Memorable Dates of Russia: Historical and documentary exhibition "Let It Be So...". Marking the 300th Anniversary of the Russian Empire" to open in St. Petersburg

On October 13, 2021, the Exhibition Hall of Federal Archives in St. Petersburg hosts the opening of the historical and documentary exhibition "Let It Be So...". Marking the 300th Anniversary of the Russian Empire".

Exhibition organizers are the Federal Archival Agency and the Russian State Historical Archives.

The Russian State Historical Archives in close cooperation with federal and regional archives and the State Museum Pavlovsk arranged a historical and documentary exhibition. It is devoted to the historical event when on October 22, 1721, the Governing Senate and the Most Holy Governing Synod presented Peter I the title "Father of the Fatherland, Emperor of All Russia". It happened after the victory in the Northern war. Russia was declared an empire. The reforms of Peter I changed the state and social life of the country, and laid solid foundations for the formation and development of the state. Military victories and the entering of new territories ensured the development of the Russian Empire as a Great European Power.

For the first time, the Exhibition Hall of the Federal State Archives in St. Petersburg presents more than 400 archival documents. There are drawings, graphic materials and photographs, covering the formation and development of the new Russian state from the reign of Peter I to the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II and the Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich in 1917.

The basis of the exhibition is the array of documents from the Russian State Historical Archives. The exposition highlights archival materials included in the State Register of Unique Documents of the Archival Fund of the Russian Federation: Manifesto of Emperor Paul I of December 16, 1800, "On the Full Coat of Arms of the All-Russian Empire"; the manifesto of Emperor Alexander I of September 8, 1802, "On the Establishment of Ministries"; the manifesto of Emperor Nicholas I of January 31, 1833, on the introduction of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire; the manifesto of Emperor Alexander II of February 19, 1861, on the abolition of serfdom and the Regulations on the Peasants Liberated from Serfdom, with the Emperor's resolution: "Let it be so..."; the manifesto of Emperor Nicholas II of July 20, 1914, on the beginning of the war with Germany. The exposition also comprises the genealogy of the Houses of Ruriks and Romanovs; the "Civil Alphabet" edited by Emperor Peter I on January 29, 1710; the decree of Emperor Peter I on the transfer of power to the Senate when the tsar is absent in the capital; the senators' oath to the state and the decree on the establishment of the Senate; "General Rules of All Collegiums" of 1720; Regulations of the Spiritual College with Supplements (a manuscript with comments and records by Peter I).

The exhibition will run from October 13 to December 10, 2021.