All-Russian public organization "Russian Geographical Society"(abbreviated VOO "RGO" listen)) is a geographical public organization of Russia, founded on August 18, 1845. One of the oldest geographical societies in the world after the Paris (1821), Berlin (1828) and London (1830).

The main task of the Russian Geographical Society is the collection and dissemination of reliable geographical information. Expeditions of the Russian Geographical Society played a big 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 development of meteorology and climatology. Since 1956, the Russian Geographical Society has been a member of the International Geographical Union.

Official names

During its existence, the society changed its name several times:

Story

Establishment of a society

Among the founding members of the Society were also geographer and statistician K. I. Arsenyev, director of the department Agriculture 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 V. I. Dal, Orenburg Governor-General V. A. Perovsky, writer and philanthropist prince V. F. Odoevsky.

Start of activity

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 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.

During the imperial period of its activity, the Society served as a platform for informal dialogue between departments that carried out cartographic, statistical and research papers: “In his (Society’s) environment, the heads of various government agencies who were engaged in cartography of Russia, gathered to discuss the subjects of their studies.”

Structure

• Department of Physical Geography
• Department of Mathematical Geography
• Department of Statistics
• Department of Ethnography
• Political-Economic Committee
• Arctic Research Commission
• Seismic Commission

The creation of a permanent commission of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (IRGS) for the study of the Arctic made it possible to systematize expeditionary activities and summarize the unique information obtained about the nature, geology and ethnography of the Far North. The world famous Chukotka, Yakutsk and Kola expeditions were carried out. A report on one of the society's Arctic expeditions 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 created autonomous polar stations at the mouth of the Lena 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 I.V. Mushketov.

On March 5, 1912, the Council of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society approved the regulations 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. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, the Belgian King Leopold I, the Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid II, the British Prince Albert), famous foreign researchers and geographers (Baron Ferdinand background Richthofen, Roald Amudsen, Fridtjof Nansen, etc.).

In addition to immediate managers Russian Empire and members royal family active members of the Geographical Society in different years there were more than 100 ministers, governors, members of the State Council and Senate. Many of them achieve this high results It was the fruitful work in the Geographical Society that helped: D. A. Milyutin, who restored the prestige of the Russian army after the defeat in the Crimean War, received the post of Orenburg governor thanks to his outstanding Asian studies, Ya. V. Khanykov, senator and academician V. P. Bezobrazov and many others. etc.

The public opinion of those years was shaped by members of the Russian Geographical Society, Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow and Bishop Jacob of Nizhny Novgorod, book publishers Alfred Devrien and Adolf Marx, editors of the largest Russian and foreign newspapers E. E. Ukhtomsky and Mackenzie Wallace.

Philanthropists of the Society

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.

IN Soviet period The society actively developed new areas of activity related to propaganda geographical knowledge: a commission with a corresponding focus was established, an Advisory Bureau was opened under the leadership of L. S. Berg, the famous lecture hall began its work. 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

Charter of the company

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 impeccable succession of the society throughout its 170-year history. 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.

Company Management

Over the years, the Russian Geographical Society was led by representatives of the Russian Imperial House, famous travelers, explorers and statesmen.

Chairmen and Presidents

From 1845 to the present, 12 leaders of the company have changed:

Honorary Presidents

• 1931-1940 - Yu. M. Shokalsky
• 1940-1945 - V. L. Komarov
• 2000-present V. - V. M. Kotlyakov

Vice-chairmen (vice-presidents)

• 1850-1856 - M. N. Muravyov (vice-chairman)
• 1857-1873 - F. P. Litke (vice-chairman)
• 1873-1914 - P. P. Semenov (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. Y. Marr (since 1931, deputy heads began to be called vice-presidents)
• 1932-1938 - position 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 V. - A. N. Chilingarov (first vice-president); N. S. Kasimov (first vice-president); A. A. Chibilev; P. Ya. Baklanov; K. V. Chistyakov;

Chiefs of Staff

Chiefs of Staff (assistants to the chairman, scientific secretaries, executive directors)

Governing bodies

According to the current Charter (section 5), the structure governing bodies 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 operate in Moscow and St. Petersburg

Society Congresses Media Council

In 2010, the My Planet TV channel won the Golden Ray award in the Best Educational TV Channel of the Year category.

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 branches

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 Vilnius (1867), Orenburg (1867), Kyiv (1873), Omsk (1877), Khabarovsk (1894), Tashkent (1897) and other cities. Some organizations were completely autonomous - such as, 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 Vilnius and Kyiv ceased their activities.

Awards of the Russian Geographical Society

The award system of the Russian Geographical Society includes a number of medals of different denominations (large gold medals, nominal gold medals, small gold, silver and bronze medals); various awards; honorary reviews and diplomas. No awards were given between 1930 and 1945.

• Big gold medals
  • The Konstantinovskaya Medal existed as the highest award of the Russian Geographical Society until 1929 (from 1924 to 1929 it was called the “Highest Award of Society”). In 2010 and 2011, remakes of the medal were awarded without award status, as a commemorative medal.
  • Big Golden medal Geographical Society of the USSR (1946-1998), Great Gold Medal of the Russian Geographical Society (since 1998).
  • Great gold medal of the departments of ethnography and statistics (1879-1930).
• Personalized gold medals
  • Gold medal named after P. P. Semenov (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) - awarded for useful geographical research that does not meet the conditions of the Konstantinov medal (S. V. Maksimov in 1861; B. Ya. Schweitzer; N. A. Korguev; A. N. Afanasyev; P. N. Rybnikov; P. O. Bobrovsky)
  • Medal named after N. M. Przhevalsky (silver; 1895-1930).
• Unnumbered small medals
  • Small silver medal(1858-1930, since 2012).
  • Small bronze medal (1858-1930).
• Awards
  • Prize named after N. M. Przhevalsky
  • Tillo Prize
  • Honorable mentions and diplomas

Library of the Russian Geographical Society

In 1845, simultaneously with the Russian Geographical Society, its library was created. The book collection began with books donated by members of the Society and personally sent by authors. The acquisition of the fund included 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 significance for Russia. Understanding this, 4 years after its founding, the Society’s management entrusts the first work on putting 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 fund rare book XVI-XVIII centuries publications available Rossica(reports from foreigners about Russia), publications from the era of Peter I, classic descriptions of travel and discoveries.

The cartographic collection, numbering 42,000 items, contains rare and single copies of handwritten maps and atlases.

The richest reference fund is represented by encyclopedias, dictionaries, guidebooks, and bibliographic publications.

The collection of publications of the Russian Geographical Society contained copies of all publications published under the stamp “Russian Geographical Society”. Unfortunately, the lack of funding for regional branches 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 fund includes books from the personal libraries of members of the Russian Geographical Society who stood at its origins - Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, Semenov-Tyan-Shansky and other outstanding Russian geographers - Shokalsky, Pavlovsky, Shnitnikov, Kondratiev.

From 1938 to the present day, the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences (BAN) has been involved in the acquisition of publications for the Library of the Russian Geographical Society. 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 Russian Geographical Society Library is inseparable from the history of Russia. In the years civil war The Society's library was a kind of “club” of Petrograd geographers. During the Great Patriotic War the library was not intended for evacuation from besieged Leningrad, providing its funds to soldiers and commanders 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 collection is emphasized by the books inscribed famous travelers and researchers of the 2nd half of the 20th century - T. Heyerdahl, Yu. Sienkiewicz, Soviet cosmonauts, L. Gumilev.

The permanent task of the Library is to provide information support for the professional and social activities of members of the Russian Geographical Society and employees of academic institutions in Russia.

Library Managers

Publications of the Russian Geographical Society

• News of the Russian Geographical Society - the oldest Russian geographical Science Magazine, published by the Society since 1865. Published in a very small edition (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 in all branches of geographical science had been published.
• Ice and snow is a scientific journal covering issues of glaciology and cryolithology.

Currently, the publications of the Russian Geographical Society include the popular science magazine “Around the World,” published since 1861, with an editorial office in Moscow.

Scientific archive of the Russian Geographical Society

Simultaneously with the founding of the Society (1845), the Scientific Archive began to form - the oldest and only specifically geographical archive in the country. The first manuscripts that entered the archive were private donations. Somewhat later, the archive began to be systematically replenished with personal funds from 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 ethnographic program of the Society, published in 1848 and sent out in the 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.

Their large number programs developed by the Department of Ethnography, it is worth mentioning some that had a noticeable impact on the replenishment of manuscripts in the archive, these are: “A program for collecting information on folk superstitions and beliefs in Southern Russia"(1866), "Program for collecting folk legal customs" (1877), "Program for collecting information about wedding rites from Great Russians and foreigners of Eastern Russia" (1858). The manuscripts are distributed among the provinces. Collections from the Caucasus, Central Asian Russia, Siberia, the Baltic region, Belarus, Poland, and Finland are especially highlighted. Manuscripts of entire groups of nationalities are highlighted - Slavs (eastern, western, southern), nationalities of Central Asian Russia, Siberia, European Russia. Materials related to foreign countries, systematized by parts of the world: Europe, Asia, Africa, America, Australia and Oceania.

In total, the archive has 115 ethnographic collections - that's more than 13,000 storage units.

Among the documentary materials of the archive, the collection of the office of the Russian Geographical Society, numbering more than 5,000 storage units, stands out for its richness and diversity. These are manuscripts on organization and creation. Society, 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 are the personal funds of the great Russian geographers and travelers: P. P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, N. M. Przhevalsky, N. N. Miklukho-Maclay, P. K. Kozlov, G. E. Grumm-Grzhimailo, A. I. Voeikova, L. S. Berg, V. L. Komarov, V. A. Obruchev, N. I. Vavilov, Yu. M. Shokalsky, B. A. Vilkitsky and others. Being great scientists and travelers, they left most interesting descriptions natural conditions, economy, life, folk art of the visited places. For example, the personal collection of N. M. Przhevalsky contains 766 storage units, including manuscripts and field diaries of all five trips to Central Asia.

Currently, the Society's archives contain 144 personal funds - that's more than 50,000 storage units.

The photo archive is rich and varied, numbering more than 3,000 items.

These are photographs from expeditionary research, photographic landscapes, types of population, everyday scenes, views of cities and villages, and so on. Photos of the Resettlement Administration.

The collection of drawings is especially highlighted - 227 storage units.

Medals are stored in the archive as historical relics - this is 120 storage units.

The archive contains 98 items that are of historical value - these are objects of Buddhist cult, 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.

Heads of the scientific archive

A significant contribution to the development of the scientific archive of the Geographical Society was made by E. I. Gleyber, who was in charge of it from 1936 to 1942. During the siege of Leningrad, on January 14, 1942, he died of exhaustion in the archive room.

• After the death of E.I. Gleyber, B.A. Valskaya was appointed head of the archive.
• After B. A. Valskaya, the archive was headed for several decades by T. P. Matveeva.
• 1995 - present - Maria Fedorovna Matveeva.

Museum of the Russian Geographical Society

In 1860, Academician K. M. Baer headed a commission for the scientific selection of exhibits that were to be included in the museum fund 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 Russian Geographical Society house, no halls were provided for the museum, but the interiors of the building itself - the lobby, staircase, library, archive, offices and assembly halls- are 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. Artistic techniques The flat material in the display cases is decorated, 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 " business card» Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich Romanov, the chairman of the IRGO, with his request to resign from the powers of the chairman of the IRGO in connection with the change of power in the country.

Novosibirsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society (RGS)

Our site was created by a group of members Novosibirsk branch Russian Geographical Society (RGS), more than 400 authors. The Novosibirsk branch is located in Siberia, and this determines its goals and objectives: the unification of all geographers, scientific workers, teachers, professionals and simply nature lovers, studying and solving current problems 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, was approved on the creation of the Russian Geographical Society in St. Petersburg (later the Imperial Russian Geographical Society).

The main goal of the founders of the Society was: the study of “the native land and the people who inhabit 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. Krusenstern and P. I. Ricord, Vice Admiral F. P. Litke, Rear Admiral F. P. Wrangel, academicians K. I. Arsenyev, K. M. Baer, P. I. Keppen, V. Ya. Struve, military geographer, surveyor and writer M. P. Vronchenko and others. The idea of ​​​​creating a society turned out to be so interesting and useful that from the moment the Russian Geographical Society was founded, 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 a big role in the development of Siberia, Far East, Central and Central Asia, the World Ocean, in the development of navigation, the discovery and exploration of new lands, in the development of meteorology and climatology. Since 1956, the Russian Geographical Society 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 holds seminars, conferences, and photo exhibitions.

Organized field studies, expeditions, travel in different regions of the world.

The first in Russia was organized in Novosibirsk Expedition center, allowing for 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 5,000 articles and materials. The site brings together 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 information about your travels, expeditions, and unusual phenomena on our website.

We are ready to post your information if it is interesting and meets the objectives of the Russian Geographical Society.

For members of the Russian Geographical Society, we are ready to help create their own section on our website.

Contact: Komarov Vitaly

Russian Geographical Society Novosibirsk branch

The official website of the Russian Geographical Society is a modern web publication of the society founded back in 1845.

History and modernity, the opportunity to get acquainted with all the great, outstanding travelers who played an important role in the life of the country. Loud discoveries, all the climatic diversity of the Earth, and many other questions will allow you to find the answer on the official website of the Russian Geographical Society.

For many admirers of geography, prospectors, researchers and adventurers seeking to understand all the wisdom and secrets of Planet Earth, the Russian Geographical Society becomes an opportunity to discover mysteries and secrets, to learn everything that is hidden from human eyes. The society's website has become a source of knowledge and communication, offering the most interesting materials on history and modern geography.

Availability of information and news, the opportunity to use library materials, and become one of the honorary members is offered on the website of the geographical society. The materials offered by the official website can be used in scientific research and for independent study.

The “Road of Discovery” project is a joint project of the Russian Geographical Society and Russian railways(), dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Projects, lectures, archives and library

If school students are interested in the online dictation offered on the website, which is designed for the 2017 curriculum, then students can take advantage of the archives, library and scientific materials for writing coursework and theses. For anyone interested in the materials of the Geographical Society, access is available simply online.

The site is of particular importance for those who are really interested in geography. The information on the official website becomes a real source of knowledge and detailed study. Any information is of scientific interest and can be used for further study.

Geography is a science that remains one of the most in demand. The number of geographers and those simply interested in science is constantly growing. To get the opportunity to use unique materials, just go to the official website, where all the information is open and accessible.

Website of the Russian Geographical Society for everyone

Those who want to find out how the photo competition went, or attend interesting lectures, find out what stage they are at interesting projects, or join members of the Geographical Society, the official website suggests.

Studying the site in detail is simply fascinating. This is a world for those who want to know the deepest secrets of the Earth.
The Geographical Society website offers:

Interesting and fascinating information.
Scientific research and development.
A detailed study of each region of the country.
Scientific grants and awards.
The richest library of the society.
Youth educational club.
You can register and join members of Russian society.

Each visitor can decide for himself how to use the materials of the site www.rgo.ru/ru. Familiarization or detailed study, use of the material to write your own work, or simply a journey into the world of geography.
Only reliable information and only the best materials are offered by the official website of the Russian Geographical Society for all visitors and regular members of the unique club.

Historical reference

The Russian Geographical Society was founded in St. Petersburg by the Highest order of Emperor Nicholas I in 1845 under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which emphasized its state status.

The idea of ​​creating a community of scientists for a comprehensive study of nature home country, its population, economy, literally “fluttered in the air” after the greatest geographical explorations and discoveries of the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries.

Such expeditions as the Second Kamchatka Expedition of 1733-1742, Academic expeditions of 1768 - 1774, the discovery of the first section of Antarctic land. F.F. Bellingshausen and M.K. Lazarev in 1820 - 1821, expedition of A.F. Middendorf's (1843 - 1844) expedition to Eastern Siberia had no equal in scale in the history of geographical research.

And yet, for such a huge country, all this was negligible, which was well 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 P.I. Keppen, an encyclopedist, an outstanding statistician and ethnographer, a circle of statisticians and travelers began to meet regularly. Later, the famous naturalist and traveler K.M. Baer, ​​a scientist with extraordinary breadth, joined the circle scientific interests, and the famous navigator Admiral F.P. Litke, explorer of Novaya Zemlya, chief round the world expedition 1826 - 1829 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 full members of the Society (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.” physical, mathematical geography, statistics and ethnography.

The first two opened in 1851 regional department- Caucasian (in Tiflis) and Siberian (in Irkutsk).

The first de facto leader 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 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.

Traveling is one of the oldest methods of understanding the world around us. For geography in the past, it was, in fact, the most important, when only the testimony of eyewitnesses who had visited certain countries could provide reliable information about the peoples, economy and physical appearance of the Earth. 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.” And there: “One Przhevalsky or one Stanley is worth ten 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 Russian Geographical Society paid the greatest attention to the white spots of the Northern Urals, Siberia and the Far East. The Vilyui expedition, travels in the Ussuri region by N.M. Przhevalsky, explorations of Siberia by P.A. Kropotkin, B.I. were devoted to these unexplored lands. Dybovsky, A.L. Chekanovsky, I.D. Chersky, N.M. Yadrintsev, a large ethnographic expedition that covered the vast expanses of Eastern Siberia with its routes (which was financed by the wealthy Lena gold miner A.M. Sibiryakov) under the leadership of D.A. Klemenets, research by V.A. Obruchev, travel around Kamchatka by V.L. Komarov.

Were not forgotten middle 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, V.A. Obruchev, V.V. Bartold, L.S. Berg.

Work was also carried out outside of Russia. 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 - 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. Juncker, E.N. Pavlovsky made a significant contribution to the study African continent, and N.N. Miklouho-Maclay’s travels to the islands Pacific Ocean, perhaps, became 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 in 1918 44 people joined the Society, in 1919 - 60 people, in 1920 - 75.

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. 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 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. Since 1923, the international relations of the Society have been gradually restored through the efforts of Yu.M. Shokalsky and V.L. Komarov. The scientific blockade of the young state did not last long; it became impossible to ignore Russian science any longer. Of course, there were also great losses - some of the Russian scientists who did not accept the revolution were sent abroad.

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.

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 to rename, return the Geographical Society of the USSR to its original historical name - “Russian Geographical Society”.

Today the Russian Geographical Society is an all-Russian public organization uniting 27 thousand members in all regions 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 Moscow.

The central organization of the Russian Geographical Society is located in St. Petersburg, in a house on Grivtsova Lane, built in 1908 with money from members of the Society, largely thanks to the efforts of P.P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky. Today, in the halls of the Society, members of various branches and commissions of the Central Organization (there are 33) gather daily to discuss modern problems geography and related disciplines. The building houses a Scientific Archive, a museum, a library, and the Central Lecture Hall named after. Yu.M. 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 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Thus, the Society tries to work and even earn money. But... The main problem in the activities of the Russian Geographical Society, as, apparently, in scientific and cultural institutions in general, remains financial. 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: “Do yourself a favor, accept 10 thousand rubles in silver” (for the needs of the Society) have not yet returned.

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. Today, high government officials, at the request full member The society, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma A.N. Chilingarov, to help the pride of Russian and world geographical science responds with a cold refusal, citing new laws that do not make it possible to finance activities public organizations from the state budget. By the way, the new laws do not prohibit doing this, but during the tsarist and Soviet time the laws could hardly have been more lenient.

Science develops only when scientists can communicate and exchange the results of their research. For this purpose, 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 now has 26 people. They hold annual scientific conferences, at which the deputy director of the Regional Museum named after him repeatedly gave reports on the results of his expeditions. Prozriteleva - Prave, chief archaeologist of the Stavropol Territory Sergei Nikolaevich Savenko, candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, astrophysicist Vladimir Ivanovich Chernyshov, geologists and local historians of the cities of the 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 carried out through 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