Presidential Library’s webinar: let's save the protected spruce forests of the “Komarovsky coast” and pine of the “Yuntolovsky” nature reserve

Today, October 16, 2018, the Presidential Library hosted a webinar “Reserve places of Russia” timed to the Day of Reserve Workers. Via video-conferencing mode, users of the Shishkov Altai Regional Universal Research Library, students and readers of the Zonal Library of the Ural Federal University and others visited the webinar. The event featured a wide range of materials about the nature reserves of Russia, archiving, videos and photographs from the Presidential Library.

The bibliographer of the Presidential Library Daria Parygina, at the beginning of her speech, said that “in Russia, since ancient times, they began to isolate and develop protected areas. In order not to let ordinary people into the elite hunting grounds, they were declared especially protected reserves. The world famous Belovezhskaya Pushcha became reserved eight centuries ago. Prince Danila Galitsky, a great lover of hunting, issued a decree according to which the Belovezhsky Reserve with its world-famous bison was created - this measure did not allow them to become an “endangered species”.

The electronic reading room of the library provides the Hunting Diary of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich of 1657, containing exclusive information on the organization of this type of royal leisure. In those old times, seasonal reserves also arose, in which hunting completely stopped at a certain time. So, Aleksei Mikhailovich established the “sovereign commandment” on seven islands off the Murmansk coast (now it is part of the territory of the Kandalaksha nature reserve), where they caught merlin for royal hunts. Birds were caught only with special permits.

The presentation slides presented documents from the Presidential Library collection, indicating the attention to the issue raised: “On the fate of the Siberian hunting economy” and “Extract from the journal decrees of the Tambov department of the Imperial Society for the reproduction of hunting and game animals and proper hunting from the time of establishment to November 16, 1899 year, inclusive note, and in addition to the rules on hunting, developed by the Tambov department of the Imperial Society of hunting and game animals correct hunt" (1900).

These documents illustrate how long ago hunters have realized that if a person cannot limit himself, he will be left without a target, and that it is better to follow the laws established in this area.

The more part of the territory of the state was subjected to economic development, the more urgent the protection of nature at the state level became.

Having left a mark in almost every area of ​​state-building, Peter I succeeded in nature conservation. It was during his reign that state environmental measures became targeted and systematic. By the decree of the tsar, water protection forests were identified, where cutting down of trees was forbidden 30 versts from large rivers and 20 from small ones. In these forests it was impossible even to graze cattle. This is described, in particular, in the work of V. Wrangel “The History of Forest Legislation of the Russian Empire” (1841); it is available in the electronic reading room of the Presidential Library.

At the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th century, scientists were especially active in nature conservation. It was during this period that the first reserves emerged. In 1882, a reserve was established in Kamchatka with the funds raised; in 1898, a steppe reserve in Askania-Nova in southern Ukraine. Almost all prominent biologists of that time contributed to the creation of the concept of the reserve system of Russia. And from the very beginning it was about the system - a whole network of protected areas, which should cover all the typical and rare natural communities for our country. In 1912, a special environmental commission was set up in St. Petersburg under the Russian Geographical Society, with the goal of promoting the organization of reserves. These processes are reflected in one of the reports of D. I. Sosnovsky, included in the publication “Notes of the Caucasian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society” (1913), which is available in the electronic collection of the Presidential Library.

In the early 20th century, the scientific community was very concerned about the sharp decline in the number of birds associated, in particular, with the fashion for bird feathers. Herons, pelicans, pheasants, roller rollers, bee-eaters, woodpeckers were destroyed in large numbers. In order to preserve rare species of birds already under Soviet rule, in 1919, the Astrakhan Reserve was created, the magnificent material on which contains an electronic set of color postcards "Astrakhan Reserve" from the Presidential Library.

Today, our vast country has impressive state-owned natural reserves. It is a well-protected storehouse of untouched nature, divided into 110 plots. The reserves are located in all natural zones - from the Arctic deserts on Wrangel Island to the subtropics (Caucasus Reserve).

The topic of the second report, which was presented by Nadezhda Murashova, Head of the Environmental Education Sector of the Directorate of Protected Natural Territories (SPNR) of St. Petersburg, is the work on the construction and preservation of these zones in the northern capital. It manages 13 regional SPNR: seven state natural reserves and six natural monuments. The total area of ​​protected areas is 5978.7 hectares, which is 4.15% of the area of ​​St. Petersburg. Among the specially protected ones are state nature reserves “Yuntolovsky”, “Dudergofskiye Heights”, “Strelninsky Bereg” and others. that the experts of their department began to equip the eco-route in the reserve.

Problems of ecology and nature conservation today are among the most important, therefore drawing the attention of society, first of all young people, to these issues falls on the shoulders of various public organizations, including libraries with their educational mission. Therefore, it is not by chance that in the electronic collection of the Presidential Library a substantial part of the materials is devoted to the history of the formation of reserves in Russia, as well as their current state.