2018 calendars of the Presidential Library: at the heart of discoveries — knowledge

The Presidential Library is featuring on its website the own brand-named 2018-year calendars, designed shortly before the New Year’s. Their themes demonstrate a diversity of the activities of the Presidential Library as the largest outreach and educational center.

In a process of building op the Presidential Library fund, which currently numbers about 600,000 entries, much attention is paid to information related to the history of the development of scientific and technical thought and industry in Russia; a selection of materials about the Baron Stieglitz and the industrialist Putilov have already begun. Next in turn were the Demidovs and others, who described in the book of A. I. Yatsimirsky Beautiful minded Russians in biographies and images (1910). Paying tribute to the founding fathers of the scientific and production base of the Russian economy, the Presidential Library devoted its main calendar for 2018 to The Russian Inventors.

The presentation of this publishing project took place in December 2017. The full-fledged wall calendar of the Presidential Library focused on The Russian Inventors was presented at the event, which was held as part of the development of cooperation with the “Rossiyskaya Gazeta,” where the December issue of the monthly historical and popular science magazine “Rodina” was presented.

Known across the entire world Russians appeared on the pages of the new historical calendar as pioneers of technological progress, not only on the Russian, but also on the world scale. Among them are Ivan Kulibin, Alexander Mozhaisky, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Alexander Popov and others — those scientists without whose achievements it is impossible to imagine today’s life.

The portraits of Russian geniuses of technical thought are accompanied by stories about their achievements. For example, I. P. Kulibin, the author of 40 inventions, headed the mechanical workshop of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, which produced the telescopes, microscopes, watches, barometers, astrolabes, precise scales, acoustic and electrical devices; he also developed a project and model of a one-arch wooden bridge across the Neva with a span of 298 m. The inventor of the radio A. S. Popov demonstrated the first radio receiver in St. Petersburg on May 7, 1895, and in 1900 radio aired to the Hogland Island a message with an order to the icebreaker Ermak to go to help 27 fishermen, who stayed on the ice floe detached from the mainland. This was the first distress signal transmitted over the radio.

The calendar also includes images of patents received by Russian inventors in 1814—1917. Among them, for example, are the privileges for the aeronautical projectile of Alexander Mozhaisky, the electric lamp of the creator of the electric lighting system Pavel Yablochkov, and many others. Unique materials on the history of science and technology, the development of Russian scientific, technical and natural science thought in various historical stages of our country have replenished the electronic library repository through cooperation with the Federal Institute of Industrial Property. All these documents can be found on the Presidential Library website.

According to the famous Soviet scientist G. S. Altshuller, quoted in the calendar, “the progress of mankind depends on the concentration of talented people in each generation. The higher the percentage of creative individuals in the generation, the better and higher the society.” Examples of pioneers of technological progress can inspire current young scientists, university and school students. Therefore, the Presidential Library pays so much attention working with youth target audiences, which is reflected in its annual calendars.

One of them, entitled The Presidential Library — information environment of knowledge, presents a multimedia level equipped with the cutting edge technologies, and on the other — The Presidential Library in all regions of Russia — a photograph of the electronic reading room of the Presidential Library filled with excited school children behind computers. The same theme is in desktop flip-flop calendar-house named The Presidential Library — for kids. Photographs convey all the diversity of work with the younger generation: work on animation movies in multimedia studio for children, the participation of schoolchildren in the exhibition projects, sightseeing tours over the historical building of the Synod, the building of which currently accommodates the premises of the Presidential Library, and much more.

The Presidential Library successfully implements projects aimed at popularizing the achievements of Russian science. Among these are the outreach, scientific, practical and educational events that take place within the framework of the traditional annual Knowledge Forum, interactive Olympiad for schoolchildren “Russia in the electronic world,” video lectures of the “Knowledge of Russia” series, a participation in the “World of Knowledge” film festival, and much more. The historical calendar for 2018, released by the Presidential Library, successfully accomplishes that task.