Russian Historical Society

Categories / Science. Education/Learned Societies
RUSSIAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY, fully named the Imperial Russian Historical Society, a scientific society founded in 1866 for collecting, processing, and publishing documents on the history of Russia from government and private archives. According to its charter, the society was under the control of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It held its meetings at 36 Millionnaya Street. The society had a council with Prince P. A. Vyazemsky as the first chairman and A. A. Polovtsev as secretary and actual manager who became the chairman in 1879. A number of historians took part in the society activities including S. M. Solovyev, V. O. Klyuchevsky, N. I. Kostomarov, P. P. Pekarsky and A. N. Pypin. The society published Collections in 1867-1916, totalling 148,000 copies, which included documents on the history of Russia between the 15th and 19th centuries, and Dictionary of Russian Biographies in 1867-1918, totalling 25,000, which, however, was not completed. A Special Commission was established under the society in 1912 to discuss the procedure for retaining local archives. In 1914, a congress was held on the initiative of the society for regional archivists to discuss urgent issues of archive-keeping and archaeography. It was dissolved after October 1917 and the society was officially closed in 1920, its property was transferred to the Russian Academy of Sciences.

References: Императорское Русское историческое общество, 1866-1916. Пг., 1916; Хартанович М. Ф. Санкт-Петербург - центр российской гуманитарной науки XIX столетия // Вестн. РАН. 2002. Т. 72, № 5. С. 422-425.

M. F. Khartanovich. Klyuchevsky Vasily Osipovich
Kostomarov Nikolay Ivanovich
Pekarsky Peter Petrovich
Polovtsov Alexander Alexandrovich
Pypin Alexander Nikolaevich
Solovyev Sergey Mikhailovich
Vyazemsky Peter Andreevich, Duke
Millionnaya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 36
Императорское Русское историческое общество, 1866-1916. Пг., 1916
Хартанович М. Ф. Санкт-Петербург - центр российской гуманитарной науки XIX столетия // Вестн. РАН, 2002 Ministry of Foreign Affairs