Russian Geographical Society rgo. Russian Geographical Society

Novosibirsk branch of Russian geographic society(RGO)

Our site was created by a group of members of the Novosibirsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society (RGO), more than 400 authors. The Novosibirsk branch is located in Siberia, and this determines its goals and objectives: uniting all geographers, scientists, teachers, professionals and just nature lovers, studying and solving urgent 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 command of Emperor Nicholas I, the proposal of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia, Count L.A. Perovsky, on the creation of the Russian Geographical Society in St. Petersburg (later the Imperial Russian Geographical Society) was approved.

The main goal of the founders of the Society was: the study of "the native land and the people inhabiting it", that is, to collect and disseminate geographical, statistical and ethnographic information about Russia itself.

Among the founders of the Russian Geographical Society: Admirals I.F.Kruzenshtern and P.I. Rikord, Vice Admiral F.P. Litke, Rear Admiral F.P. Wrangel, Academicians K.I. P.I.Keppen, V. Ya. Struve, military geographer, surveyor and writer M.P. Vronchenko, etc. the best minds Russia, and the son of Nicholas I - Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich agreed to become its first chairman.

The main task of the Russian Geographical Society is the collection and dissemination of reliable geographical information. Expeditions of the Russian Geographical Society played an important role in the development of Siberia, Of the Far East, Central and Central Asia, the World Ocean, in the development of navigation, the discovery and study of new lands, in the formation of meteorology and climatology. Since 1956, the RGS has been a member of the International Geographical Union.

The Novosibirsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society is headed by the Academic Council and the Presidium elected by it.

Currently, the NO RGS has about 200 full members.

The Novosibirsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society holds seminars and conferences, photo exhibitions.

Field research, expeditions, travels in different regions of the world are organized.

The first in Russia was organized in Novosibirsk Expeditionary Center allowing to carry out large-scale, complex expeditions in any region of Asia

Site The Novosibirsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society is the largest in Russia, it contains more than 5000 articles and materials. The site unites travelers and scientists, photographers and people who want to know about the world around them.

We invite everyone to take part in the work of the Geographical Society.

We will be happy to post on our website information about your travels, expeditions, unusual phenomena.

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

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

All-Russian public organization "Russian Geographical Society"(abbreviated VOO "RGO") is a geographical public organization of Russia, founded on August 18, 1845. One of the oldest geographical societies in the world after 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 large role in the development of Siberia, the Far East, Central and Central Asia, the World Ocean, in the development of navigation, the discovery and study of new lands, in the formation of meteorology and climatology. Since 1956, the RGS has been a member of the International Geographical Union.

Official titles

During its existence, the society has repeatedly changed its name:

History

Establishment of a company

Among the founding members of the Society were also the geographer and statistician K.I. Arseniev, the director of the Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Internal Affairs A.I. Levshin, the traveler P.A. 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 geographic and statistical society, under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but by the order of the emperor it was named Geographic. The initial financing of the Society was state-owned and amounted to 10 thousand rubles a year; subsequently, patrons of art made a significant contribution to financing the enterprises of the Russian Geographical Society.

The society quickly covered the whole of Russia with its subdivisions. In 1851, the first two regional departments were opened - Caucasian in Tiflis and Siberian in Irkutsk, then departments were created: Orenburg, North-West in Vilna, South-West in Kiev, West-Siberian in Omsk, Priamursky in Khabarovsk, Turkestan in Tashkent. They conducted extensive research into their regions.

During the imperial period of its activity, the Society played the role of a platform for an informal dialogue between the departments that carried out cartographic, statistical and research work: “In his (Society) environment, the heads of various government agencies who were engaged in cartography of Russia, converged to discuss the subjects of their occupation. "

Structure

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

The creation of a permanent commission of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (IRGO) for the study of the Arctic made it possible to systematize expeditionary activities and generalize the unique information obtained about the nature, geology and ethnography of the Far North. The world famous Chukotka, Yakutsk and Kola expeditions were carried out. The report on one of the Arctic expeditions of the society interested the great scientist D.I.Mendeleev, who developed several projects for the development and research of the Arctic.

The Russian Geographical Society became one of the organizers and participants of the First International Polar Year, during which the Society established autonomous polar stations at the mouth of the Lena River and on Novaya Zemlya.

The Seismic Commission of the Russian Geographical Society was created in 1887, after a strong earthquake in the city of Verny (Alma-Ata). The commission was created on the initiative and with the active participation of IV Mushketov.

On March 5, 1912, the Council of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society approved the regulation on the Permanent Environmental Commission.

Honorary Members of the Society

During the imperial period, members of foreign royal families were elected honorary members of the society (for example, the personal friend of P.P.Semenov-Tyan-Shansk, the Belgian king Leopold I, Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid II, British Prince Albert), famous foreign researchers and geographers (Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen, Roald Amudsen, Fridtjof Nansen, etc.).

In addition to immediate supervisors Russian Empire and members royal family active members of the Geographical Society in different years were more than 100 ministers, governors, members of the State Council and the Senate. It was their fruitful work in the Geographical Society that helped many of them to achieve such high results: it was D.A. P. Bezobrazov and many others. dr.

Public opinion in those years was formed by members of the Russian Geographical Society, Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow and Bishop Jacob of Nizhny Novgorod, book publishers Alfred Devrien and Adolf Marks, editors of the largest Russian and foreign newspapers E.E. Ukhtomsky and Mackenzie Wallace (Donald Mackenzie Wallace).

Philanthropists of the Society

The Russian Geographical Society also laid the foundations of the national reserve management, the ideas of the first Russian specially protected natural areas(PAs) were born within the framework of the Permanent Environmental Commission of the IRGO, the creator of which was Academician I.P. Borodin.

With the assistance of the Russian Geographical Society in 1918, the world's first higher educational institution of a geographical profile, the Geographic Institute, was created.

In 1919, one of the most famous members of the Society, V.P.Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, founded the first geographical museum in Russia.

V soviet period The society actively developed new areas of activity related to the promotion of geographical knowledge: a commission of the corresponding orientation was established, an Advisory Bureau under the leadership of L. S. Berg was opened, the famous lecture hall named after L. Yu.M. Shokalsky.

In the post-war period, a rapid increase in the number of members of the Society was recorded, if in 1940 it consisted of 745 people, then in 1987 the number of members reached 30 thousand, that is, it increased almost 40 times.

Patrons and trustees of the society

Society charter

The Russian Geographical Society is the only public organization in Russia that has continuously existed since its inception in 1845. The Charters of the Russian Geographical Society convincingly demonstrate the legally irreproachable legal succession of society throughout its 170-year history. The first charter of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society was approved by Nicholas I on December 28, 1849.

The current charter, according to which the Russian Geographical Society received the status of an "All-Russian public organization", was approved by the XIV Congress of the All-Russian Public Organization "Russian Geographical Society", minutes of December 11, 2010.

Society management

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

Chairmen and Presidents

From 1845 to the present, 12 leaders of the society have been replaced:

Honorary Presidents

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

Vice Presidents (Vice Presidents)

• 1850-1856 - M. N. Muravyov (vice-chairman)
• 1857-1873 - F.P. Litke (vice-chairman)
• 1873-1914 - P. P. Semyonov (vice-chairman)
• 1914-1917 - Yu.M. Shokalsky (vice-chairman)
• 1917-1920 - N. D. Artamonov (vice-chairman)
• 1920-1931 - G. E. Grumm-Grzhimailo (vice-chairman)
• 1931-1932 - N. Ya.Marr (since 1931, deputy heads became known as vice presidents)
• 1932-1938 - the post remained vacant
• 1938-1945 - I. Yu. Krachkovsky
• 1942-19 ?? - Z. Yu. Shokalskaya (Acting Vice President)
• 19??-1952
• 1952-1964 - S. V. Kalesnik
• 1964-1977 - A.F.Treshnikov
• 1977-1992 - S. B. Lavrov
• 1992-2000 - Yu. P. Seliverstov
• 2000-2002 - A. A. Komaritsyn
• 2002-2005 - ?
• 2005-2009 - ?
• 2009-2010 - ?
• 2010-present v. - A. N. Chilingarov (first vice president); NS Kasimov (first vice president); A. A. Chibilev; P. Ya.Baklanov; K. V. Chistyakov;

Chiefs of staff

Chiefs of staff (assistants to the chairman, academic secretaries, executive directors)

Governing bodies

According to the current Charter (section 5), the structure of the governing bodies of the Society includes: the Congress, the Board of Trustees, the Media Council, the Managing Council, the Academic Council, the Council of Elders, the Council of Regions, the President of the Society, the Executive Directorate and the Audit Commission.

Headquarters function in Moscow and St. Petersburg

Congresses of the Media Council

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

There is a program of the Russian Geographical Society on Radio Mayak.

Governing Council Academic Council Council of Elders Council of Regions Executive Directorate Revision Commission

Regional offices

The first "peripheral departments" of the society were created in:

• 1850 - Caucasian in Tiflis
• 1851 - Siberian in Irkutsk

Other branches of the society were created in Vilnius (1867), Orenburg (1867), Kiev (1873), Omsk (1877), Khabarovsk (1894), Tashkent (1897) and other cities. Some organizations were completely autonomous - for example, the Society for the Study of the Amur Region, created in Vladivostok in 1884 and only formally included in the IRGO in 1894. In 1876, the departments in Vilnius and Kiev ceased their activities.

Awards of the Russian Geographical Society

The RGS awards system includes a number of medals of various denominations (large gold medals, personalized gold medals, small gold, silver and bronze medals); various awards; honorary reviews and diplomas. In the period from 1930 to 1945, no awards were given.

• Big gold medals
  • The Constantine 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, remake medals were presented without award status as a commemorative medal.
  • Big Gold Medal of the Geographical Society of the USSR (1946-1998), Big Gold Medal of the Russian Geographical Society (since 1998).
  • Great gold medal of the departments of ethnography and statistics (1879-1930).
• Personalized gold medals
  • P.P.Semenov Gold Medal (1899-1930, since 1946).
  • Medal named after Count F.P. Litke (1873-1930, since 1946).
  • Gold Medal named after N.M. Przhevalsky (since 1946).
• Small gold and similar medals
  • Small gold medal (1858-1930, since 1998) - was awarded for useful geographical research that did not fit the conditions of the Konstantin Medal (S.V. Maksimov in 1861; B. Ya. Schweitzer; N.A. Korguev; A.N. Afanasyev; P.N. Rybnikov; P.O. Bobrovsky)
  • Medal named after N.M. Przhevalsky (silver; 1895-1930).
• Unnumbered Minor Medals
  • Small Silver Medal (1858-1930, since 2012).
  • Small bronze medal (1858-1930).
• Prizes
  • Prize named after N.M. Przhevalsky
  • Tillo Prize
  • Honorary reviews and diplomas

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 provided for the purchase of books and the exchange of publications with Russian and foreign scientific institutions... The creation and operation of such a library is of great cultural importance for Russia. Realizing this, 4 years after its foundation, the leadership of the Society entrusted the first work to put the library in order to Peter Semyonov (later - Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, the most famous Russian geographer and statesman).

The collection of the Library of the Russian Geographical Society (490,000 copies) includes publications on the entire spectrum of geographical sciences and related disciplines - from physical geography to medical geography and geography of art. Foreign publications make up a significant part of the collection, which underlines the scientific nature of the library.

As part of the fund rare book XVI-XVIII centuries there are editions Rossica(reports of foreigners about Russia), publications of the era of Peter I, classic descriptions of travel and discoveries.

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

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

The collection of publications of the Russian Geographical Society contained copies of all publications published under the heading "Russian Geographical Society". Unfortunately, the lack of funding for regional offices in the 1990s broke this tradition. Today the collection of publications of the Russian Geographical Society can no longer be characterized by maximum completeness.

The fund includes books from the personal libraries of the members of the Russian Geographical Society, who stood at its origins - the Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky and other prominent Russian geographers - Shokalsky, Pavlovsky, Shnitnikov, Kondratyev.

From 1938 to the present day, the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences (BAN) has been involved in 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 RGS Library is inseparable from the history of Russia. In years civil war The Society's library was a kind of "club" of the geographers of Petrograd. During the Great Patriotic War the library was not intended for evacuation from besieged Leningrad, providing its funds to soldiers and commanders Soviet army even at night, when there was time to study literature. Materials on the hydrometeorological regime of Lake Ladoga were used to build the Road of Life.

The uniqueness of the RGS Library fund is emphasized by books inscribed by famous travelers and researchers of the 2nd half of the 20th century - T. Heyerdahl, Y. Senkevich, Soviet cosmonauts, L. Gumilev.

The constant task of the Library is Information Support professional and social activities of members of the Russian Geographical Society and employees of academic institutions in Russia.

Library Leaders

Publications of the Russian Geographical Society

• Izvestia of the Russian Geographical Society is the oldest Russian geographical scientific journal, published by the Society since 1865. It comes out in a very small circulation (about 130 copies), it is known mainly to specialists. Editorial office in St. Petersburg.
• Questions of geography - a series of scientific thematic collections on geography, published since 1946. By 2016, more than 140 collections were published in all industries. geographical science.
• Ice and Snow is a scientific journal covering issues of glaciology and cryolithology.

At present, the RGS publication includes the popular science magazine Around the World, published since 1861, with an editorial office in Moscow.

Scientific archive of the Russian Geographical Society

Simultaneously with the foundation of the Society (1845), the Scientific Archive began to form - the oldest and only specially geographic archive in the country. The first manuscripts that entered the archive were private donations. Somewhat later, the archive began to be systematically replenished with the personal funds of members of the Russian Geographical Society.

Especially many manuscripts were received from members of the Society, lovers of geography from the broad masses of rural intelligentsia: teachers, doctors, clergy in response to the Society's ethnographic program, published in 1848 and sent out in an amount of seven thousand copies to all corners of Russia. The program included six sections: about appearance, about language, about home life, about the peculiarities of social life, about mental and moral abilities and education, about folk legends and monuments.

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

In total, there are 115 ethnographic collections in the archive, which is more than 13,000 items.

Among the documentary materials of the archive, the fund of the Chancellery of the Russian Geographical Society, numbering more than 5000 storage units, stands out for the richness and diversity. These are manuscripts on organization and creation. Societies, materials on scientific and organizational activities, materials on organizing numerous expeditions equipped by the Society, correspondence on international relations of the Society, and so on.

A unique collection of documents is the personal funds of the great Russian geographers and travelers: P.P.Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, N.M. Przhevalsky, N.N. Miklukho-Maklai, P.K. Kozlov, G.E. A. I. Voeikova, L. S. Berga, V. L. Komarov, V. A. Obruchev, N. I. Vavilov, Yu. M. Shokalsky, B. A. Vilkitsky and others. As great scientists and travelers, they left interesting descriptions natural conditions, economy, everyday life, folk art places visited. For example, the personal fund of N.M. Przhevalsky - 766 items, including manuscripts and field diaries of all five travels to Central Asia.

Currently, there are 144 personal funds in the archives of the Society - this is more than 50,000 items.

The photo archive is rich and varied, numbering over 3000 items.

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

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

As historical relics, medals are stored in the archive - these are 120 storage units.

The archive contains 98 items that are of historical value - these are items of Buddhist worship, unique vases made of bronze and porcelain of Japanese and Chinese work, and so on.

The archive of the Russian Geographical Society is a scientific department where representatives of various specialties study its materials.

The Society's archive participates in various international exhibitions, is engaged in publishing activities... Archive staff advise and select documents for documentaries and feature films and so on.

Scientific archive directors

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

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

Museum of the Russian Geographical Society

In 1860, Academician K.M.Bair headed a commission for the scientific selection of exhibits that were to be included in the fund of the Museum of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. But only 100 years later, in 1970, the 5th Congress of the USSR Civil Society adopted a Resolution on the organization of the museum, approved and financed by the Museum Council under the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences. The Museum of the Geographical Society of the USSR was included in the list of museums of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

The museum was opened on December 9, 1986 in the mansion of the Society, built in 1907-1908 by the architect G.V. Baranovsky, where the rich and bright history activities of the Russian Geographical Society.

The exposition of the museum clearly showed the original documents and exhibits, paintings and old tomes, which arouse the sincere interest of visitors to this intimate and very cozy corner of the building.

During the construction of the RGS house, there were no halls for the museum, but the interiors of the building itself - the vestibule, staircase, library, archive, offices and assembly halls - are museum premises, one of which houses the Museum.

Small in area, but large in documentary content, the museum did not become an exhibition of documents or an "iconostasis" of portraits. Artistic techniques the planar material in showcases is decorated, not monotonously, but lively and interesting. Indeed, as early as 1891, the IRGO was transferred to the museums of St. Petersburg: the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, the Botanical and Zoological Museums, the museum Mining Institute(for lack of space for their placement in the IRGO).

The exposition contains many historical photographs, letters and maps of famous explorers-travelers: A.I. Voeikov, N.M. Knipovich, R.E.Kols, G.Ya. Sedov, I.V. 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. Next to the diary, kept during the expedition to the Pamirs in 1885-1886, written in the amazing handwriting of G. Ye. Grumm-Grzhimailo, a barometer and a box for feathers; perfectly preserved drawings of butterflies, which he collected together with the Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich (later chairman of the IRGO). Immediately there is a "correspondence" of these researchers who are fond of entomology. And next to " business card»Of the Grand Duke Nikolai Mikhailovich Romanov - Chairman of the IRGO, with his request to withdraw from himself the powers of Chairman of the IRGO in connection with the change of power in the country.

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

History and modernity, the opportunity to meet all the great, outstanding travelers who have played 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 an answer on the official website of the Russian Geographical Society.

For many admirers of geography, prospectors, researchers and adventurers striving to understand all the wisdom and secrets of the Planet Earth, the Russian geographical society becomes an opportunity to discover riddles and secrets, to learn everything that is hidden from human eyes. The site of the society has turned into a source of knowledge and communication, offering the most interesting materials of history and modern geography.

The availability of information and news, the opportunity to use the materials of the library, to become one of the honorary members are offered on the website of the Geographical Society. The materials offered by the official site can be used in scientific research, for self-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 construction of the Transsib.

Projects, lectures, archives and library

If schoolchildren are interested in the online dictation offered on the website, which is designed for the 2017 curriculum, then students can use archives, a library and scientific materials for writing term papers and theses... For everyone interested in the materials of the Geographical Society, access is open simply online.

The site is of particular importance for those who are really fond of 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 demanded. 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.

Site of the Russian Geographical Society for all

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

A detailed study of the site is simply fascinating. This is a world for those who wish to know the most intimate secrets of the Earth.
The Geographical Society website suggests:

Interesting and exciting information.
Scientific research and development.
Detailed study of each region of the country.
Scientific grants and awards.
The richest library of the society.
Youth cognitive club.
You can register and join the members of the Russian society.

How to use the materials of the site www.rgo.ru/ru, each visitor can decide independently. Familiarization or detailed study, the use of material to write your own work, or just a journey into the world of geography.
Only reliable information and only best materials, offers the official website of the Russian Geographical Society for all visitors and permanent members of the unique club.

Historical reference

The Russian Geographical Society was founded in St. Petersburg at the Imperial 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 "was in the air" after the greatest geographic research and discoveries of the XVIII, first half of the XIX century.

Expeditions like the Second Kamchatka expedition 1733-1742, Academic expeditions 1768-1774, discovery of the first section of the Antarctic land. F.F.Bellingshausen and M.K. Lazarev in 1820 - 1821, expedition A.F. Middendorf (1843 - 1844) to Eastern Siberia did not know equal in scale in the history of geographical research.

And yet, for such a huge country, all this was negligible, which was 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 PI Keppen, an encyclopedic scientist, an outstanding statistician and ethnographer, a circle of statisticians and travelers began to meet regularly. Later, the well-known naturalist and traveler K.M. Baer, ​​a scientist with an extraordinary breadth, joined the circle. scientific interests, and the famous navigator Admiral F.P. Litke, explorer of Novaya Zemlya, head of the expedition around the world in 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 the full members of the Society (51 people). October 19, 1845 in the conference hall Imperial Academy sciences and arts, the first general meeting of the full members of the Russian Geographical Society, which elected the Council of the Society, took place. Opening this meeting, F.P. Litke identified the main task of the Russian Geographical Society as "cultivating the geography of Russia." physical, mathematical geography, statistics and ethnography.

In 1851, the first two regional departments were opened - the Caucasian (| in Tiflis) and the Siberian (in Irkutsk).

The first de facto head of the Russian Geographical Society was its vice-chairman F.P. Litke - until 1873. He was replaced by P.P. Semenov, who later received the addition of Tyan-Shansky to his surname and led the society for 41 years until his death in 1914.

Already in the first decades of its activity, the Society united the most advanced and educated people of Russia, who were close to the acute socio-economic problems of the era. The Russian Geographical Society has taken a prominent place in the scientific and social life of the country.

Traveling is one of the oldest methods of knowing the world around us. For geography in the past, it was, in fact, the most important, when only the testimony of eyewitnesses who visited certain countries could provide reliable information about the peoples, economy and physical appearance of the Earth. Scientific expeditions, which gained a large scale in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. were, according to 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 a 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.

AP Chekhov wrote about the travelers of the last century: "Composing the most poetic and cheerful element of society, they excite, comfort and ennoble." And in the same place: "One Przewalski or one Stanley are 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 RGS paid the greatest attention to the white spots of the Northern Urals, Siberia and the Far East. These, unexplored lands were devoted to: the Vilyui expedition, travels in the Ussuri region of N.M. Przhevalsky, the exploration of Siberia by P.A. Kropotkin, B.I. Dybowski, A.L. Chekanovsky, I.D. Chersky, N.M. Yadrintsev, a large ethnographic expedition that covered the expanses of Eastern Siberia with its routes (which was financed by the wealthy Lena gold miner A.M. Sibiryakov) under the leadership of D.A. Klements, V.A.Obruchev's research, V.L.Komarov's travels in Kamchatka.

Have not been forgotten middle Asia and Kazakhstan. The first who, on behalf of the Society, began researching these vast territories, was P.P. Semenov. His work was continued by N. A. Severtsov, A. A. Tillo, I. V. Mushketov, V. A. Obruchev, V. V. Bartold, L. S. Berg.

The work was carried out outside Russia as well. In Mongolia and China, scientists worked whose names are not forgotten even today: N.M. Przhevalsky, M.V. Pevtsov, K.I.Bogdanovich, G.N. Potanin, G.E. Grumm-Grzhimailo, P.K. Kozlov, V.A. Obruchev - all active figures of the Russian Geographical Society.

In Africa and Oceania, the travels and explorations of N.S. Gumilyov, E.P. Kovalevsky, V.V. Yunker, E.N. Pavlovsky made a significant contribution to the study of the African continent, and N.N. Miklukho-Maclay's travels to the islands The Pacific 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 44 people joined the Society in 1918, 60 in 1919, and 75 in 1920.

In 1923 PK Kozlov's wonderful work "Mongolia and Amdo, and the dead city of Khara-Khoto" was published. That same year, the Council People's Commissars approved the organization of a new Mongol-Tibetan expedition "with the release of the necessary funds for this expedition."

One of the most important for the state scientific directions The work of the Society was the compilation of the Geographic and Statistical Dictionary of the USSR, which was supposed to replace the 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. So, in 1922, the Society protested against the proposal of the Royal Geographical Society of London to remove the names in Tibet associated with the names of Russian travelers. In 1923, the Council of the Russian Geographical Society protested against the Norwegian renaming on the Novaya Zemlya map. Since 1923, the international relations of the Society have been gradually restored, thanks to the efforts of 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 further. 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 that was done after the revolution, years of strengthening the Society itself, the growth of its branches and departments. Since 1931, N.I. Vavilov became the president of the Society. In 1933, the First All-Union Congress of Geographers convened in Leningrad, which was attended by 803 delegates - a record figure for today. Many reports at the congress (A.A. Grigoriev, R.L. Samoilovich, O.Yu. Schmidt) were, as it were, final, noting the tremendous growth of geographical research in our country and the responsible role of the State Geographical Society in the new conditions.

On March 21, 1992, the Scientific Council of the Society adopted historic decision- "In connection with the liquidation of the union structures and the need to rename the Geographical Society of the USSR to return its original historical name -" Russian Geographical Society ".

Today the Russian Geographical Society is an all-Russian public organization uniting 27 thousand members on the territory of all subjects Russian Federation and abroad and has regional and local branches, as well as branches and representative offices throughout Russia. The largest branches are Primorskoe and Moskovskoe.

The central organization of the Russian Geographical Society is located in St. Petersburg, in a house on Grivtsov Lane, built in 1908 with money from members of the Society, largely thanks to the efforts of P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. Today, in the halls of the Society, members of various departments and commissions of the Central Organization (33 of them) gather daily to discuss contemporary problems geography and related disciplines. The building houses the Scientific Archive, Museum, Library, Central Lecture Hall named after YM Shokalsky, printing house.

The Russian Geographical Society continues to work for the benefit of the people of our country, offering its great scientific potential both to the state and to individual subjects of the Russian Federation. Thus, the Society is trying to work and even earn. But ... The main problem in the activities of the Russian Geographical Society, as, apparently, and in general institutions of science and culture, remains the financial one. It seems that today everyone has already understood that if an institution of science and culture becomes "self-sustaining", then it turns into a commercial enterprise. However, the times when the mayor wrote to P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky: "Show mercy, accept 10 thousand rubles in silver" (for the needs of the Society), have not yet returned.

Since the founding of the Russian Geographical Society, the state understood the need to financially support the Society and did this until the early 1990s. Today, high government officials at the request full member Societies, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma A.N. Chilingarov to help the pride of Russian and world geographical science respond with a cold refusal, referring to 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 in the royal and Soviet time the laws were hardly softer.

Science develops only when scientists can communicate, exchange the results of their research. For this, the Russian Geographical Society regularly holds congresses.

In 1974, local branches of the Russian Geographical Society were organized in Kislovodsk and Pyatigorsk. The Kislovodsk branch currently has 26 people. They annually hold scientific conferences, at which the deputy director of the Regional Museum named after V.I. Prozriteleva - Prave, chief archaeologist of the Stavropol Territory Sergei N. Savenko, candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, astrophysicist Vladimir Ivanovich Chernyshov, geologists and local historians of the cities of Kavminvod, including the author of this article.

Since 2007, efforts have been made to revive the Pyatigorsk branch of the Russian Geographical Society. Expeditions are organized by the Scientific Tourism Department of the Russian Geographical Society. Reports about them are published and posted on the Internet.

Full member of the Russian Geographical Society V.D. Stasenko