The Presidential Library develops cooperation with the Republic of Serbia

Today, December 7, 2017, official ceremony of signing of an agreement on cooperation between the Presidential Library and the Public and University Library of the Republic of Serbia was held in Smolny.

General Director of the Presidential Library Alexander Vershinin and the director of the Public and University Library of the Republic of Serbia Lilya Petrovich-Zechich signed the agreement on cooperation. “Russian culture is very close to the Serbian people and there is unlikely anyone in the Republic of Serbia who has never heard of Dostoevsky, Pushkin or Gogol. The agreement that we have the honor to sign today is a big step forward, it is a bridge linking St. Petersburg with the Republika of Serbia, this is a unique opportunity to get acquainted with the history and culture of Russia even more,” — Lilya Petrovich-Zechich said.

Owing to the agreement, the Presidential Library and the Public and University Library of the Republika of Serbia intend to implement joint scientific and cultural projects, hold joint events. The funds of both institutions are planned to add with national electronic documents and information materials.

Alexander Vershinin highlighted the high importance of signing this document on cooperation, stressing out that the remote access center in the Republic of Serbia is scheduled for opening in February 2018 will expand the international network of the Presidential Library to 28 foreign states.

Alexander Vershinin also drew attention to the cooperation of the Presidential Library and St. Petersburg, which has a long history and serious prospects: “A comprehensive agreement with St. Petersburg is currently under negotiation. Perhaps, on the basis of the Central City Library we will try to open beside the library itself also the archive, museum, and multimedia funds.”

It stands to mention that Lilya Petrovich-Zechich shortly before signing the agreement has visited the Presidential Library on a working trip, in the course of which she received a reader’s membership card of the first national electronic library in Russia. The director of the library of the Republika of Serbia went to sightseeing tour of the Presidential Library, got familiar with its work, saw historical interiors and current premises created especially for public and state events. According to Lilay Petrovich-Zechich, being in the Presidential Library, somewhere in between the XIX and the XXI centuries, she has gotten a feel of all the strength and power of the Russian Federation.

Officials of the St. Petersburg administration headed by the governor Georgy Poltavchenko, the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry in St. Petersburg Vladimir Zapevalov, acting Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg Sergey Markov, President of the Republika of Serbia Milorad Dodik, staff employees of Representative Office of the Republika of Serbia in the Russian Federation, headed by Dusko Perovich attended the ceremonial signing of the agreement.

It stands to mention that the thematic collection From the history of Russian-Serbian relations is in open access on the Presidential Library website. In the collection includes individual studies, archival, journalistic and other materials dedicated to the Serbian history and reflecting Russian-Serbian cooperation in the military, economic and cultural spheres in different historical periods.

The Presidential Library is the richest information resource accessible by anyone from anywhere in the world. The regional and foreign network of the Presidential Library is widely represented in all 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation and in 27 countries around the world, in more than 430 access centers to the Presidential Library resources and 34 operating reading rooms abroad. The Presidential Library stock is currently approaching the 600,000 entries.