scientific Council of the Society made a historic decision: “In connection with the liquidation of union structures and the need for renaming, return the Geographical Society of the USSR to its original historical name and henceforth, until the congress, call it “Russian Geographical Society.” This decision emphasized that we are the same Society created in 1845.
The tenth anniversary congress of the Society, held in St. Petersburg in 1995, approved this name. At this congress, the largest Russian scientist, economic geographer, professor S.B. was elected president of the Society. Lavrov, whose main merits were the preservation of the Society in unusually economically difficult times and the restoration of its name.
Today, the Russian Geographical Society is an all-Russian public organization that unites 27 thousand members in 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 of the Society are Primorskoe and Moscow.
According to the law of the Russian Federation “On Public Associations”, the Russian Geographical Society was registered after the tenth congress with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation as an independent public organization. This does not at all mean a break with the Academy of Sciences. Interaction with the Russian Academy of Sciences is discussed in the new Charter of the Russian Geographical Society. At the same time, the de jure independence of the Society, which it lost in 1938 against its own will, has been restored.
reports on the “reorganization of the apparatus of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR”, it says: “To liquidate the Committee for the Management of Scientific and Educational Institutions under the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, transferring the scientific and educational institutions subordinate to it to the following organizations: The central organization of the Russian Geographical Society is located in St. Petersburg,
Semenov-Tyan-Shansky.
Today, members of various branches and commissions of the Central Organization (there are more than 35 of them) gather daily in the halls of the Society to discuss modern problems of geography and related disciplines. The building houses the Scientific Archive, Museum, Library, Central Lecture Hall named after. Yu.M. Shokalsky, Editorial and Publishing Department, Printing House.
The main activities of the Society's archive are the preservation of funds, their replenishment and use. It houses 136 personal funds of geographers and travelers, 115 collections on the ethnography of the peoples of Russia.
Recently, the Archive was replenished with the personal collection of the President of the Geographical Society of the USSR, Academician A.F. Treshnikov.
Unfortunately, our Archive today is more popular among foreign researchers than among domestic ones, although the number of the latter has begun to grow. After a long break, our documents also interested the city authorities: the Governor of St. Petersburg V.A. Yakovlev invited the Archive to participate in the exhibition “St. Petersburg - 300 years”.
The Museum of History of the Russian Geographical Society is included in the list of academic museums. More than 600 people visit it annually, including scientists from England, France, Sweden, Norway, Holland, USA, Germany, Hungary, Brazil and China.
The Archive and the Museum make a serious contribution to the promotion of geographical knowledge and geographical education. The latter, by the way, is one of the priority tasks of the Society, written in its Charter. Thus, in the second article of the Charter, among the goals and objectives of the Society, the following are listed: dissemination of geographical knowledge, promotion of the achievements of domestic and world geography, education of geographical and environmental culture; assistance in improving the quality of geographical and environmental education among various age and professional groups of the population; promoting the improvement of geography teaching in secondary and higher schools.
Such work is most fully carried out within the framework of the Central Lecture Hall named after Yu.M. Shokalsky, where geography consistently returns to the main place in the system of environmental sciences, which it does not occupy today due to a misunderstanding. Basically, events in the Central Lecture Hall, especially regional studies lectures, cycles dedicated to St. Petersburg and the history of Russian statehood, attract adult and youth audiences equally. And if the older generation is quite satisfied with the lecture form of acquiring geographical knowledge, then young people often lack their own geographical research work.
That is why in 1970, a student club “Planet” was created at the Russian Geographical Society, which was later transformed into the geographical society of students “Planet”, where schoolchildren and students who love geography united. “Planet” and its numerous branches across the country have completed dozens of complex expeditions, all-Union and all-Russian conferences, seminars and symposia, and even serious scientific research. Many “planet dwellers” subsequently became scientists, defended dissertations, and continue to work successfully in geography. During the “perestroika” years, the activities of “Planet” weakened, but at the XI Congress of the Russian Geographical Society, which took place in August 2000 in Arkhangelsk, on the initiative of young geographers, measures were taken to completely restore the work of the geographical society of students.
in his own house in Grivtsova Lane, built in 1908 with money from members of the Society, largely thanks to the efforts of P.P.
One of the main ways to gain geographical knowledge is to work in the Library. The largest geographical Library in Europe (about 500 thousand volumes) continues to serve readers, most of whom, having appeared here once, then do not part with this treasury of knowledge throughout their lives.
Propaganda and dissemination of geographical knowledge are widely carried out during numerous all-Russian and international meetings and conferences held annually by the Society in St. Petersburg and other cities, as well as at the Society’s congresses, which once every five years, sum up the development of geographical science and determine its path further development. The importance of geographical education in the activities of the Russian Geographical Society is evidenced by the following fact: at the last congress of the Society in Arkhangelsk, the work of the first section was devoted to the interaction of geographical science and education.
Expeditionary activities are also being revived in the Society.
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 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Many branches of the Society conduct independent expeditions in their regions, mainly with a local history and environmental focus.
The central organization of the Russian Geographical Society conducts joint environmental expeditions around Russia with the Earthwatch Foundation.
Thus, by order of the Committee on Federation Affairs and Regional Policy of the State Duma, the Society carried out work to develop a general concept of regional policy in Russia.
The Russian Geographical Society has developed a project for a large historical and geographical Atlas of St. Petersburg, which has found support in the city Administration.
We hope that the creation of the Atlas will be included in the plan of events in preparation for the 300th anniversary of the city.
By order of the Administration of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, work has begun to study the life support resources of the regions of Russia, taking into account morals, traditions, education, culture, science, everyday life, and economy.
Under an agreement with the Administration of the Arkhangelsk Region, members of the Society are developing a strategy for the development of its transport complex.
The Department of Medical Geography of the Russian Geographical Society is working to create a medical and environmental Atlas of the Leningrad Region.
An underwater search archaeological expedition operates on Ladoga every year. For many years, the popular science expedition “Neva” was carried out along the route from the Varangians to the Greeks. Since 1996, the Integrated Northern Search Expedition (KSPE) has been actively working, studying the natural, cultural and historical heritage of the North-West, the results of which under the project “Secrets of the Russian North” are regularly covered by the media.
Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. Other youth associations also actively work in the Society, for example, the ecological club “Ekosha” at the Department of Nature Conservation, the Young Ethnographer circle at the Department of Ethnography, etc. However, times when mayor of St. Petersburg wrote P.P.
However, the times when the mayor of St. Petersburg wrote to P.P.
From the day the Russian Geographical Society was founded, the state understood the need to financially support the Society and did so until the early 1990s. Help was addressed to the Society in various ways - through the Ministry of Internal Affairs, through the People's Commissariat for Education, through the Academy of Sciences, and no difficulties ever arose. Today, high government officials, at the request of a full member of the Society, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma A.N. Chilingarov's help to the pride of Russian and world geographical science is met with a cold refusal, citing new laws that do not make it possible to finance the activities of public organizations from the state budget. By the way, the new laws do not prohibit doing this, and in tsarist and Soviet times the laws were hardly softer.
They won’t let us die, and, I want to believe, they won’t let us. Well, if the Russian Geographical Society lives, then it will still do a lot for Russia, St. Petersburg and the most wonderful science in the world - geography.
Semenov-Tian-Shansky:
“Be kind and accept 10 thousand rubles in silver for the needs of the Society.”
The extraordinary congress of the Russian Geographical Society elected the Minister of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu as President of the Society.
During the congress, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin accepted the offer to head the Board of Trustees of the Russian Geographical Society.
The society set a course for revival.More details on the RGS website
