Russian State Library

Pashkov House, old building of the Russian State Library. On the far right visible are the newer structures.

The library was founded on 1 July 1862, as Moscow's first free public library and as a part of the Moscow Public Museum and Rumyantsev Museum, or in short the Rumyantsev library.[14]

The Rumyantsev Museum part of the complex housed the historical collection of Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev, which had been given to the Russian people and transferred from St. Petersburg to Moscow.[15] Its donation covered above all books and manuscripts as well as an extensive numismatic and an ethnographic collection. These, as well as approximately 200 paintings and more than 20,000 prints, which had been selected from the collection of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg,[16] could be seen in the Pashkov House (a palace, established between 1784 and 1787, in the proximity of the Kremlin). Tsar Alexander II of Russia donated the painting The Appearance of Christ Before the People by A. A. Ivanov for the opening of the museum.[17]

The citizens of Moscow, deeply impressed by the count's altruistic donation, named the new museum after its founder and had the inscription "from count Rumyantsev for the good Enlightenment" carved above its entrance.[18][19] In the subsequent years, the collection of the museum grew by numerous further donations of objects and money, so that the museum soon housed a yet more important collection of Western European paintings, an extensive antique collection and a large collection of icons. Indeed, the collection grew so much that soon the premises of the Pashkov House became insufficient, and a second building was built beside the museum shortly after the turn of the 20th century to house the paintings in particular.

Main building of the library, in front is the Statue of Dostoevsky

After the October Revolution the contents again grew enormously, and again lack of space became an urgent problem. Acute financial problems also arose, for most of the money to finance the Museum flowed into the Pushkin Museum, which had only been finished a few years before and was assuming the Rumyantsev Museum's role. Therefore, it was decided in 1925 to dissolve the Rumyantsev Museum and to spread its collections over other museums and institutions in the country. Part of the collections, in particular the Western European art and antiques, were thus transferred to the Pushkin Museum. Pashkov House (at 3 Mokhovaya Street) was renamed the Old Building of the Russian State Library. The old state archive building on the corner of Mokhovaya and Vozdvizhenka Streets was razed and replaced by the new buildings. In 1925 the library was renamed the V. I. Lenin State Library of the USSR. It is nicknamed the "Leninka".[20]

A 1939 postage stamp marking the completion of the first part of the new library building;[21] it had a print run of 1600[22]

Design of the new buildings of the Lenin Library was to be decided through a competition announced in December 1927. The competition had an open component while other architects were invited through invitation.[23][24] While the first round was won by one team, another design by a team comprising Vladimir Shchuko and Vladimir Gelfreikh was chosen.[25][26] This particular design was further modified to a large degree.[27] Construction of the first stage was authorized in 1929 and commenced in 1930.[23][28] Famous sculptors involved included Matvey Manizer.[29] There are a number of statues on the roof.[30] The first stage was largely complete in 1941.[31] In the process, the building acquired the modernized neoclassicism exterior features of the Palace of Soviets (co-designed by Shchuko and Gelfreikh), departing from the stern modernism of the 1927-1928 drafts.[32][27] The last component of Shchuko's plan, a 250-seat reading hall, was opened in 1945; further additions continued until 1960.[33] During this period the library was identified as a "mass library".[34][35] The Lenin Library was a central library, a national repository, a research institution in areas connected to libraries, and a center undertaking compilation of bibliographies.[36] Its statues also designated it as an institution that "contributes to the development of communism in USSR".[36] Its daily attendance was an estimated 5000 to 6000.[37]

Reading room three, the largest.[12] At the far end, a monument to Lenin. Busts along the walls.

One of the smaller reading rooms

Copies of all printed items in the Soviet Union went to around ten institutions. Lenin Library received three copies, which the library could use for book exchange or distribution to other libraries. Lenin Library was one of two institutions that were permitted to take part in international book exchange until 1955.[38][35] International books coming into the library during this period numbered to over 40,000, mainly science related.[35] In the mid-1950s the library was conducting exchange with 60 countries.[39] The library also loaned and borrowed books from domestic and foreign libraries.[40]

Lenin Library, along with three other institutions, cooperated on a 1707-1957 catalog.[41][42] In 1961, the library had twenty-two reading rooms; in 1976 the 22 reading rooms had a daily attendance of up to 8000.[43][44] The Reference and Bibliography Department assisted readers in finding books.[45] The library also assisted other libraries in book selections. These recommendations could reach to over three hundred pages.[46] The library staff in 1961 consisted of 1750 librarians, 400 technical staff, and housekeeping and ancillary staff.[47]

The holdings of the library were cleaned twice a year and observed throughout the year. Books showing problems were sent to the Department of Preservation. This department attended to 380,000 pages in a year. Microfilm preservation was assisted by the Special Institute of Cinematography.[48] Until 1961 only Lenin Library was decently furnished to handle and copy adequate numbers of microfilm.[49] Eugene Power commented that the library has a, "microfilm laboratory with twelve cameras, six of them of hybrid design utilizing an Eastman Kodak Microfile head, mast and lens; a copyboard and lights based on German design; and a book cradle of Russian design and manufacture".[50]

In 1968 the building reached its capacity, and the library launched construction of a new depository in Khimki, earmarked for storing newspapers, scientific works and low-demand books from the main storage areas. The first stage of Khimki library was complete in 1975.[33] Between 1922 and 1991 at least one copy of every book published in the USSR was deposited with the library, a practice which continues in a similar method today, with the library designated by law as a legal deposit library.[51][52]

In 1992, the library was renamed the Russian State Library by president Boris Yeltsin.[53] It's legal mandate as a national library is under the federal law "On Librarianship/On Library Affairs" passed in 1994.[14][54][55] The national role of the library entails that it is a depository for state documents, for foreign documents, a library for the armed forces, and a hub of an inter-library system.[56][57] The Russian State Library, even before it officially became a national library, had a certain degree of cooperation with the earlier version of the National Library of Russia, the M.Y. Saltykov-Shchedrin State Public Library of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, functioning as a national library since 1795.[58] Once Russian State Library also became a national library, the two national libraries laid out a cooperation framework in 1996 with regard to functions such as storage of legal deposits and addressing duplication.[58]

Reading rooms of the Leninka were organized by topic and format. Readers were required to have a suitable educational background.[57] The elite as well as scholars used these.[57] Under the national project 'Culture', the Russian State Library provides procedural assistance to developing libraries across the country.[59][60] The library has also undertaken identification and documentation of "trophy" items in its holdings.[61] A renovation of Pashkov House was completed in 2007.[62][63] One of the main exhibition sites in recent times is the Ivanovo Hall.[64] A permanent exhibit exists in the form of a book museum.[65] The library holds events; for example in May 2019, Noize MC gave a lecture in the largest reading room and this was followed by other rap artists performing in front of the Marble Staircase at the entrance of the library.[3]