Rumiantsev’s Arc – Library of a Nation
If the book lies at the heart of Russian culture, then the most vital, life-preserving institution in Russian culture is the library. This issue of ROSSICA focuses on the remarkable history and collections of Russia’s largest library: originally called the Rumiantsev Museum, later the Lenin Library (Leninka) it is now the Russian State Library.
Vadim Churbanov traces the history of the Library from Alexander Rumiantsev, a nobleman at Catherine the Great’s court who founded the collection in order ‘to bring the dreams and achievements of the past generations to life for their progeny’ (Rumiantsev’s Arc. Library of a Nation). Svetlana Semenova considers the life of the legendary philosopher, mystic and librarian Nikolai Fedorov, whose writings found great influence amongst writers such as Fedor Dostoevsky, Boris Pasternak, Vladimir Mayakovsky and Pavel Filonof. Today only the Library of Congress can compete with the scale of Russia’s largest library – the finest achievement of Russian Constructivist architecture (The Leninka is always with us by Olga Kabanova and Alexei Tarkhanov).
