28.07.2021Venice Then and Now. 1600th Anniversary of the CityThis exhibition from our rich Map Collection marks the anniversary of Venice's founding in 421. It traces the sixteen-hundred-year history of the city through materials of the 16th-21st centuries. On display are beautifully decorated ancient maps and practical guide books with modern tourist maps. You can enjoy the views of the floating city that was built in a lagoon of water on islands separated by canals, but connected by bridges.
02.07.2021Flowers Personified and Voyage to South AmericaOur book shop offers new postcards and posters featuring illustrations from Grandville's Les Fleurs Animées (The Flowers Personified) (1847) and from Voyage de Humboldt et Bonpland. Sixime partie, Botanique. Mimoses et autres plantes Legumineuses (1819).
01.06.2021Virtual Wander through Ancient CitiesThe National Library of Russia invites you to explore a treasure of our Map Collection, the first city atlas Civitates orbis terrarum. The online exhibition takes you to a selection of cities in Renaissance Europe, Asia, Africa and South America for a virtual wander!
14.05.2021Photo Trip around the Russian EmpirePhotographs began to come into the Imperial Public Library (now the National Library of Russia) in the mid-1850s.The works by Russian photographers make up an extensive photo gallery documenting the vast Russian Empire. Photographs depict forests, rivers, mountains and other landscapes, the local people and architecture, as well as scenes from the life in villages and cities.
30.04.2021Imperial Russian Newspapers CollectionThe National Library of Russia presents the collection of digitized historic newspapers spanning the period from 1728 to 1917.
12.04.2021Sixty Years Since the First Human Space FlightThe National Library of Russia is happy to present the exhibition "Let's go!": Space for Adults and Children, celebrating sixty years since historic Gagarin's space flight. The exhibition tells about the aerospace industry, about the launch of the first artificial Earth satellite and the first space flights, about such iconic figures in space history as Yuri Gagarin, Sergey Korolev, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Alexei Leonov.
05.04.2021Golden Age of Art Bookplates. Online ExhibitionA golden age of art bookplates is associated with members of the World of Art group. The most prominent names include Boris Kustodiev, Konstantin Somov, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Ivan Bilibin, Yevgeny Lanceray, Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Alexandre Benois, Leon Bakst. Free-form bookplates of these famous artists rank among the greatest achievements of graphics. View the online exhibition drawn from our Prints Collection.
23.03.2021St Petersburg Academy of Arts. Online ExhibitionA grand building of the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg is an outstanding masterpiece of Classicism, created in 1764-1788. The granite quay, in front of the Academy, is decorated with two ancient sphinxes that were brought from Egypt to Russia. See early postcards with the views of the Academy, its interiors and artworks from the Museum of Academy.
15.02.2021207th anniversary of the Opening of the Imperial Public LibrarySee what our Library looked like in the 19th century. Compare historical pictures and descriptions of the reading rooms with present-day photos. You can also find lists of our popular online resourses.
12.02.2021ExhibitionThe National Library of Russia houses the exhibition I am/ We are Dostoevsky marking the 200th anniversary of the writer's birth. Visitors will learn about the Russian classic's greatest novels: Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons, The Teenager and The Brothers Karamazov, The Gambler...
08.12.2020Exhibition of Railroad MapsThe National Library of Russia presents an exhibition that showcases railway maps and atlases as well as postcards with views of Russian towns and cities from our collections.
12.11.2020Exhibition Marking the 200th Anniversary of the Discovery of AntarcticaThe National Library of Russia is pleased to announce the exhibition dedicated to the first Russian circumnavigation of the Earth.
10.11.2020Exhibition Showcasing Old Russian CitiesSome of Russia’s fascinating historic, cultural and natural sites are on display at the New Building of the National Library of Russia. The exposition features books from our collections, telling about the most historic Russian places of outstanding cultural or natural importance, new directions and types of tourism.
05.11.2020Night of the Arts in the National Library of RussiaOn 3 November, the National Library of Russia hosted the online concert as a part of an annual event "Night of the Arts".
03.11.2020Change of Operating Hours AnnouncementDear readers, in view of the National Unity Day public holiday, our operating hours will be changed. 3 November: The library is open from 9:00 to 16:00. Last admission is half an hour before closing. 4 November: The library is closed.
30.10.2020The conference “Voltairean Readings 2020: How to study the Enlightenment today”The Centre for Study of the Enlightenment “Voltaire Library” presents the video conference “Voltairean Readings 2020: How to study the Enlightenment today”.
23.10.2020World Premiere of Romances by the Duke of Oldenburg at the Hermitage MuseumThe romances by Duke Peter of Oldenburg premiered on the St. Petersburg Palaces Music Festival YouTube channel at 19:00 on October 26. The evening's programme included also songs by the greatest masters of the genre Peter Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninov. The online concert was hosted by the Hermitage Museum.
22.09.2020Manuscripts Room Temporary ClosedPlease note: from September 22 to October 5, the Manuscripts Reading Room is closed to readers.
07.09.2020National Library of Russia is openThe National Library of Russia is open, but appointments are required.