A remote access center to the Presidential Library’s collections opened at the Headquarters of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member States

On October 3, 2023, within the framework of the International Conference of Librarians of the CIS Countries “Cultural Diversity of the Commonwealth: Library Initiatives”, which was held in the Presidential Library, a remote access center to library resources was opened in the Tauride Palace, at the Headquarters of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member States (IPA CIS).

“It is symbolic that the opening of the Presidential Library’s remote access center at the headquarters of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States is taking place precisely within the framework of the International Conference of Librarians of the CIS Countries”, - emphasized Dmitry Kobitsky, Secretary General of the IPA CIS Council. “The appearance of the center in the Tauride Palace will allow parliamentarians of the Commonwealth countries, experts and Assembly staff to get access to the Presidential Library’s collections, as well as use the library’s capabilities when holding various events”.

According to Director General of the Presidential Library Yuri Nosov, interaction between the Presidential Library and the Interparliamentary Assembly of the CIS Member States is actively developing. Within the framework of the agreement, which was signed in February 2023, cooperation is carried out in the scientific, cultural, educational and expert legal fields, and the work is being carried out to preserve the cultural heritage of the Commonwealth countries. Digital copies of model laws and other documents adopted by the CIS IPA are also being transferred to the library’s collections to ensure their eternal storage and access to a wide range of readers.

The Presidential Library's collections, which numbers more than one million depository items, digitally presents books and periodicals, newsreels, photographs, scientific and educational films, abstracts of dissertations, archival documents and materials spotlighting the history of the development of Russian regions, economic and diplomatic relations between Russia and other countries in different historical periods, as well as other materials about the centuries-old history of Russian statehood, the theory and practice of law, the Russian language as the state language of the Russian Federation.

The Presidential Library’s portal in the Russia and Countries of the World section features digital collections dedicated to various countries, including the CIS member states. The collections contain studies, essays, archival documents and other materials that introduce the geography, economics, social and cultural development of the territories, and also tell about the history of relations with Russia.

Remote access points to the national electronic repository have been opened in cultural and educational institutions in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Tajikistan. In total, there are more than 1,500 remote access centers to the resources of the Presidential Library in Russia and abroad.

In 2023, St. Petersburg was declared the cultural capital of the CIS. The Presidential Library joins the implementation of the action plan “St. Petersburg – the Cultural Capital of the Commonwealth”.