The history of the Academy of Sciences in the Presidential Library’s collections

In the history of the Russian state a special place belongs to the issue of the origin and organization of national science. It is fully and clearly disclosed by digitized documents included in the collections of the Presidential Library. The year of the 400th anniversary of the Romanov House, consideration of the question of the origins of the RAS seems appropriate and relevant. The Presidential Library’s exhibition "For the Good of the Whole State" which opened not so long ago, presented the documents and materials about Russian "imperial" societies and institutions. The Academy of Sciences at some point was also bearing this high title.

The Presidential library’s collections bring together rare books and documents that reveal the different stages of creation and existence of the Academy of Sciences. For example, the works of Peter Pekarsky "Science and Literature under Peter the Great" (1862) and "History of the Imperial Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg" (Vol. I and II, 1870-1873). The first essay describes in detail the initial steps made in Russia to translate and publish scientific works, to open schools, libraries, to equip and send expeditions of scientists, etc. It includes the bibliographic description of the books published under Peter the Great.

The "History of the Imperial Academy of Sciences" Pekarsky considers the first period of history of the Academy (up to 1767) – in addition to the general review of the management and operation of the academy, he presents the biography of its members. According to the famous Russian liberal Alexander Nikitenko, the book of Pekarsky concludes "a library of information about the beginnings of our intellectual movement that emerged from the reforms of Peter the Great.”

The idea of creating the Russian Academy of Sciences, as known, belonged to the first Russian emperor. The example of the Paris Academy, talks with many scientists abroad, advices of Leibniz and other foreigners, of associates of Peter I in his reforms, convinced the emperor of the need to establish in Russia the Academy of Sciences too.

There were necessary prerequisites to create the Academy. Financial resources were supposed to be allocated from the state treasury. The books obtained by conquests as plunder already accounted for a library, and Peter supplemented it purchasing some books abroad. A variety of collections granted to Peter during his foreign travels formed a cabinet of curiosities. Each academician was to make a manual for the youth and teach his subject in public for an hour every day. And then he had to train one or two students who eventually would replace him.

As the book tells, the scientists who came from abroad did not find the emperor alive, and the academy opened only under Catherine I, in 1724. The Empress provided it a special favor: allocated more premises than Peter, often personally attended the meetings of the "wise men". In 1735, one of the students of the University organized under the Academy, among 12 other recruits, was Mikhail Lomonosov, who later became one of the first two national academics.

From 1783 to 1796, as ordered by Catherine the Great, the post of the director of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences had occupied Catherine Dashkova. According to her suggestion, there was established the Imperial Academy of Russia, one of the main objectives of which was the study of Russian language, and Dashkova became its director. The main subject of the Russian Academy was cleansing and enrichment of Russian language, approval of the common use of words. Through the efforts of the new academy, the rules establishing the Russian grammar, Russian dictionary, rhetoric and poetry were changed and refined. The Year of the Russian language that will officially launch at the Presidential Library in September 2013, the library will add to its collections the books on the contribution of specialists in Russian philology - contemporaries of Dashkova - to the development of the native language.