The Presidential Library participates in the "Open City" project

The Presidential Library is taking an active part in the cultural and educational project "Open City", within which the library with a tour is visited by residents and guests of St. Petersburg. The project is implemented with the support of the Committee for State Control, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments of St. Petersburg and the St. Petersburg Branch of the “All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments”.

Located in the historical center of St. Petersburg, in the building of the Holy Synod, built in the second quarter of the XIX century by the project of the outstanding architect Carlo Rossi, the Presidential Library was presented to the tourists as the largest information and cultural center of Russia.

During the tour the guests could get acquainted with the history and architectural features of the building. At one time, to build a modern high-tech complex of the Presidential Library, it was required to use the inner courtyard of the historic Synod building.

The guests learned details about the activities of the library. Combining historical traditions and the latest technologies, the Presidential Library today forms a nationwide electronic resource, where books and periodicals, archival historical documents, newsreels, scientific and educational films on the history of Russian statehood are collected digitally. To date, the library fund has more than 500 thousand electronic copies of unique materials and archival documents. The excursionists visited the electronic reading room, conference hall, multimedia and television complexes, visited modern premises created especially for public and state events.

In the Constitution hall the guests were able to get acquainted with the exposition devoted to the history of constitutional ideas in Russia since 1905 and, in particular, the adoption of the country's basic law - the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Thanks to modern multimedia equipment, tourists could virtually flip through the pages of a copy of the inauguration copy of the Constitution, presented by the President of Russia on the opening day of the library - May 27, 2009. 

Speaking about the activities of the Presidential Library, it should be noted that one of the priority areas of its work is the preservation of historical and cultural heritage. However, we are talking not only about the materials of the foundation, but also about the unique building in which the library is located. That is why the Presidential Library participates in the "Open City" project - it is a long-term program of free excursions for visitors and residents of the city to historical places of St. Petersburg with a visit to cultural heritage sites, which includes acquaintance with the history and architecture of St. Petersburg and the restored architectural masterpieces. Among the objects that are open within the framework of the project there are residential houses and manor complexes, monuments of civil and industrial architecture, religious architecture.

The Presidential Library has been participating in the project since September 2016. During this time, the library was visited by about 500 people. The next tour in the framework of the cultural and educational project "Open City" will be held on May 20, 2017.