The Russian Geographical Society is one of the oldest societies in the world and the only continuously operating public organization in Russia. The Russian Geographical Society was established in 1845 by the highest order of Emperor Nicholas I. The idea of \u200b\u200bcreation belonged to the great admiral F.P. Litka, and the first President of the society was his disciple, the son of the emperor, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. The main task of the new organization was to gather and send the best young forces of Russia to a comprehensive study of their native land.
The founders and first members of the society were world famous officers, scientists, travelers, researchers - F.P. Litke, F.P. Wrangel, I.F. Kruzenshtern, V.P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, N.M. Przhevalsky, N.N. Miklukho-Maclay, G.I. Nevelskoy, Russian geologists, naturalists, geodesists, linguists and patrons of the arts.

From the moment of its foundation, the Russian Geographical Society did not stop its work, and in different years it was called differently - Imperial, State, All-Union, and since 1992 it has had its original name - Russian Geographical Society.
Under his auspices, monumental studies of European Russia, the Urals, Siberia, the Far East, Central and Central Asia, the Caucasus, Iran, India, New Guinea, and the polar countries were organized. Also, the tradition of the society has always been communication with the Russian fleet and sea expeditions, and the famous Russian explorers-seafarers (P.F. Anzhu, V.S. Zavoiko, P. Yu. Lisyansky, L.A. Zagoskin, F.F. Matyushkin, K. N. Posiet, G. I. Nevelskoy, S. O. Makarov).
In 1851, the first two regional departments of the Russian Geographical Society were opened: Caucasian in Tiflis and Siberian in Irkutsk. Then new departments are created: Orenburg, North-West in Vilno, South-West in Kiev, West-Siberian in Omsk, Priamursky in Khabarovsk, Turkestan in Tashkent. They conducted extensive research in their regions, organized expeditionary and educational projects. By 1917, the Imperial Russian Geographical Society already had 11 departments (including the headquarters in St. Petersburg), two sub-departments and four departments.
The Russian Geographical Society laid the foundations of the national nature reserve management, within the framework of the Permanent Environmental Commission, the ideas of the first Russian specially protected natural areas were born.
The work of the Permanent Commission of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society for the Study of the Arctic resulted in the world famous Chukotka, Yakutsk and Kola expeditions, the organization of the first International Polar Year, during which autonomous polar stations were created at the mouth of the Lena River and on Novaya Zemlya.
With the assistance of the Russian Geographical Society, in 1918, the world's first higher educational institution of a geographical profile, the Geographic Institute, was created. And in 1919, the first geographical museum in Russia was founded, the collections of which ranked third in Russia after the Hermitage and the Russian Museum.
In Soviet times, the work of the society changed: it was focused on small regional studies and large theoretical generalizations, the propaganda of geographical knowledge was actively developing - the famous lecture hall named after Yu.M. Shokalsky.
And yet, until the early 2000s, there was a long period of stagnation in the history of the Russian Geographical Society. In November 2009, Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu was elected President of the Russian Geographical Society, a Board of Trustees was formed from among the most significant persons of Russia (A.B. Usmanov, S.S. Sobyanin, V.Yu. Alekperov, A.B. Miller). The chairmanship was assumed by the President of Russia Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. A period of revival of the glorious traditions of the 19th century has begun. At the same time, the vector of work has changed significantly. If before the revolution the main task of the Russian Geographical Society was the discovery, annexation and study of new territories, now the priorities have shifted towards the development of domestic tourism, fostering love for the Fatherland. The main activities of the Russian Geographical Society are expeditions and research, education and enlightenment, nature conservation, book publishing and work with young people.
Today the Russian Geographical Society has about 13,000 members in Russia and abroad. There are regional offices in all 85 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
The regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society in the Republic of Bashkortostan was created in 1954, but in recent decades it existed rather nominally and was listed as an outsider.
In September 2014, the Bashkir branch of the Russian Geographical Society was headed by Kamil Farukhshinovich Ziganshin - a writer, traveler, honored worker of culture of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. Today, among the few regional branches, the Bashkir branch has the status of a legal entity. The regional branch has more than 120 full members, more than 180 candidates for membership in the Russian Geographical Society, active work is underway in all areas of activity.
In 2015, the Regional Geographical Society of the Russian Geographical Society received two grants:
1. Research expedition "From Ika to Yaik". Schoolchildren of the Tuymazy gymnasium together with the head I. Danilko covered tens of kilometers of the way, organizing various actions and research.
2. Tourist route "Ural-Batyr Paths" on the territory of the Iremel Natural Park, 30 km long, equipped with images and symbols based on the Ural-Batyr epic.
In 2016, the Regional Geographical Society of the Russian Geographical Society received three grants:
1. "Ecogeography for the blind".
2. "Preservation and development of the unique natural trade of the Bashkirs - board beekeeping, as the basis of a new type of tourism - honey tours" on the territory of the National Park "Bashkiria".
3.Media grant for the shooting of the popular science film "Cradle of Art - Shulgan-Tash Cave (Kapova Cave)". The film will reflect the discovery of 150 new drawings, the maximum age of which is 36 thousand years, and will become a video argument for the inclusion of the cave in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Russian Geographical Society will create a single geoportal designed to become a cartographic Wikipedia, said its president, speaking at the 15th Congress of the Russian Geographical Society.

"I propose to launch a single geoportal of the Russian Geographical Society, which will unite the entire array of cartographic materials created by us, as well as paper maps stored in our funds. A geoportal can become a real cartographic Wikipedia, while lacking the main disadvantage of Wikipedia - not always high-quality and reliable information" , - said Shoigu.

According to him, more than 40 thousand maps, including cartographic images of the 17th-18th centuries, will become the basis of the geoportal.

"This will help eliminate topographic and geographic illiteracy, will serve as a locomotive for the legalization and declassification of maps that have long lost their strategic importance. It will allow the Russian Geographical Society to take the lead in creating a system of national atlases of Russia: ecological, Arctic, national cultural heritage, and so on," the president added Russian Geographical Society.

According to him, the Russian Geographical Society has long been cooperating with the largest domestic manufacturers and holders of cartographic information: Roskartografiya, the military topographic department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the Center for Cartography and Spatial Data Infrastructure. At the same time, assistance in creating a geoportal can be provided by the Ministry of Education, Roskosmos, Moscow State University, "" and other organizations that possess and process satellite information.

Creation of permanent expeditions

Shoigu noted that the Russian Geographical Society will create seven to eight permanent expeditions in the most important regions of Russia in the near future.

"I propose to structure all the undertakings of the Russian Geographical Society in this area according to the geographical principle, namely: to create seven, maybe eight large permanent expeditions. For example, the Arctic, north-western, Baikal, as well as Siberian and Far Eastern, where, by the way, we could cooperate with colleagues from our board of trustees who are implementing the project, "Shoigu said.

According to him, the complex expedition will provide answers to a very wide range of questions directly related to economic activities, and will bring the region specific socio-economic, cultural and humanitarian benefits.

Shoigu assured that the Russian Geographical Society will continue the practice of holding international forums like the current "Arctic - Territory of Dialogue". Thus, he considers it necessary to create a similar southern forum, in which representatives of the countries of the Caspian and Black Sea regions can take part, as well as an Asian forum, to which experts from Southeast Asia can be invited.

RGS statistics

Over the past five years, the Russian Geographical Society has supported over 300 grants and hundreds of projects. “In general, we can say that during the reporting period, the largest geographic expert community was formed. Its most authoritative members formed the backbone of the expert council of the Russian Geographical Society. For five years of work, they have considered about 3 thousand applications, approved the allocation of 297 grants and 119 thematic projects, as well as 22 grants issued by the Russian Geographical Society together with the Russian Foundation for Basic Research ", - said Shoigu.

At the same time, the Russian Geographical Society actively supports nature conservation, for which from 2010 to 2014 97 grants were issued and 72 thematic projects were supported, the minister noted. "A lot of work has been done with the allocated funds to preserve rare species of mammals, organize expeditions, clean up the Arctic territories from garbage, conduct environmental assessments and create environmental and maps," added the President of the Russian Geographical Society.

50 grants were allocated for research, 41 research projects were supported. In addition, 87 grants were issued and 59 projects were supported aimed at the development of school and university education, about a hundred youth and school expeditions were carried out.

According to Shoigu, the Russian Geographical Society is actively developing the traditions of expeditionary activity - it has always been and remains his key task. From 2009 to 2014, more than 900 regional, all-Russian and international expeditions were organized, for which the expeditionary center of the society was created in 2011.

Films about travelers

Shoigu said that the Russian Geographical Society will contribute to the creation of feature films about the great Russian travelers.

“For example, the great Ivan Dmitrievich Papanin, whose 120th birthday will be celebrated in a week. His biography will be enough for at least three“ full meters. ”Or Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov, the legendary explorer of Tibet, who discovered the mysterious city of Khara-Khoto. compared to him, I note, Indiana Jones is just a schoolboy, "- said Shoigu.

In this regard, the president of the Russian Geographical Society suggested that the media council of the society think about creating films or television series like those that were filmed in Soviet times and which "we all repeatedly and with pleasure revise."

"I'm talking about" Two Captains ", based on the novel by Veniamin Kaverin, about the films" Przhevalsky "by Sergei Yutkevich and" Miklouho-Maclay "by Alexander Razumny. I am sure that the Ministry of Culture and the Film Fund will meet us halfway in this matter, since state support for cinematography is primarily should be aimed at creating socially significant products with a powerful patriotic and educational message, "Shoigu said.

Recreating the Yunnat movement

The Russian Geographical Society will also be engaged in recreation of the movement of young naturalists and a network of observing natural phenomena.

"Another important point in terms of education is the re-creation of the youth phenological network of the Russian Geographical Society. Let me remind you that in Soviet times it included thousands of schools, whose students enthusiastically collected information about natural phenomena," he said.

According to him, taking into account the activity of modern children on social networks, the proposal to photograph a natural phenomenon, fill out the appropriate form and transmit information using a special program on a mobile phone or tablet will be in great demand.

“This will become a real step towards the restoration of the once powerful movement of young naturalists, which solved not only educational problems, but also was a real forge of ecologists, geographers, game managers,” Shoigu said.


(Russian Geographical Society), the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1850-1917), the Russian Geographical Society (1917-26), the State Geographical Society (1926-38), the All-Union Geographical Society (1938-92), in 1992 the name of the Russian Geographical Society was restored. Scientific and educational organization, one of the oldest geographical societies in the world.


The network of departments of the Russian Geographical Society played an important role in organizing work and popularizing local history knowledge. The first in 1851 with the assistance of governor General N.N. Muravyov-Amurskyin Irkutskthe Siberian department of the IRGO (SO IRGO, since 1877 - the East Siberian branch (VSO) of the IRGO) with sub-departments: Krasnoyarsk (1901) and Yakutsk (1913) was opened. On November 17, 1851, the military governor of Irkutsk, General K.K. Wenzel, the head of affairs (leader) - Doctor of Medicine Yu.I. Stubendorf. In Western Siberia, organizations of a similar formation were preceded by an attempt to create Omska group of local ethnographers (I.Ya.Slovtsov, P.A.Zolotov, A.I.Sulotskiy and F.L. Chernavin) of the Society of Western Siberia Explorers (1868-78). West Siberian Department (ZSO IRGO) was founded with the active support of the Governor-General N.G. Kaznakov in 1877, in 1901 its subdivision was opened in Barnaul (Altai) on the basis of the Society of Altai Exploration Lovers, created in 1891; in 1902 - in Semipalatinsk. Its chairman is elected the chief of staff West Siberian Military District General I.F. Babkov, ruler of affairs - teacher of geography of the Siberian cadet corps M.V. Singers... In 1884 during Vladivostokthe Society for the Study of the Amur Region (OIAK) was created, headed by F.F. Busse, in 1894 it became a subdivision of the Khabarovskwith the active participation of the Governor-General S.M. Dukhovsky Priamurskiy department of IRGO (PO IRGO). General N.I. Grodekov. Then the subdivisions begin to operate in Troitskosavskand Chita (Transbaikal). In 1914, a subdivision headed by A.M. Bodisko opens in Nikolsk.


The title "imperial" gave the right to receive subsidies (2 thousand rubles a year for each department, from 1914 PO IRGO - 4 thousand rubles), free mail forwarding, assistance from the local administration in organizing and conducting expeditions, including the allocation of an armed convoy of the Cossacks and sending military topographers to their composition. Governor-generals were usually the official patrons and honorary chairmen of the branches. They approved the results of elections of governing bodies, authorized the holding of meetings, the organization of lectures, the organization of expeditions, and so on. Their organizing function gradually passed into a controlling one. In the interaction of departments with sub-departments, scientific partnership prevailed over administrative dependence. A common form of contact with other scientific, educational and administrative structures was the exchange of publications. Thus, the ZSO IRGO established such an exchange with more than 530 addressees in 85 cities of Russia and 18 countries of Europe, Asia, Africa, America.


At the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century. in the local formations of the IRGO, mainly the service intelligentsia was represented, with a predominance of officers, primarily topographers at the stages of the formation of departments - foresters, resettled officials, land surveyors, agronomists, statisticians, gymnasium teachers, etc. Political exiles. The Siberian administration, despite the restrictions of the "Regulations on Police Supervision" (1881), satisfied the requests of the governing bodies of departments and sub-departments to involve exiled settlers in the work. An outstanding role in the daily work and expeditions of the All-Russian Society of the IRGO was played by YES. Clemenz, N.V. Vitashevsky, V.G. Bogoraz-Tan, F. Ya. Cohn, E.K. Pekarsky, M.P. Ovchinnikov, I.I. Mainov, S.V. Yastremsky and others. The number of members of the Siberian divisions of the IRGO ranged from 168 people (ZSO IRGO in 1887), 110 (VSO IRGO in 1905), 100 (Transbaikal subdivision in 1908), up to 12 people (Krasnoyarsk subdivision at the time of organization in 1901). The composition of the scientific communities remained unstable, the number of nonresident employees was gradually decreasing, and connections within the teams were weak. Financing of departments and sub-departments was carried out at the expense of state subsidies, donations from local entrepreneurs (A.M. and I.M.Sibiryakov, M.K. Sidorov, V.P. Sukachev, HELL. Vasenev and others), membership fees, income from public lectures and visits to museums.


The Siberian formations of the IRGO were engaged in organizing and conducting expeditions and excursions, coordinating the local history activities of the local intelligentsiaand political exiles, published "Proceedings", "Notes", "Izvestia", "Materials", created museums and through them conducted multifaceted educational work. The greatest contribution to the organization of scientific research was made by IRGO members who worked in Siberia: I.S. Selsky, A.F. Usoltsev, M.V. Zagoskin, N.N. Agapitov, G.N. Potanin, V.A. Obruchev, V.I. Vagin, N.M. Yadrintsev, V.K. Arseniev, G.E. Katanaev, P.L. Dravert, A.E. Novoselov, F.N. Usov, A.N. Sidelnikov, V.V. Sapozhnikov, Yu.A. Schmidt and others. VNO IRGO organized the Vilyui, Amur, Ussuriysk (leader R.K. Maak), Turukhansk (I.A.Lopatin, A.P. Shchapov), Olekminsko-Vitimskaya ( P.A. Kropotkin), Yakutsk (Siberian) historical and ethnographic expedition... In 1902, a special archival commission was formed under him under the leadership of N. Drozdov. A member of the ZSO IRGO in 1877 - 1918 carried out 103 expeditions, trips and excursions in a vast area from Dzungaria to the Ob Bay.


Along with the research work of the Siberian formation, the IRGO were engaged in active educational activities, mainly through the museums and libraries formed with them. So, in the funds of the Museum of the All-Russian Society of the IRGO in 1889 there were 9 048 exhibits, in 1913 - 24 878. Since 1889 the museum has regularly held Sunday lectures and excursions for visitors. In the museum of the ZSO IRGO by the beginning of the twentieth century. there were departments: historical and archaeological, factory and handicraft and ethnographic, agricultural, hunting and fishing, meteorological, mining and mineralogical, forestry, botanical and zoological.


The department and sub-department continued their core activities during the turbulent years of the socialist cataclysm of 1917-20. Their development went in the direction of deepening specialization, orientation towards the implementation of the economic plans of the Soviet state. At the end of the 1920s. as part of the All-Russian Geographical Society of the Russian Geographical Society worked sections of geography, economic, geology and mining, experimental fruit growing and acclimatization of plants, ethnological, historical, paleoethnological, Buryat-Mongolian, Yakut, local history school, historical and literary; as part of the ZSO RGS - physical-geographical, biological and economic. In the work of the societies, in addition to scientific workers, practitioners of local lore, teachers, schoolchildren, youth of the national outskirts were involved. In the 1920s. Krasnoyarsk, Altai, Semipalatinsk and other sub-departments were separated into independent departments. In 1928, the number of members of the WZO RGS was 288 full members and 112 staff members, the ZSO RGS - 130 and 18 members, respectively.


In order to coordinate the activities of the departments of the Russian Geographical Society and other local lore organizations in the mid-1920s. congresses were held in Irkutsk, Omsk, Barnaul, Krasnoyarsk and others. In December 1926, at the 1st Regional Scientific Research Congress, a decision was made to create a Siberian Association of Regional Studies Organizations (see. Local history), which included the departments of the Russian Geographical Society. The functions of the association were transferred to the established in 1925 in Novosibirsk Society for the Study of the Productive Forces of Siberia (OIC). In the spring of 1931, with the liquidation of the OIC and the arrest of its leaders, including the chairman of the ZSO RGS V.F. Semenov, the departments of the Russian Geographical Society actually ceased their activities.


Its renewal took place in the 1950s. The center of activity moved to regions where there was no developed system of professional research organizations: Altai Territory, Sakhalin and Kamchatka region.The departments continue publishing and expeditionary activities. Employees of institutes take part in their work Siberian Branch of RAS, regional universities and museums.


Lit .: Manassein V.S. Essay on the historical activities of the VSORGO for 75 years of its existence // Izv. VSORGO. Irkutsk, 1927.T. 50, no. one; Semenov V.F. Essay on the fifty-year activity of the West Siberian Department of the State Russian Geographical Society. Omsk, 1927.

S.N. Ushakova, M.V. Shilovsky


Materials: http://russiasib.ru/russkoe-geograficheskoe-obshhestvo/

Public organization.

The Russian Geographical Society was founded by the Imperial order of Emperor Nicholas I in 1845. The idea of \u200b\u200bcreating the Society belonged to Admiral Fyodor Petrovich Litke, educator of the future first Chairman of the Russian Geographical Society, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. The main task of the new organization was to gather and send the best young forces of Russia to a comprehensive study of their native land.

Among the founders of the Russian Geographical Society were famous navigators: admirals Fedor Petrovich Litke, Ivan Fedorovich Kruzenshtern, Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel, Pyotr Ivanovich Rikord; members of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences: naturalist Karl Maksimovich Baer, \u200b\u200bastronomer Vasily Yakovlevich Struve, geologist Grigory Petrovich Gelmersen, statistician Pyotr Ivanovich Keppen; prominent military leaders (former and current officers of the General Staff): Quartermaster General Fyodor Fedorovich Berg, geodesist Mikhail Pavlovich Vronchenko, statesman Mikhail Nikolaevich Muravyov; representatives of the Russian intelligentsia: linguist Vladimir Ivanovich Dahl and philanthropist Prince Vladimir Fedorovich Odoevsky.

This is how the famous geographer, traveler and statesman Pyotr Petrovich Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky described the essence of the Russian Geographical Society: "Free and open for all who are imbued with love for their native land and deep, unbreakable faith in the future of the Russian state and the Russian people, the corporation" ...

Since its foundation, the Russian Geographical Society has not stopped its activities, however, the name of the organization has changed several times. It was named Imperial from 1850 to 1917.

The Chairmen of the Russian Imperial Geographical Society were: Grand Dukes Konstantin Nikolaevich (1845-1892) and Nikolai Mikhailovich (1892-1917), and the Vice-Chairmen were: Fedor Petrovich Litke (1845-1850, 1857-1872), Mikhail Nikolaevich Muravyov (1850- 1856), Pyotr Petrovich Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky (1873-1914), Julius Mikhailovich Shokalsky (1914-1917).

The Russian Geographical Society has made a major contribution to the study of European Russia, the Urals, Siberia, the Far East, Central and Central Asia, the Caucasus, Iran, India, New Guinea, polar countries and other territories.

During the imperial period, members of foreign royal families were elected honorary members of the Society (for example, the personal friend of Peter Petrovich Semyonov-Tyan-Shansk, the Belgian king Leopold II, Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid, British Prince Albert), famous foreign researchers and geographers (Baron Ferdinand Richtofen, Roald Amudsen , Fridtjof Nansen and others).

The largest benefactors who channeled significant funds for the activities of the Society were: the merchant Platon Vasilyevich Golubkov, the tobacco manufacturer Vasily Grigorievich Zhukov, after whom one of the most prestigious awards of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society - Zhukovskaya was named. A special place among the patrons of the Russian Geographical Society is occupied by the gold miners Sibiryakovs, who financed a number of expeditionary and educational projects.

In 1851, the first two regional departments of the Russian Geographical Society were opened: Caucasian in Tiflis and Siberian in Irkutsk. Then new departments were created: Orenburg, North-West in Vilno, South-West in Kiev, West-Siberian in Omsk, Priamursky in Khabarovsk, Turkestan in Tashkent. They conducted extensive research into their regions. By 1917, the Imperial Russian Geographical Society consisted of 11 departments (including the headquarters in St. Petersburg), two sub-departments and four departments.

The most important event was the creation of the Permanent Commission of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society for the Study of the Arctic. The result of her work was the world famous Chukotka, Yakutsk and Kola expeditions. The report on one of the Arctic expeditions of the society interested the great scientist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev, who developed several projects for the development and study of the Arctic.

In recent years, the Russian Geographical Society has gained dynamism in its work, new leaders and promising areas of activity have appeared.

In November 2009, S.K. was elected President of the Russian Geographical Society. Shoigu, the Board of Trustees, representative in terms of its members, was formed, the chairmanship of which was assumed by the President of Russia V.V. Putin.

Today the Russian Geographical Society has over 14,000 members in Russia and abroad, 85 regional branches in all regions of the Russian Federation.

The main areas of activity of the Russian Geographical Society are expeditions and research, education and enlightenment, nature conservation, publishing books, work with young people.

In 2015, the 170th anniversary of the Russian Geographical Society is coming, about which many articles will be written and stories will be shown. The Academic Council of the Khabarovsk branch decided to remind the public of the decisive contribution of the members of the Russian Geographical Society in the return of the Amur and Primorye to Russia, the systematic study of the region by expeditions of the Russian Geographical Society and other glorious deeds of its members.

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The Russian Geographical Society (RGO) was founded by the highest order of Emperor Nicholas I in 1845. The idea of \u200b\u200bcreating the Society belonged to Admiral F.P. Litke, educator of the future first Chairman of the Russian Geographical Society, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. The task of the new organization was "to gather and send the best young forces of Russia to a comprehensive study of their native land."

Among the founders of the Russian Geographical Society were famous seafarers: admirals F.P. Litke, I.F. Kruzenshtern, F.P. Wrangel, P.I. Rikord; members of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences: naturalist K.M. Baer, \u200b\u200bastronomer V. Ya. Struve, geologist G.P. Gelmersen, statistician P.I. Köppen; prominent military leaders (former and current officers of the General Staff): Quartermaster General F.F. Berg, cartographer M.P. Vronchenko and M.N. Ants; representatives of the Russian intelligentsia: linguist V.I. Dahl and Prince V.F. Odoevsky.

This is how the famous geographer, traveler and statesman P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky:

"Free and open to all who are imbued with love for their native land and deep, unbreakable faith in the future of the Russian state and the Russian people, the corporation."

Since its foundation, the Russian Geographical Society did not stop its activities, however, the name of the organization has changed several times: it bore its modern name in 1845-1850, 1917-1926 and from 1992 to the present. It was named "Imperial" from 1850 to 1917. In Soviet times, it was called the State Geographical Society (1926-1938) and the Geographical Society of the USSR (or the All-Union Geographical Society) (1938-1992).

Over the years, the Russian Geographical Society was led by representatives of the Russian Imperial House, famous travelers, researchers and statesmen. The Chairmen of the Russian Geographical Society were the Grand Dukes Konstantin Nikolaevich (1845-1892) and Nikolai Mikhailovich (1892-1917), and the Vice-Chairmen were F.P. Litke, M.N. Muravyov, P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, Yu.M. Shokalsky. Since 1931, the Society was headed by the Presidents: N.I. Vavilov, L.S. Berg, E.N. Pavlovsky, S.V. Kalesnik, A.F. Treshnikov, S.B. Lavrov, Yu.P. Seliverstov, A.A. Komaritsyn, S.K.Shoigu (2009 - present).

The Russian Geographical Society has made a major contribution to the study of European Russia, the Urals, Siberia, the Far East, Central and Central Asia, the Caucasus, Iran, India, New Guinea, polar countries and other territories. These studies are associated with the names of famous travelers N. A. Severtsov, I. V. Mushketov, N. M. Przhevalsky, G. N. Potanin, M. V. Pevtsov, G. E. and M. E. Grumm-Grzhimailo, P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shanskiy, V.A. Obruchev, P.K. Kozlova, N.N. Miklouho-Maclay, A.I. Voeikova, L.S. Berg and many others.

Another important tradition of the Russian Geographical Society was communication with the Russian fleet and sea expeditions. Among the full members of the Society were famous marine researchers: P.F. Anzhu, V.S. Zavoiko, L.A. Zagoskin, P. Yu. Lisyansky, F.F. Matyushkin, K.N. Posiet, S. O. Makarov and others.

During the imperial period, members of foreign royal families were elected honorary members of the Society, for example, a personal friend of P.P. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansk, Belgian king Leopold II, Turkish Sultan Abdul Hamid, British Prince Albert, famous foreign researchers and geographers Baron Ferdinand Richthofen, Roald Amundsen, Fridtjof Nansen and others.

The largest benefactors who channeled significant funds to support the Society were: merchant P.V. Golubkov, tobacco manufacturer Zhukov (one of the most prestigious awards of the IRGO, Zhukovskaya, was named after him). A special place among the patrons of the Russian Geographical Society is occupied by the gold miners Sibiryakovs, who financed a number of expeditionary and educational projects.

In 1851, the first two regional departments of the Russian Geographical Society were opened: Caucasian in Tiflis and Siberian in Irkutsk. Then departments are created: Orenburg, North-West in Vilno, South-West in Kiev, West-Siberian in Omsk, Priamursky in Khabarovsk, Turkestan in Tashkent. They conducted extensive research into their regions. By 1917, the IRGO consisted of 11 departments, including the headquarters in St. Petersburg, 2 sub-departments and 4 departments.

During the Soviet era, the work of the Society changed. The RGS focused on relatively small, but deep and comprehensive regional studies, as well as large theoretical generalizations. The geography of regional branches has expanded significantly: as of 1989-1992, the Central Branch (in Leningrad) and 14 republican branches worked in the USSR Civil Society. In the RSFSR, there were 18 branches, 2 bureaus and 78 departments.

The Russian Geographical Society also laid the foundations of the national reserve management, the ideas of the first Russian protected areas were born within the framework of the Permanent Environmental Commission of the IRGO, the creator of which was Academician I.P. Borodin.

The most important event was the creation of a permanent commission of the IRGO for the study of the Arctic. The result of her work was the world famous Chukotka, Yakutsk and Kola expeditions. The report on one of the Arctic expeditions of the society interested the great scientist D.I. Mendeleev, who developed several projects for the development and study of the Arctic. The Russian Geographical Society became one of the organizers and participants of the First International Polar Year, during which autonomous polar stations were created at the mouth of the Lena River and on Novaya Zemlya.

With the assistance of the Russian Geographical Society in 1918, the world's first higher educational institution of a geographical profile, the Geographic Institute, was created. And in 1919, one of the most famous members of the Society, V.P.Semenov-Tyan-Shansky, founded the first geographical museum in Russia. During the heyday, his collections ranked third in Russia after the Hermitage and the Russian Museum.

During the Soviet period, the Society actively developed new areas of activity related to the promotion of geographical knowledge: a commission of the corresponding direction was established, an Advisory Bureau was opened under the leadership of L.S. Berg, the famous lecture hall named after Yu.M. Shokalsky.

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In the second half of the 19th century, members of the IRGO made a great contribution to the comprehensive study of the Russian Far East.

In the first years of the work of the Amur expedition, due to the strict observance of the secrecy regime, few people knew about the patronage of the leadership of the Russian Geographical Society. Some publications mention that N.N. Muravyov and G.I. A.P. Petrashevets helped Nevelsky broaden his horizons on the history of Russian - Chinese relations of past centuries. Balasoglo. But it was not further specified that he was a member of the Russian Geographical Society.

The famous scientist A.I. Alekseev claims that N.M. Chikhachev, G.I. Nevelskoy, N.K. Boshnyak and some other members of the Amur expedition took part in the work of the Siberian branch of the IRGO. In particular, Chikhachev and Boshnyak were engaged in the compilation of the Russian-Gilyak-Mangun-Tungus dictionary. Chikhachev presented maps of his campaigns and their descriptions to the branches of the Society.

N.N. Muravyov had enough connections and reasons for membership in the Russian Geographical Society. When you get acquainted with various documents about his activities, you involuntarily become convinced of his broad outlook, a sense of the new, deep study of various problems. Here's one example.

In a letter to Count L.A. Perovsky on September 25, 1849 N.N. Muravyov donated that, returning from a field trip to Kamchatka, he read the book "Notes of the Geographical Society" and came across a very curious article about the merits of Peter the Great in spreading geographical knowledge about Eastern Siberia and the Amur River. But there were inaccuracies in it. As Governor General of Eastern Siberia N.N. Muravyov considers it his duty to clarify the misunderstandings and for review he encloses an article for the collection of the Russian Geographical Society. Count L.A. He explains to Perovsky that the issue under consideration has a political significance, and he does not dare to send the article directly to the Geographical Society, but considers it his duty to submit it to him for review beforehand. Further, he focuses Perovsky's attention on those provisions of the article with which he does not agree.

Even a simple list of studies carried out in the 50s and 60s of the XIX century in the Amur and Primorye regions shows the effectiveness of the scientific community's concerns about the study of the Pacific coast of Russia. Siberian expedition of the Russian Geographical Society, begun in 1855, exploration of the Amur region by R. Maak (1855-1859), G. Radde (1857-1858), F. Schmidt (1859-1862) and their companions, description of the Ussuri river, compiled by M. Venyukov (1858), who later became the secretary of the Society, the expedition of A. Budishchev (1860-1867), the journey of N. Przhevalsky (1868-1869) made with the assistance of the Society, the Chukotka expedition - these are the "Far Eastern aspects" of the activities of the Russian Geographical Society ...

The Siberian Department of the IRGO made its contribution to the study of the distant outskirts of the Russian Empire. In 1854, the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia N.N. Muravyov completed his famous rafting on the Amur, described in the 3rd book of the Notes of the Siberian Department (1857). Subsequently N.N. Muravyov-Amursky became an honorary member of the IRGO.

In 1855 R.K. Maak, on behalf of the Siberian Department, made a study of the Amur up to Mariinsk, and in 1859 he studied the Ussuri valley. All these journeys have been detailed.

In the first two decades of the second half of the 19th century, studies of the Amur, Primorye and Sakhalin, which were being mastered by the Russian people, were more intensive. They were a good school for the formation of a significant number of outstanding Russian scientists and travelers of the Russian Geographical Society. The vast expanses of the Far East fully corresponded to the breadth and scope of Russian scientific thought.

Khabarovka, formed in 1858, becomes the initial springboard for further throws of Russian troops and expeditions into the unknown expanses of the region. Here the necessary help was provided to scientists and travelers-pioneers before their campaigns.

After the signing of the Aigun (1858) and Beijing (additional) treaties (1860) on the border between Russia and Qing China, the routes of several scientific expeditions moved from the Amur region to the Ussuri basin and Primorye. The goal of many expeditions was to study Primorye to compile a geographical map of the region in preparation for the future demarcation of the border. The first expedition in the summer of 1858 was led by the captain of the General Staff M.I. Venyukov. Of all the Russian geographers of his time, Venyukov was the most politically literate! In the enormous scientific work done by professional scientists in the Far East, M.I. Venyukov was honored with the scientific physical and geographical discovery of the Ussuri region, that is, a significant part of the modern Primorsky and Khabarovsk territories, and the establishment of the factual non-control of this part of the Ussuriysk basin to Qing China. The latter circumstance should be emphasized, because the feudal rulers of China have always exorbitantly inflated the territorial grandeur of their empire.

In early June 1858, the military-geographical expedition of M.I. Venyukova started from Khabarovka. In the process of exploration, the members of the expedition made a topographic survey of the Ussuri River, for the first time through Sikhote-Alin they reached the bays of St. Vladimir and St. Olga, gave the first scientific description of the interior regions of the Ussuri region. M.I. Venyukov pointed to the extremely important role for Russia of the Amur Territory - this great road to the Pacific Ocean, which connected the West with the East. Recall that the Amur in the hierarchy of the greatest rivers of the planet occupies the ninth place in length (2,824 km, and with tributaries - 4,444 km). The settlement and development of the region had, according to modern concepts, geopolitical significance for Russia. About the Far Eastern period of his life, Captain M.I. Venyukov left scientific and artistic essays, according to which more than one generation is studying many issues of the development of the Far East.

An invaluable contribution to the mapping of the region was made by the leaders of the IRGO, the famous military topographers P.A. Gamow and A.F. Usoltsev. They are part of the Ussuri expedition of K.F. Budogosky in the summer of 1859, they walked from the mouth of the Ussuri to the Posiet Bay in South Primorye and carried out astronomical observations to draw up a topographic map, which became the basis for the signing of the Beijing (additional) treaty in November 1860 on the border between Russia and Qing China. P.A. During the expedition Gamow collected collections and information about the indigenous and alien population. A.F. Usoltsev later for 8 years was the governor of the Siberian department of the IRGO. He was awarded the small gold medal of the IRGO in 1877.

In 1860-1861, on the instructions of the IRGO, the writer-fiction writer S.V. Maksimov as a member of an ethnographic expedition who visited all Russian settlements in the Amur region. In June - July 1860, on the steamship-corvette "America" \u200b\u200bwith the military governor of the Primorsky region, Rear Admiral P.V. Kazakevich, he visited South Primorye. He left his impressions of the Far East, including Khabarovka, in the book “To the East. Trip to the Amur (in 1860-1861). Travel notes and memoirs ”, which went through two editions (1864, 1871). This is a true story about the first Russian settlements of the region, a serious study of their everyday life and economic structure.

In the years 1867-1869 of the General Staff, Captain N.M. Przhevalsky was sent by the IRGO to the Far East in order to collect statistical information on the settlement, development of crafts, trade and other data characterizing the economic development of the Amur and Primorye by the Russian people, mainly the Ussuri region. In addition, the Siberian department of the Society ordered him to study the flora and fauna of the region, collect botanical and zoological collections, and conduct meteorological observations.

Travel route of N.M. Przhevalsky ran through Khabarovka, the village of Busse on Ussuri, Lake Khanka, Posiet Bay on the Sea of \u200b\u200bJapan, Razdolny post, Vladivostok, Sikhote-Alin ridge. For two years, he visited areas where no scientist had previously been. Przhevalsky covered more than 3 thousand kilometers, a significant territory was mapped, meteorological observations were carried out, and extensive material was accumulated about the peoples inhabiting the south of the Far East.

The Przhevalsky detachment had a chance to take part in the so-called "Manzov" war in 1868, including acting together with the detachment of Lieutenant Colonel Ya.V. Dyachenko. Przhevalsky and his Cossacks had to escort the captured Hunghuz to Vladivostok. For his participation in the defeat of gangs of khunkhuzov, Przhevalsky was promoted to the rank of captain and was appointed senior adjutant of the headquarters of the troops of the Primorsky region in the city of Nikolaevsk-on-Amur.

Returning to Petersburg, N.M. Przhevalsky, on the basis of the extensive material collected in 1870, published the book "Travel to the Ussuri region." In it, strictly scientifically and at the same time in a vivid artistic form, he described the richest nature of the region and the life of the local population. From the southern tip of Lake Khanka to the Gulf of Posyet, Przhevalsky followed a new route, and the path from the bay to the mouth of the Tadushi (Zerkalnaya) River, along the Pacific coast, was passed not by sea, as many of his predecessors had done, but by land, along difficult forest paths ... He was able to determine the further fate of many settlements of the Primorsky region, including predicting a great future for Khabarovka.

A large work on the study of the forests of the Amur and Primorye was carried out by the expedition of the full member of the Siberian department of the IRGO A.F. Budischeva. The leader of the expedition, the captain of the foresters' corps A.F. Budishchev in 1859 was commanded by the Ministry of State Property at the disposal of the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia with the assignment to conduct a route-reconnaissance survey of forests in the South Ussuriysk Territory, the basin of the river. Ussuri, the Lower Amur region and along the Pacific coast. In addition to AF Budishchev, the expedition equipped for this purpose included topographers, member of the IRGO A.G. Petrovich, Korzun, Lyubensky. In Primorye alone, the total length of the route was 2 thousand versts, forest lands are described at 1250 versts.

In 1864, based on the materials collected by A.F. Budishchev compiled the first map of the Amur and Primorye forests. Interesting is the decision on the Budishchev map about the location of the Ussuri river mouth. It is indicated at the village of Kazakevicheva, where this river flows into the Amur channel flowing here. Researchers of the 19th century were unanimous on this issue. In his book A.F. Budishchev repeatedly noted that the village of Kazakevicheva is located at the mouth of the Ussuri. Astronomer P.A. Gamow in 1859 also identified the mouth of the Ussuri River near the village of Kazakevicheva. R.K. Maak in his "Journey through the Valley of the Ussuri River" wrote that Ussuri flows into the side arm of the Amur near Kazakevichev. You can also refer to G.E. Grum-Grzhimailo, who reported that “on the right mountain bank of the Ussuri, at its very mouth, the village of Kazakevicheva is located” (“Description of the Amur Region”. St. Petersburg, 1894, p. 163).

For the study of the Far Eastern forests A.F. Budishchev was awarded the small gold medal of the IRGO, but did not have time to receive it, as he suddenly died in 1868 from an unknown illness. He was buried in the village of Kazakevicheva.

This year we will have the opportunity to remember with gratitude about A.F. Middendorf (200th birthday anniversary on August 18 (6)), R.K. Maake on the occasion of the 190th anniversary of his birth and the 160th anniversary of his trip to the Amur. Let's not forget about the 160th anniversary of the completion of research in the Khabarovsk Territory of the Amur expedition by G.I. Nevelsky (1855).

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Taking into account the scope of the article, we will present you only the most authoritative researchers of our Department, members of the Scientific Council.

Expert in the field of anthropogenic dynamics of natural ecosystems and ecological adaptation of regional nature management Voronov B.A., Director of IVEP and Chairman of the KhSC FEB RAS, Corresponding Member of the RAS, Doctor of Biological Sciences in June 2012, was elected Chairman of the Khabarovsk Regional Branch of the Russian Geographical Society.

Even in the last century, in the conditions of the development of active and multidirectional economic activity, environmental issues have become one of the priority tasks. B.A. Voronov and his colleagues took an active part in the development of regional programs for sustainable development of territories, handling various wastes, environmental protection and others aimed, inter alia, at ensuring the ecological safety of the region. Now they are being implemented and "work" for the interests of the Khabarovsk Territory.

A group of scientists under the leadership of B.A. Voronov has been monitoring the ecological block of the Strategy for the socio-economic development of the Far East and the Baikal region for the period up to 2025 since 2009, which provides for the development of a number of research areas in the field of environmental management and conservation ecosystem diversity.

In recent years, scientists from the IVEP FEB RAS have carried out a lot of work to study the causes and search for ways to eliminate transboundary pollution of the Amur River. The analytical center for collective use is additionally equipped with high-precision modern equipment. At a qualitatively new level, the Amur and other water bodies are being studied in terms of chemical, virological and microbiological indicators.

On the recommendation of scientists, the government of the Khabarovsk Territory showed persistence, and the Chinese side built new treatment facilities, improved technologies and even stopped a number of hazardous industries, including in cities not far from Khabarovsk. In recent years, the quality of water and fish in the Amur and Ussuri has improved.

B.A. Voronov is the author and co-author of over 450 scientific papers, including 22 monographs. By the decree of the President of the Russian Federation in 1997, he was awarded the title "Honored Ecologist of the Russian Federation", was repeatedly awarded by the leadership of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the administrations of the Far Eastern constituent entities of Russia with certificates, diplomas and letters of thanks.

Member of the Permanent Environmental Commission of the Russian Geographical Society. At the XV Congress of the Russian Geographical Society (November 2014) he was awarded the title of "Honorary Member of the Russian Geographical Society" and was elected to its Academic Council.

Expert on Russian history, professor Dubinina N.I., author of more than a hundred articles, methodological manuals and monographs, including about the Amur governor-generals N.L. Gondatti, P.F. Unterberger, N.I. Grodekov, for which she was awarded the title of laureate of the. VC. Arsenyev (Vladivostok) and laureate of the Prize of the Governor of the Khabarovsk Territory. In 2011, the book "The Far East of Yan Gamarnik" was awarded the gold medal of the 15th Far East Book Fair "Printing House" (Vladivostok).

N.I. Dubinina - Honorary Worker of Higher Professional Education of Russia, Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, awarded several government awards, awarded honorary titles.

In the fall of 2012 (in the Year of Russian history and its anniversary) she was awarded a high award of the Government of the Khabarovsk Territory - the honorary badge "For Merit" named after N.N. Muravyov - Amursky.

Expert in medical geography, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, Honored Doctor of the RSFSR, V.N. Zavgorudko last year explored the Kuril Islands.

The honored traveler of Russia, organizer and participant of expeditions to search for thermal springs made solo trips many times to study the possibility of human survival in the extreme conditions of the Far Eastern taiga. This is an ascent to the mysterious Mount Ko, crossing the Sikhote-Alin with access to the Tatarsky Strait, rafting on mountain rivers, expeditions to hard-to-reach places of the Khabarovsk Territory - hiking, skiing, water. The indispensable conditions were loneliness, lack of warm clothes, a tent, a sleeping bag, weapons, communications, food. He developed and published hundreds of recommendations, wrote the book "Survive in the taiga", collections of documentary stories. For his personal contribution to ensuring the safety of the population in the Far East, by order of the Minister of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation, he was awarded the chest badge "For Merit".

Expert in Economic Geography Zausaev V.K.,doctor of Economics, Professor, Director of the Far-Eastern Research Institute of the RF Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East. For more than twenty years, he has been successfully managing the institute and believes that one of its main tasks is to find solutions to the problem of forming a permanent population in the Far East region and develop strategic plans for the development of both individual subjects and municipalities.

He is confident that the Far East needs large global projects for development. Such as the cosmo-core in the Amur Region, the “technograd” based on Komsomolsk-on-Amur, the logistic oil and gas center in De-Kastri, powerful metallurgy in the Jewish Autonomous Region, petrochemical and oil refining plants on Sakhalin, aquaculture in Primorye.

Expert in physical geography of the Far East, Doctor of Geographical Sciences Makhinov A.N.for about thirty years he has been studying the history of relief formation and transformation of the natural territories of the Far East. A well-known specialist in the field of geoecology, dynamics of channel and floodplain processes.

For his great contribution to the development of science and many years of fruitful work in 2013, he was awarded the medal of the Order of Merit to the Fatherland, II degree.

A.N. Makhinov is the author and co-author of over 350 scientific works, including 11 monographs. The results of his research are widely used in various research and production, design, educational and public organizations. Over the past 10 years, under his leadership, more than 30 important national economic studies of an applied nature have been carried out. Among them are works on assessing the impact of large cities on the water quality of the Amur River (2003), the ecological state of the Amur River in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Khabarovsk water hub in connection with a set of works to protect the left bank from erosion (2003-2004), assess and prevent the negative consequences of pollution Amur in an explosion at a chemical plant in the city of Jilin in China (2005-06), environmental engineering surveys along the ESPO pipeline (2008-09) and many others.

Expert on the problems of botanical geography, geobotany and floristry, doctor of biological sciences Schlotgauer S.D.,head of the Vegetation Ecology Laboratory of the IVEP FEB RAS, in 2011, by decree of the President of Russia, she was awarded the Order of Friendship for her great contribution to the development of science and many years of fruitful activity.

Her main scientific interests are related to the study of problems of botanical geography, geobotany and floristry. Explored the flora of the highlands of Priokhotye. S. D. Schlothauer discovered new plant species. In the mountains of Dzhugdzhur she found a wide group of stone-breakers. In August 2011, during an expedition to explore the protected zone of the Botchinsky nature reserve on the coast of the Tatar Strait, she for the first time revealed a unique boundary of the interpenetration of nemoral, boreal and Pacific floras. A new species of vascular plant “Pacific zopnik” was also discovered there.

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In 2014, these reputable scientists "For their active work for the benefit of the Khabarovsk regional branch of the All-Russian public organization" Russian Geographical Society "and in connection with the 120th anniversary of the founding of one of the oldest public organizations in the Far East" were awarded certificates of honor of the President of the Russian Geographical Society S.K. Shoigu.

Filonov Alexander Mikhailovich, retired colonel, scientific secretary of the Khabarovsk regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society