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About the Archives
Russian version
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About the Archives
Senate Square is one of the most beautiful and remarkable
places of St.Petersburg. The most attractive point here is the monument
to Peter the Great by Etienne Maurice Falconet, known all over the world
as the Bronze Horseman. The magnificent buildings of the former Senate
and Synod and the former residence of the count Lavalle serve as a beautiful
background to the monument, as it were. The residence of the Lavalle family
was built in the end of the 18th century by the outstanding architect
Thomas de Thomon, and the buildings for the Senate and Synod were erected
in the 1830s after the design by Carlo Rossi. Many tourists from all parts
of Russia and from abroad visit the square every day to admire the monument
and the beautiful buildings surrounding the square. But scarcely one of
them knows what priceless treasures are kept behind the walls of these
impressive buildings. Now these buildings house the Russian State Historical
Archives. In its funds there are more than 6.5 million files with documents
related to the political, economical and cultural life of Russia from
the end of the 18th up to the beginning of the 20th centuries. Among them
are materials connected with the activities of the State Council, Duma,
Council of Ministers, Committee of Ministers, Ruling Senate and Synod,
ministries, public organizations and philanthropic societies, as well
as private documents of statesmen, public figures, clergymen, men-of-letters,
architects, artists, composers, actors and etc. There are unique collection
of autographs of notable persons in the Archives.
The rarities kept in the Russian State Historical Archives
in St.Petersburg:
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State military banner. Alexander Fadeyev.
Watercolours on paper. 29.5 x 22.5 cm.
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Box containing the manifesto The Full State Coat-of-arms
of Russian Empire by Paul I. 1800.
Wood decorated with metal. 45.5 x 65.5 x 12 cm.
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Salutory address of the St.Petersburg Duma to the
Ruling Senate on the occasion ofits two-hundredth anniversary.
Binding of the leather decorated with enamel and silver. 58.5 x
42 cm.
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General view and the plan of the Siy Monastery in
Kholmogory District. 1797. From the Atlas of the Arkhangelsk
Region.
Fiodor Kisilov. Watercolours on paper. 96.5 x 61 cm.
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The 16th volume of the Code of the Coats-of-arms
of Russian Empire of the time of the ruling of Nicholas II.
Silk binding embroidered with silver threads, metal mounting with
enamelled plates. 44 x 33 x 14 cm.
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Detail of the score to the ballet Sleeping Beauty by Piotr Tchaikovsky. Autograph by the composer.
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Ceremonial uniform for the 1st rank clerks of the
State Council. Confirmed by Nocholas I in 1834.
Watercolours on paper. 30 x 40 cm.
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Certificate for the title of count given to Yegor
Kankrin, Minister of Finances (1774-1845), confirmed by Nicholas
I in 1829.
Binding of velvet embroidered with silver threads. 63 x 48 cm.
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