En
Ru
Establishment of the leading scientific and local history organization of pre-revolutionary Karelia “Society for the Study of Olonets Governorate”
The Society for the Study of Olonets Governorate was established in Petrozavodsk on April 18 (May 1), 1913 on the initiative of Vice Governor of Olonets Governorate, local historian and bibliographer Alexander Fyodorovich Shidlovsky (1863-1942). Subsequently, for geographical activity in Olonets and Arkhangelsk Governorates, the Russian Geographical Society awarded Alexander Shidlovsky a large silver medal named after Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky.
In his speech at the founding meeting of the Society, Alexander Fyodorovich Shidlovsky called on the local intelligentsia to comprehensively study the region – from the study of its underground riches to the study of folk life and folklore. The Charter was developed, which defined its purpose as follows: “To study the Olonets region in the broad sense of the word, mainly in historical, geographical, natural science, domestic, cultural and economic relations; to attract government and public attention to the needs and peculiarities of this governorate, as well as to promote the necessary improvements for it”.
At the first organizational meeting, 59 people expressed a desire to join the Society. A. F. Shidlovsky was elected Chairman, and S. A. Levitsky was elected Secretary. Members of the Board included I. I. Blagoveshchensky, N. K. Chukov, B. N. Mikhaylov, V. V. Ushakov. By the end of 1914, the Society consisted of more than 500 people, mainly employees of provincial and county institutions, teachers. The active participants were well-known scientists and local historians: K. A. Dokuchayev-Baskov, D. V. Ostrovsky, A. A. Bernatsky, V. I. Krylov, V. P. Megorsky, N. S. Shayzhin. Metropolitan scientists took part in the activities of the Society, which ensured a high scientific quality of materials. The honorary members were the major Russian scientists A. P. Karpinsky, F. N. Chernyshev, A. A. Inostrantsev, Y. V. Barsov, some ministers of the tsarist government.
The organization’s activities were carried out in several directions: conducting scientific research and local history expeditions, forming a museum and library of the Society, preparing bibliographic manuals on Olonia and the North as a whole, popularizing scientific knowledge, including through works published by the Society.
The organization’s funds consisted of subsidies from the government and zemstvos (up to 70%), membership fees, and income from publishing activities. The main results of the work were reflected in the journal News of the Society for the Study of Olonets Governorate, issued from 1913 to 1917. In just 5 years, 20 issues of the magazine were published. The articles featured in it testify to a serious approach to the study of the region and a wide coverage of issues. In particular, a great number of materials were devoted to the history and natural science research of Olonets Governorate. In the autumn of 1914, the Provincial Museum of Local History was handed over to the management of the Society.
The Society operated until April 1918. Its successor was the Society for the Study of Karelia, established on June 16, 1923. The library and museum of the Society for the Study of Olonets Governorate were placed at the disposal of the Provincial Commissariat for Public Education.
Lit.: Дианова К. А. К вопросу о создании и деятельности Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии // Учёные записки Петрозаводского государственного университета. Серия: Общественные и гуманитарные науки. 2012. № 1 (122). С. 23–25; Крылов В. В обществе изучения Карелии (1913–1918 гг.): (краткий исторический очерк) // Известия Общества изучения Карелии. 1924. № 1. С. 104–106; Кораблёв Н. А. Общество изучения Олонецкой губернии // Карелия : энциклопедия. В 3 т. Т. 2. К–П. Петрозаводск, 2009. С. 293; Открытие Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии: состав правления и список членов. Петрозаводск, 1913; Общество изучения Олонецкой губернии // Петрозаводск: 300 лет истории: документы и материалы. В 3 кн. Кн. 3. 1903–2003. Петрозаводск, 2003. С. 70–71; Общество изучения Олонецкой губернии, библиотека. // Национальная библиотека Республики Карелия. Режим доступа: http://monuments.library.karelia.ru/exlibris/vpath1190/; Петрозаводск: хроника трёх столетий, 1703–2003 / М. В. Пулькин [и др.] // Институт языка, литературы и истории Карельского научного центра РАН. Петрозаводск, 2002 (Из содерж.: [Общество изучения Олонецкой губернии]. С. 188–189); Шидловский А. Ф. Цель учреждения и ближайшие задачи Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Петрозаводск, 1913; Ягодкина В. А. Общество изучения Олонецкой губернии: к 90-летию со дня организации // Календарь памятных дат Карелии, 2003 год. Петрозаводск, 2002. С. 49–50.
Based on the Presidential Library's materials:
Известия Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Т. 1, № 1-4. Петрозаводск, 1913
Известия Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Т. 2, № 5/6-7/8. Петрозаводск, 1913
Известия Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Т. 3, № ½. Петрозаводск, 1914
Известия Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Т. 3, № 3. Петрозаводск, 1914
Известия Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Т. 3, № 4. Петрозаводск, 1914
Известия Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Т. 4, № 5. Петрозаводск, 1914
Известия Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Т. 4, № 6/7. Петрозаводск, 1914
Известия Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Т. 4, № 8. Петрозаводск, 1914
Известия Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Т. 5, № 1. Петрозаводск, 1915
Известия Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Т. 5, № 2/3. Петрозаводск, 1915
Известия Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Т. 5, № 4. Петрозаводск, 1915
Известия Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Т. 8, № 5/8. Петрозаводск, 1916
Известия Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Т. 9, № 1/3. Петрозаводск, 1917
Известия Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии. Т. 9, № 4/8. Петрозаводск, 1917
Цель учреждения и ближайшие задачи Общества изучения Олонецкой губернии : [Речь... в Общ. собр. 18 апр. с. г.] / А.Ф. Шидловский. Петрозаводск, 1913 (Available in the Electronic Reading Room)
Based on the article of the National Library of Republic of Karelia