Museums of Branches and Sub-Branches of Imperial Russian Geographical Society in Siberia and Far East (Second Half of 19th — Early 20th Centuries)
https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2025-14-9-427-451
Abstract
This article examines the establishment and development of museums under the auspices of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (IRGS) in Siberia and the Far East. It explores the institutional preconditions and historical foundations for the creation of these museums, along with data reflecting the growth of their collections and their public reception. Special attention is given to the contributions of the Siberian (East Siberian) Branch of the IRGS in advancing museum development in the region. The primary methods of collection-building are identified, as well as the efforts of Society members to catalog and systematize museum holdings. The role of these museums in public education and knowledge dissemination is assessed. Notably, the Siberian Branch and its museum laid the groundwork for a broader network of museums in Omsk, Khabarovsk, Chita, Troitskosavsk-Kyakhta, Krasnoyarsk, and other Siberian and Far Eastern cities. The article pays particular attention to the logistical and financial challenges faced by these institutions. Findings suggest that IRGS branches and sub-branches had uneven income levels, which directly influenced their developmental trajectories. Despite budgetary constraints in some cases, affiliation with the IRGS provided structural support, facilitating the expansion of collections, improvements in cataloging practices, and increased public engagement.
About the Author
E. V. Igumnov
Saint-Petersburg State University of Veterinary Medicine
Россия
Россия
Evgeny V. Igumnov - PhD in History, Associate Professor, Department of History and Philosophy.
St. Petersburg
References
1. A brief overview of the history of the Altai Sub-Department of the Russian Geographical Society, its further life and significance. (1918). In: On the situation of museum business in the Altai Territory. Barnaul: Type. Alt. Co-op. Unions. 1—4. (In Russ.).
2. GAHK — The State Archive of the Khabarovsk Territory. F. I-2 (Amur department of the IRGO). Op. 1. D. 1. (In Russ.).
3. GAIO — The State Archive of the Irkutsk region. F. 293 (East Siberian Branch of the Russian Geographical Society). Op. 1. D. 141. (In Russ.).
4. GAKK — The State Archive of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. F. 161 (Krasnoyarsk City Council). Op. 1. 86. (In Russ.).
5. Golubev, I. K. (1894). Correspondence. Khabarovsk. Tobolsk provincial Gazette. The unofficial part, 41: 838—839. (In Russ.).
6. Handbook for a review of the activities of the West Siberian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society for 1877—1910. (1911). Omsk: Printing House of the Headquarters of the Omsk Military District. 123 p. (In Russ.).
7. IAOO — Historical Archive of the Omsk region. F. 86 (West Siberian Department of the Russian Geographical Society). Op. 1. D. 11. (In Russ.).
8. Journal of the General Meeting of the South-Western Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society on April 12, 1873. (1873). Notes of the South-Western Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, 1: 15—19. (In Russ.).
9. Journal of the IRGO Council meeting — April 29, 1875. (1875). Proceedings of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, XI: 127—133. (In Russ.).
10. Jubilee collection of the West Siberian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. (1902). Omsk: Type. Okr. Headquarters. 190 p. (In Russ.).
11. Kuznetsov, A. K. (1897). Speech delivered on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society at the solemn meeting of the Chita branch of the Amur Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, January 21, 1896. Notes of the Chita branch of the Amur Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, II: 120—158. (In Russ.).
12. Molleson, M. I. (1913). Russian ethnographic museums and collections. Troitskosavsko-Kyakhtinsky Museum. Living Antiquity, III—IV: 371—377. (In Russ.).
13. On the opening of the Troitskosavsko-Kyakhtinsky branch of the Amur Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. (1894). Irkutsk: Typolithography by K. I. Vitkovskaya. 28 p. (In Russ.).
14. Protocol of the Zabaikalsky Regional Statistical Committee № 3 on October 30, 1890. (1890). Zabaikalsky regional Gazette, 48: 8—9. (In Russ.).
15. Provisional charter of the Russian Geographical Society. (1845). St. Petersburg: Printing house of the Expedition for the procurement of government papers. 20 p. (In Russ.).
16. Report of the East Siberian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society for 1899. (1901). Irkutsk: Steam typolithography by P. I. Makushin. 15 p. (In Russ.).
17. Report of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society for 1850. (1851). St. Petersburg: Printing House of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 53 p. (In Russ.).
18. Report of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society for 1854. (1855). St. Petersburg: Printing House of Eduard Prats. 79 p. (In Russ.).
19. Report of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society for 1856. (1857). St. Petersburg: Printing house of Eduard Prats. 71 p. (In Russ.).
20. Report of the Russian Geographical Society for 1849. (1850). St. Petersburg: Printing House of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 64 p. (In Russ.).
21. Report of the West Siberian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society from July 1, 1886 to October 1, 1888. (1890). Omsk: Typogr. The region. Ed. 46 p. (In Russ.).
22. Report on the actions of the Siberian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society in 1863. (1864). In: Report of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society for 1863. St. Petersburg: V. Bezobrazov Printing House and Company. 1—65. (In Russ.).
23. Report on the activities of the Amur Department of the IRGO for 1894—1895. (1897). Khabarovsk: Typolithography of the Office of the Amur Governor-General. 31 p. (In Russ.).
24. Report on the activities of the East Siberian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society for 1891. With a brief outline of scientific enterprises in Eastern Siberia during the same period. (1892). Irkutsk: Printing house of K. I. Vitkovskaya. 68 p. (In Russ.).
25. Report on the status and actions of the Caucasian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society from 1859 to 1864. (1864). Tiflis: Printing House of the General Administration of the Governor of the Caucasus. 42 p. (In Russ.).
26. The Charter of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. (1850). St. Petersburg: Printing House of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 26 p. (In Russ.).
27. The decade of the Chita Branch (1894—1904). Speech read by the Governor of affairs D. M. Golovachev at the general meeting of the Branch members on October 31, 1904. (1905). Chita Branch of the Amur Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, V: 20 p. (In Russ.).
28. Vlad, N. (1908). Krasnoyarsk City Museum. Krasnoyarets, 68: P. 4. (In Russ.).
29. A brief history of the Amur Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society for 20 years (1893—1913). (1913). Khabarovsk: Printing House of the Office of the Amur Governor-General. 30 p. (In Russ.).
30. Abramova, Yu. A. (1999). Museum of the Society of Lovers of Altai Exploration (from the history of the AGCM 1891—1920). In: Local history notes, 3. Barnaul: Altai Publishing House. 23—31. ISBN 5-88449-042-9. (In Russ.).
31. Dikiy, A. (1961). The untold history of Ukraine-Rus. New York: Pravda about Russia Publishing House. 384 p. (In Russ.).
32. Gokov, O. A. (2024). Museum of the Caucasian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1852—1864). Oriental Archive, 2 (50): 17—24. DOI: 10.31696/2072-5795-2024-2-17-24. (In Russ.).
33. Good, P. P. (1926). Historical sketch of the Museum of the Russian Geographical Society (1854—1920). In: Seventy-five years of the East Siberian Department of the Russian Geographical Society (1851—1926). Irkutsk: The Power of Labor. 125—142. (In Russ.).
34. Igumnov, E. V. (2022). State Support for Activities of Siberian (East Siberian) Department of Imperial Russian Geographical Society in Second Half of 19th Century. Nauchnyi dialog, 11 (9): 322—338. https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2022-11-9-322-338. (In Russ.).
35. Jubilee Collection XXV: Museum of the Society for the Study of the Amur Region for the first 25 years of its existence. (1916). Vladivostok: Publishing House of the Research Institute. Cupid. Edges. 87 p. (In Russ.).
36. Kazarinov, P. K. (1926). Three quarters of a century. Siberian living antiquity, II (VI): 3—32. (In Russ.).
37. Khisamutdinov, A. A. (2001). Worthy of the whole enlightened world. Vladivostok: About the study. Cupid. Edges. 52 p. (In Russ.).
38. Kolesnik, L. M., Pushkina, L., Svinin, V. V. (2012). VSORGO and museum business in Irkutsk. Izvestiya Irkutsk State University. Series: History, 2—2: 44—56. (In Russ.).
39. Kozmin, N. N. (1905). A historical sketch of the activities of the East Siberian Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society for fifty years. Irkutsk: Steam typolithography by P. I. Makushin and V. M. Posokhin. 43 p. (In Russ.).
40. Levchenko, A. O. (2005). Local history and exhibition activities of the East Siberian Department of the Russian Geographical Society (1851—1931). PhD Diss. Irkutsk. 242 p. (In Russ.).
41. Martynova, L. S. (1998). The history of the acquisition of the Museum of local lore (a brief sketch). News of the Omsk State Museum of Local Lore, 6: 65—80. (In Russ.).
42. Mishakova, O. E. (2015). The specifics of the organization of museum practice in Western Transbaikalia in the late XIX — early XX century. Bulletin of Tomsk State University, 394: 130—134. DOI: 10.17223/15617793/394/22. (In Russ.).
43. Orlova, A. (1941). Kyakhta Museum of Local Lore. akad. Obrucheva (A brief outline of the museum’s activities over 50 years). In: 50 years of the Kyakhta Republican Museum of Local Lore. Academician V. A. Obrucheva. Moscow-Leningrad: Publishing House of the USSR Academy of Sciences. 9—19. (In Russ.).
44. Popova, E. E., Tsybiktarov, A. D. (2003). The history of the Kyakhta Museum of Local Lore. Academician V. A. Obruchev and his Natural Science Collection (1890—1990). Ulan-Ude: IPK VSGAKI. 320 p. (In Russ.).
45. Review of the activities of the Trans-Baikal department of the Russian Geographical Society and the A. K. Kuznetsov Regional Museum for thirty years. 1894—1924. (1924). Chita: State Printing House. 91 p. (In Russ.).
46. Semenov, V. F. (1927). An essay on the fifty-year activity of the West Siberian Department of the State Russian Geographical Society. Omsk: Publishing House.-Sib. Department of the State Russian Geographical Society. 146 p. (In Russ.).
47. Stanyukovich, T. V. (1978). Ethnographic science and museums (based on the materials of the ethnographic museums of the Academy of Sciences). Leningrad: Nauka, Leningrad Branch. 286 p. (In Russ.).
48. Talko-Gryntsevich, Yu. D., Molleson, M. I. (1904). Review of the activity of the Troitsk-Kavsko-Kyakhtinsky Department of the Amur Department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society (1894—1904). Proceedings of the TKO on the IRG, VII (2): 21—59. (In Russ.).
49. Truevtseva, O. N. (2016). The Imperial Russian Geographical Society as the founder of Siberian museums. Bulletin of KemGUKI, 35: 79—82. (In Russ.).
50. Tugarinov, A. Ya. (1915). Historical sketch of the Krasnoyarsk Museum since its foundation. In: The twenty-fifth anniversary of the Krasnoyarsk City Museum (1889—1914). Krasnoyarsk: Yenisei Provincial Printing House. 1—100. (In Russ.).
51. Tugutov, R. F. (1961). Kyakhta Museum of Local Lore. Academician V. A. Obrucheva. In: Proceedings of the Kyakhta Museum of Local Lore. Academician V. A. Obruchev and the Kyakhta Department of the Geographical Society of the USSR, 18. Ulan-Ude: Burmongiz. 5—18. (In Russ.).
52. Vakalova, N. V. (2007). The role of public and state organizations in preserving the collection of the Barnaul Mining Museum of the late XIX — early XX centuries. The world of science, culture, and education, 4 (7): 47—50. (In Russ.).
53. Vdovin, A. S., Gulyaeva, N. P., Makarov, N. P., Batashev, M. S., Vasiliev, A. D., Vydrin, E. V. (2001). Russian Geographical Society in Krasnoyarsk (1901—1937). Krasnoyarsk: RIO KSPU. 120 p. (In Russ.).
54. Vibe, P. P. (1997). The main stages of the history and development prospects of the Omsk State Museum of Local Lore. In: Museum and society on the threshold of the 21st century: Proceedings of a scientific conference dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the Omsk State Museum of Local Lore. Omsk: Omsk Museum of Local Lore, Siberian Branch of the Russian Institute of Cultural Studies. 2—8. (In Russ.).
55. Vostrikov, L. (1989). And to inform the region: From the history of the Amur (Khabarovsk) branch of the Geographical Society of the USSR. Khabarovsk: Khabarovsk Book Publishing House. 128 p. (In Russ.).
56. Yaroshevskaya, V. M. (1989). Museum of yesterday, today, tomorrow. In: The age of asceticism. Krasnoyarsk: Krasnoyar Publishing House. 3—15. (In Russ.).
57. Zakablukovskaya, N. N. (2004). Special museums of Eastern Transbaikalia in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries. In: Historical, cultural and natural heritage: problems of preservation, broadcasting and personnel training. Ulan-Ude: IPK VS-GAKI. 277—291. (In Russ.).
Review
For citations:
Igumnov E.V. Museums of Branches and Sub-Branches of Imperial Russian Geographical Society in Siberia and Far East (Second Half of 19th — Early 20th Centuries). Nauchnyi dialog. 2025;14(9):427-451. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.24224/2227-1295-2025-14-9-427-451
Views:
393
JATS XML
Email this article 