The city of St. Petersburg, was founded in 1703 by Tsar Peter the Great. St. Petersburg served as the imperial federal capital of Russia from 1713 – 1728 & 1732-1918, until the Russian Revolution took place. Out of this marvelous city came the oldest existing learned society in Russia.
On this day August 6th, in 1845, the Imperial Russian Geographical Society is founded in St. Petersburg. After the Communist Revolution the word Imperial was removed , and was the organization renamed the Russian Geographical Society. At the same time as it was founded, the society also opened a geographical archive, which it has since this day been continuously building. The first manuscripts and documents placed in the archive were attained via donation.
The society is divided into four sections: Department of Physical Geography, Department of Mathematical Geography, Department of Ethnography, and the Department of Statistics. Over its 150 year existence, the society has unified scientists, politicians, and enhanced education. Currently the society is an advocate for preservation, nature conservations, studying geography, and maintaining all forms of geographic data about Russia.