The Russian National Library in St. Petersburg: from the foundation to the present

Love for literature, our people have been feeding for millennia. The first temple of the book appeared in Kiev, on the initiative of Prince Yaroslav the Wise in 1037. For a long time this repository was the best in the world. Today the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg is on the list of unique book depositories.

From plan to work

Previously, only rich and aristocrats had the luxury of collecting books. But some small folios in the houses of nobles could not become the foundation for a strong stratum of the intelligentsia, which the state demanded. The first attempts to create reading rooms were made in the Academies. But access to such halls was not everyone, and the specialization of textbooks was narrow.

Therefore, the question arose of creating a house where even simple sections of the population could receive knowledge.

This function was performed by the Imperial Public Reading Room, which later became known as the National Library of Russia. St. Petersburg became the center of the state after the reforms of Peter I. Therefore, the city where the new premises were laid, was chosen without hesitation. As an example, took the European book depositories.

Dream of the Empress

The date of birth of the library is considered to be May 16 (27), 1795. It was then that Queen Catherine the Great adopted a project that was proposed by the architect Yegor Sokolov. After the approval of the plan, construction began immediately. Work was paid from the state treasury.

Not for long chose the land under the building, which in the future became known as the National Library of Russia. In St. Petersburg, the center is Nevsky Prospekt. There, and allocated space for a new structure.

The peculiarity of the temple of the word was that the premises were first conceived not simply as a warehouse for historically important books and documents, but a public, generally available place. It should be noted that there was one more task that faced the researchers: to collect and systematize all the literature written in Russian.

Peak development

Under the strict guidance was the construction and collection of materials in the library. The case dragged on, and the reading room celebrated the opening only on January 2 (14), 1814. This is how the Russian National Library was founded in St. Petersburg.

Over the years, not only the number of volumes, but also the number of visitors increased. The outstanding minds of that time helped to collect the collection: writers, philosophers, scientists. Their work was not in vain, and already in 1864 in the reading room was collected almost 90% of all Russian-language publications.

As planned, with time more and more people from simple families began to come. Petty bourgeoisie, peasants, bankrupt noblemen - all equally joyously met the reading room. There were also women who were frequent guests of the house of the book. We also established contacts with other book depositories in the world. The establishment cooperated closely with universities and academies.

Halls without a public

The Imperial Public Reading Room, which is now known to the reader as the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg, acquired new features after the arrival of Soviet power.

The leadership determined the absolutely opposite ideological course that society should have adhered to. At first, the stock was replenished only at the expense of private collections, which were taken away from their legal owners - private individuals. Brought literature from monasteries and churches. During the Great Patriotic War the library did not cease its activities and even during the blockade issued books to readers.

Since the 1950s, the number of readers has increased, and accordingly the number of employees. The shelves were replenished with new and new copies.

Difficult times came after the collapse of the USSR. The number of visitors fell sharply. Also, new copies of literature ceased to arrive.

Today, the authorities are trying to instill in the younger generation a love for the book. To do this, create all the necessary conditions. The Russian state reading room (Moscow), the Presidential Library (St. Petersburg) - these and other vaults - the pride of the country.