Geography RGO. Russian Geographical Society Novosibirsk branch

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:

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Establishment of a society

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 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 Kiev, 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 work: “In its (Society’s) environment, the heads of various government agencies involved in cartography of Russia met to discuss the subjects of their activities.”

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 the immediate leaders of the Russian Empire and members of the royal family, more than 100 ministers, governors, members of the State Council and Senate were active members of the Geographical Society over the years. It was the fruitful work in the Geographical Society that helped many of them achieve such high results: 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.

During the Soviet period, the Society actively developed new areas of activity related to the promotion of 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 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 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 of the Society’s governing bodies 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.
  • Great Gold Medal of the 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 of rare books of the 16th-18th 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. During the Civil War, the Society 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 of the Soviet Army even at night, when time was freed up for studying 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 books inscribed by famous travelers and researchers of the 2nd half of the 20th century - T. Heyerdahl, Yu. Senkevich, Soviet cosmonauts, L. Gumilyov.

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 is the oldest Russian geographical scientific journal, 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.

Of the large number of programs developed by the Department of Ethnography, it is worth mentioning some that had a noticeable impact on the replenishment of manuscripts in the archive, these are: “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 ceremonies among 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 are 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 prominent scientists and travelers, they left the most interesting descriptions of the natural conditions, economics, life, and folk art of the places they visited. 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 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.

The Russian Geographical Society is a public organization aimed at a deep and comprehensive study of geographical, environmental and cultural aspects in the history of Russia. This organization unites not only specialists in the field of geography, travelers, ecologists, but also people seeking to gain new knowledge about Russia and who are ready to help preserve its natural resources and wealth.

The Russian Geographical Society (abbreviated as RGO) was founded in 1845 by decree of Emperor Nicholas I.

From 1845 to the present time, the Russian Geographical Society has been active. It should be noted that the name of the Society changed several times: first it was called the Imperial Geographical Society, then it became the State Geographical Society, then the Geographical Society of the USSR (All-Union Geographical Society), and finally it became the Russian Geographical Society.

The founder of the Russian Geographical Society is Admiral Fedor Petrovich Litke. He created the Society in order to master Russia and study it comprehensively.

Among the founders of the Russian Geographical Society are famous navigators such as Ivan Fedorovich Krusenstern and Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel. Members of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences took part in the creation of the Society, for example, naturalist Karl Maksimovich Baer, ​​statistician Pyotr Ivanovich Keppen. Military figures also contributed to the development of the Russian Geographical Society: surveyor Mikhail Pavlovich Vronchenko, statesman Mikhail Nikolaevich Muravyov. Among the Russian intelligentsia who took an active part in the creation of the Society, one can highlight the linguist Vladimir Ivanovich Dahl, philanthropist Vladimir Petrovich Odoevsky.

The leaders of the Society were members of the Russian Imperial House, travelers, researchers and statesmen. These are representatives of the Imperial House of Romanov, and presidents of the Society, such as the Russian and Soviet geneticist and geographer Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov, who participated in dozens of expeditions and created the doctrine of the world centers of origin of cultivated plants. The Russian Geographical Society was also headed by the Soviet zoologist and geographer Lev Semenovich Berg, who made a huge contribution to science. He collected materials about the nature of different regions, in addition, he created a textbook called “The Nature of the USSR.” L.S. Berg can be considered the creator of modern physical geography, since he is the founder of landscape science. By the way, the landscape division proposed by Lev Semenovich has been preserved to this day.

For the past 7 years (since 2009), the post of President of the Russian Geographical Society has been held by the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu. And in 2010, a Board of Trustees was formed, headed by the President of the country, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. At the meetings of the Council, the results of the work of the Russian Geographical Society for the year are summed up, and plans for the future are discussed. In addition, various grants from the Russian Geographical Society are awarded at the meetings.

The Russian Geographical Society has its own charter. The first one was published on December 28, 1849 under Nicholas I. And the charter that exists today was approved on December 11, 2010 during the 14th Congress of the All-Russian public organization “Russian Geographical Society”. In accordance with this, the society received the status of an “all-Russian public organization.”

The main goal of the Russian Geographical Society is a comprehensive knowledge of Russia and the world in all its diversity. To achieve this goal it is necessary:

1. active participation of society in its activities;

2. collection, processing and dissemination of various information about Russia in the field of geography, ecology, culture, ethnography.

3. attracting attention to historical and cultural sites of Russia for the development of tourism.

The Russian Geographical Society is trying to attract representatives of the youth environment to its activities in order to reveal their creative potential for organizing various competitions, as well as to cultivate a caring attitude towards nature.

The company works closely with environmental, geographic, environmental and charitable organizations, educational institutions (including federal universities), research and scientific centers, and commercial organizations working in the field of tourism and education. The Russian Geographical Society also cooperates with the media.

Today the Society has about 13,000 members in Russia and abroad. The Russian Geographical Society is a non-profit organization and therefore does not receive government funding.

The Russian Geographical Society is covered in a variety of media. For example, in the magazine “Arguments and Facts”, in the newspapers “Kommersant”, “Rossiyskaya Gazeta”, on the TV channels “St. Petersburg”, “Channel 5”, “NTV”

There is a website of the Russian Geographical Society, which contains all the necessary information about the Society, as well as a library, grants and projects. One of the most important projects is the youth movement, which was created in 2013. Today, about 80 thousand schoolchildren and students from all regions of Russia, as well as about 1 thousand specialists in the field of geographical and environmental education, are participants in the movement. The youth movement was created in order to organize all-Russian youth projects, with the help of which participants could show their activity, creativity and initiative.

The Russian Geographical Society awards special awards for achievements in the field of geography or for assistance to the Russian Geographical Society.

This award is received by members of the Russian Geographical Society for their success and usefulness in geography. The Konstantinov Medal was received by Vladimir Ivanovich Dal for his “Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language” (1863), Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev for his works on the geology of Asia (1900) and many others.

2. Big gold medal:

The award is given for works in the field of science every 2 or 3 years. Only those scientists who have accomplished a brave feat can receive it. Another criterion is successful expeditions that resulted in some important discovery. Nikolai Vasilyevich Slyunin received a large gold medal for his essay “Okhotsk-Kamchatka Territory” (1901), Grigory Nikolaevich Potanin for his work entitled “Essays on Northwestern Mongolia” (1881).

3. Big silver medal:

The award is given for works in the field of science once every 1 or 2 years for contributions to the Russian Geographical Society, or for success in the field of geography.

4. Gold medal named after. Fyodor Petrovich Litke:

Only scientists who have made major discoveries in the World Ocean and polar countries can receive such an award. The first medal was awarded to Konstantin Stepanovich Staritsky for hydrographic research in the Pacific Ocean (1874). In different years, the medal was received by Mikhail Vasilyevich Pevtsov for his work “Essay on a trip to Mongolia” (1885), Leonid Ludwigovich Breitfus for studying the Barents Sea (1907 g.) and others.

5. Gold medal named after. Peter Petrovich Semenov:

This medal is awarded for the study of environmental issues, scientific works on soil geography and descriptions of vast parts of Russia and other countries. It was established in 1899, it was received by Pyotr Yulievich Schmidt for studying water conditions in the Far East (1906), Lev Semenovich Berg for studying the Aral Sea (1909) and other scientists.

6. Gold medal named after. Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky:

The medal is awarded for discoveries in deserts and mountainous countries, for expeditions to explore the peoples of Russia and other countries. Established on August 29, 1946 and awarded once every 2 years. One of those who received this award is Alexander Mikhailovich Berlyant.

7. Gold medal named after. Alexander Fedorovich Treshnikov:

The medal is awarded to participants in expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, dedicated to the study of climatic conditions, as a result of which scientific discoveries were made, as well as for the development of the polar regions.

8. Gold medal named after. Nikolai Nikolaevich Miklouho-Maclay:

Awarded for research in the field of ethnography, historical geography, and cultural heritage.

9. Small gold and silver medals:

They can be obtained once a year. Small gold medals are awarded to the authors of scientific works in one of the areas of the Russian Geographical Society, which systematize the results of research done on any subject. Silver is awarded for selfless assistance to the Society. Both medals were established in 1858. Small gold medals were received by Pyotr Petrovich Semenov for his work and services provided to the Society (1866), Venedikt Ivanovich Dybovsky and Viktor Aleksandrovich Godlevsky for research on Lake Baikal (1870) and others. Small silver medals were awarded to Nikolai Mikhailovich Przhevalsky for the article “Non-resident population of the southern part of the Primorsky Region” (1869), Alexander Andreevich Dostoevsky for his assistance in compiling the “History of Society” (1895) and many other scientists.

In addition to medals, the Society annually awards the following awards:

1. Prize named after. Semyon Ivanovich Dezhnev:

2. Honorary diploma:

Scientists are awarded for research in geography and related sciences. The decision to award a diploma is published on the Russian Geographical Society website.

3. Certificate of honor:

The diploma is awarded for contribution to the development of the Society. As a rule, the presentation takes place on some anniversary or is associated with an important date.

4. Personalized scholarship:

Awarded at least 10 times a year. It is awarded to young scientists in the field of geography for the best scientific works.

The Russian Geographical Society provides grants in priority areas - funds to finance research and educational projects aimed at achieving the goals and solving the problems of the Society.

Grant projects must be of great public importance and focused on achieving practical results in the interests of Russia.

Grants have been awarded every year since 2010 on a competitive basis. The competition is organized at the end of the year, its duration is a month. For example, in 2010, the Russian Geographical Society provided financial assistance to 13 projects in the amount of 42 million rubles, a year later the number of projects increased greatly - to 56. More than 180 million rubles were allocated for them. In 2012, almost 200 million rubles were allocated for 52 projects. And in 2013, grant support amounting to more than 100 million rubles was provided to 114 projects.

The Russian Geographical Society has many periodicals. For example, “Bulletin of the Imperial Geographical Society”, “Living Antiquity”, “Questions of Geography”, “Geographical News”, etc.

The Russian Geographical Society has 85 regional branches in the Russian Federation. Their activities consist of increasing the level of citizens’ knowledge about their region, increasing the number of activists of the Russian Geographical Society, and drawing attention to the environmental environment.

TASS DOSSIER. On April 24, a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Geographical Society will be held in St. Petersburg with the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Russian Geographical Society (RGS) is an all-Russian public organization. It unites specialists in the field of geography and related sciences (geology, biology, history, archeology, ethnography), as well as enthusiastic travelers, ecologists, public figures, etc. The main idea of ​​the society was formulated at the end of the 19th century by the Russian geographer and statesman Pyotr Semyonov- Tien-Shansky - “To attract all the best forces of the Russian land to the study of the native land and its people.”

Story

The Russian Geographical Society was founded on August 18 (August 6, old style) 1845 in St. Petersburg. On this day, Emperor Nicholas I approved the first temporary charter of the Society presented by the founders. Among the founders of the Russian Geographical Society were navigators and admirals of the Russian fleet Fyodor Litke, Ivan Krusenstern, Ferdinand Wrangel; members of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (now the Russian Academy of Sciences) naturalist Karl Baer, ​​astronomer Vasily Struve; Quartermaster General Fedor Berg; Senator Mikhail Muravyov; linguist Vladimir Dal; Prince Vladimir Odoevsky and others - a total of 17 people (they received honorary titles of members - founders of the Society).

The first chairman of the Russian Geographical Society was the son of Nicholas I, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, who was 17 years old at that time.

During its existence, the Society changed its name several times. In 1849, the permanent charter of the organization was adopted and it was renamed the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. In 1917, it lost the name "Imperial", from 1925 it was called the State Russian Geographical Society of the RSFSR, from 1932 - the State Geographical Society (GGO) of the RSFSR. In 1938, it was renamed the Geographical Society of the USSR (or the All-Union Geographical Society) and became part of the system of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

With the assistance of the Russian Geographical Society, the first nature reserves in Russia were created, and the world's first higher educational institution of a geographical profile, the Geographical Institute, was founded (1918). The North Committee, created under the Russian Geographical Society in 1920, coordinated work on the development of the North and the Northern Sea Route (later ceased to exist, its functions were transferred to the Arctic Institute and the Main Directorate of the Northern Sea Route).

On March 21, 1992, by decision of the organization's academic council, its historical name was returned to it - the Russian Geographical Society. The Russian Geographical Society was registered with the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on February 10, 2003 as a non-profit organization.

Activity

The main activities of the Russian Geographical Society are the collection and dissemination of geographical information about Russia, the organization of practical field research, expeditions to different parts of the Russian Federation and the world, education and awareness, and nature conservation.

From 1849 to 2015, the Society conducted over 3 thousand expeditions in Russia (as well as the USSR) and in more than 30 countries of the world. Among them are expeditions to explore and develop the Arctic (Chukotka, Yakutsk, Kola), the Urals (to the Northern Polar Urals), Siberia and the Far East (Vilyuiskaya, Sibiryakovskaya), Central and Central Asia (Mongol-Tibetan), and the World Ocean.

The Russian Geographical Society was one of the organizers of the first International Polar Year (2007/2008) and the International Forum on problems related to the conservation of tigers on Earth (2010). Since 2010, the Russian Geographical Society has been holding the International Arctic Forum "The Arctic - Territory of Dialogue." The Russian Geographical Society is one of the organizers of the International Geographical Olympiad and the All-Russian Geography Olympiad, the All-Russian Geographical Dictation (since 2015), and the All-Russian Congress of Geography Teachers (since 2011).

The Russian Geographical Society participated in the publication of the Great Atlas of the World (since 1934), the Marine Atlas (1944-1946), the Atlas of Antarctica (1972), the monograph "Geography of the World Ocean" in six volumes (1980-1987), the Atlas of Snow and Ice Resources of the World ( 1997), Atlas of Birds of the Russian Arctic (2012), etc.

Since 2015, the Russian Geographical Society has been holding a photo competition “The Most Beautiful Country”.

Controls, structure

The highest governing body of the Society is the congress, which is convened every six years (until 2014 - once every five years; extraordinary ones can be held as necessary). A total of 16 congresses took place. In 1933, the All-Union Congress of Geographers was convened in Leningrad. However, numbers began to be assigned to congresses in 1947, when they received the status of the highest governing body of the Society. The First Congress (the second actually) was held in 1947, also in Leningrad. At the XV Congress on November 7, 2014 in Moscow, the current version of the charter of the Russian Geographical Society was approved.

During the period between congresses, the Society's governing council (a permanent elected collegial governing body) operates; it includes the president (sole executive body; elected by the congress for a term of six years), honorary president, and executive director. The governing bodies also include the executive directorate, academic council, audit commission, council of elders (formed in 2012), and council of regions (2013).

There are regional branches of the Russian Geographical Society in all 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The largest is in the Republic of Bashkortostan, with a network of 65 local branches. In total, at the end of 2016, there were 137 local branches, which operate under 20 regional branches.

Managers

In 1945-1917. At the head of the Russian Geographical Society were the chairmen: Grand Dukes Konstantin Nikolaevich (1845-1892) and Nikolai Mikhailovich (1892-1917). The actual leadership was carried out by the vice-chairmen: Fyodor Litke (1845-1850; 1856-1873), Mikhail Muravyov (1850-1856), Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky (1873-1914), Yuliy Shokalsky (1914-1917). Beginning in 1918, the head of the Society began to be elected. The first elected chairman was Shokalsky (1918-1931).

Since 1931, the post of president was introduced, it was held by Nikolai Vavilov (1931-1940), Lev Berg (1940-1950), Evgeny Pavlovsky (1952-1964), Stanislav Kalesnik (1964-1977), Alexey Treshnikov (1977-1991) , Sergey Lavrov (1991-2000), Yuri Seliverstov (2000-2002), Anatoly Komaritsyn (2002-2009).

Honorary Presidents

The honorary presidents of the Society were: Yuliy Shokalsky (in 1931-1940), members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Vladimir Komarov (1940-1945), Vladimir Obruchev (1947-1956). In 2000, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Kotlyakov became honorary president.

Membership

Members of the Society on a voluntary basis can be adults of various nationalities, religions and places of residence - citizens of the Russian Federation, foreigners and stateless persons, as well as public associations. The entrance fee for individuals is 1 thousand rubles, the annual membership fee is 300 rubles.

At the end of 2016, 20 thousand 457 people were members of the Russian Geographical Society, of which 3 thousand 441 joined in 2016.

The Board of Trustees of the Russian Geographical Society, created in 2010, operates on a voluntary basis. It is headed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The council includes the President of the Society Sergei Shoigu, the reigning Prince of Monaco Albert II, the Speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Valentina Matvienko, the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the United Russia party Boris Gryzlov, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergei Lavrov, the Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin, the rector of Moscow State University Viktor Sadovnichy, entrepreneurs Vagit Alekperov, Viktor Vekselberg, Oleg Deripaska, Alexey Miller, Vladimir Potanin, Mikhail Prokhorov and others.

Council meetings are held as needed, but at least once a year. The first took place on April 15, 2011 in Moscow. A total of seven meetings were held: two in Moscow, four in St. Petersburg and one on-site on the island of Valaam in Lake Ladoga in Karelia (August 6, 2012). The previous meeting took place on April 29, 2016 in St. Petersburg.

In addition, there are 38 regional boards of trustees operating at the branches of the Russian Geographical Society in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (at the end of 2016).

Divisions, publications

The scientific archive of the Russian Geographical Society, located in St. Petersburg, is the oldest and only specialized geographical archive in Russia (formed simultaneously with the Society in 1845). It has 63.2 thousand storage units: documents, ethnographic collections (more than 13 thousand items), a photo archive (more than 3 thousand), 144 personal funds of geographers and travelers, etc.

The library collections of St. Petersburg and Moscow contain 480.7 thousand domestic and foreign publications on geography and related sciences. Cartographic funds number 40.7 thousand storage units. The Museum of the History of the Russian Geographical Society in St. Petersburg (opened in 1986) is included in the list of academic museums.

The Russian Geographical Society is one of the founders of the scientific publication "News of the Russian Geographical Society" (published since 1865). In 2012, the magazine “Around the World” (founded in 1861) received the status of the Society’s publication.

Grants from the Russian Geographical Society

Since 2010, the Board of Trustees of the Russian Geographical Society has been organizing the issuance of grants to research, environmental and expedition projects on a competitive basis. Money for them is allocated by patrons. In addition, since 2013, the Russian Geographical Society and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) have been awarding joint grants.

In total, from 2010 to 2015, the Company allocated 604 grants (including 66 jointly with the Russian Foundation for Basic Research) for a total amount of 1 billion 28 million 140 thousand rubles. In 2016, the Russian Geographical Society directly supported 105 projects, to which 170 million 705 thousand rubles were allocated. grant funds.

Support was received by the projects “Baikal through the prism of sustainable development”, “Ecological rating and ecological map of Russia”, the expedition “Kyzyl - Kuragino” (2011-2015), “Gogland” (since 2013), the multimedia ethnographic project “Faces of Russia”, cycles of documentary films about the history of the Turks in Russia, “Reserved Russia” (2011-2013), international non-fiction film festival “Arctic”, etc.

The Russian Geographical Society has supported programs to clean up the Arctic (since 2010) and to preserve rare animal species: since 2010 - Amur tiger, snow leopard, beluga whale, polar bear, since 2011 - Far Eastern leopard, Przewalski's horse, since 2012 - lynx, since 2013 - manula, walrus.

Headquarters

The society has two headquarters. The main (historical) one is located in St. Petersburg. Since 1862, it was located in the house of the Ministry of Public Education on Fontanka; in 1907-1908, the Russian Geographical Society's own building was built according to the design of the architect Gavriil Baranovsky in Demidov Lane (now Grivtsova Lane).

In January 2013, the headquarters was opened in Moscow in a building on Novaya Square, where in the 19th century. there was the Apartment House of the Moscow Merchant Society (in the 1920s - a dormitory for the ethnological faculty of Moscow State University).

Financing

From the moment of its formation, the Russian Geographical Society was part of the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Initially, at the direction of Nicholas I, 10 thousand rubles were allocated for his maintenance. silver per year. By 1896, the state benefit had increased to 30 thousand rubles, and since 1909, an additional 10 thousand rubles were allocated annually. for the maintenance of the RGS house. Until 1917, government subsidies accounted for 50% of the Society's funding. In addition, funds came from private donations (20%), targeted contributions (10%), membership fees (10%), etc.

During Soviet times, the organization was funded by the state. In the 1990s. The Russian Geographical Society lost most of its state support, and employees were often not paid. The main source of funds was membership fees - mainly from organizations. The formation of the Society's Board of Trustees made it possible to fully support the activities of the Russian Geographical Society at the expense of extrabudgetary funds. Currently, the Russian Geographical Society does not receive government funding.

Society Awards

The society has its own awards - medals, prizes, honorary diplomas and certificates, personal scholarships, which are awarded for special merits and achievements in the field of geography and related sciences, environmental activities, and contribution to the popularization of the natural, historical and cultural heritage of Russia.

The first and main award of the Russian Geographical Society is the Konstantinov Medal, awarded to members of the Society for great merits in geographical science and exceptional contribution to the activities of the organization. It was established in 1846-1847. the first chairman of the Society. Awarded from 1949 to 1929 (in 1924-1929 it was called the “Highest Award of Society”). The awarding of this medal resumed in 2010. The second most important is the Great Gold Medal for scientific works. Awarded since 1947 for scientific expeditions, outstanding research in the theory of geography and long-term work in the field of geographical sciences.

The number of personalized medals includes gold medals named after F. P. Litke (established in 1873), P. P. Semenov (1899), N. M. Przhevalsky (1895; received gold medal status in 1946), gold and silver medal named after P. P. Semenov (1899, in memory of the services of the vice-chairman of the Society Pyotr Semenov-Tyan-Shansky; the awarding was discontinued after 1930, resumed after 1946), etc.

In total, from 1849 to 2015, the Society awarded 1 thousand 736 gold and silver medals of various denominations.

In the Russian Empire, the prize was awarded to them. N. M. Przhevalsky and the Tillo Prize. In the Soviet period and now - the prize named after. S. I. Dezhneva. In 2014, the Prize of the Russian Geographical Society was established, which received international status.

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!

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 the nature of their native country, its population, and economy was literally “in the air” after the greatest geographical research 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 an extraordinary breadth of scientific interests, and the famous navigator Admiral F.P. Litke, explorer of Novaya Zemlya, head of the round-the-world expedition of 1826 - 1829, joined the circle. This collection can be considered the predecessor of the Geographical Society.

The first meeting of the founders took place on October 1, 1845. It elected 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.

In 1851, the first two regional departments were opened - 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 a dozen educational institutions and hundreds of good books.

The most notable expeditions of the Russian Geographical Society in the Caucasus were the studies of plant geography by V.I. Masalsky, N. Kuznetsov, G.I. Radde, A.N. Krasnov.

The Russian Geographical Society paid the greatest attention to the white spots of the Northern Urals, Siberia and the Far East. The Vilyui expedition, N.M. Przhevalsky’s travels in the Ussuri region, P.A. Kropotkin’s explorations of Siberia, B.I. 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.

Central Asia and Kazakhstan were not forgotten. 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. Gumilev, E.P. Kovalevsky, V.V. Juncker, 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 oceans may have become 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 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 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, members of various branches and commissions of the Central Organization (33 of them) gather daily in the halls of the Society to discuss modern problems of 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 respond to the request of a full member of the Society, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma A.N. Chilingarov to help the pride of Russian and world geographical science 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.

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 annually hold scientific conferences, at which the deputy director of the Regional Museum named after A. 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