Russian Geographical Society

Founded in 1845, the Russian Geographical Society (RGS) is the oldest geographical society in Russia. Headquartered in St. Petersburg, the society has gone through a series of name changes in its history, reflective of changes in Russian/Soviet history. It was known as the Russian Geographical Society from its founding in 1845 until 1849, again from 1917 to 1925, and from 1993 up to the present. It has also been known at various times as the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, the Russian State Geographical Society, the RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic) State Geographical Society, the All-Union Geographical Society, and the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) Geographic Society.

The RGS was founded in the same era as the other great national geographical societies (such as those begun in London, Paris, Berlin, and New York). The organization's charter outlined its mission: “to gather, process, and spread in Russia geographical, ethnographic, and statistical information in general and concerning Russia in particular, and to disseminate trustworthy information about Russia in other countries.” In the 19th century, the society's main mission was to fund and sponsor expeditions “exploring” lands controlled by Russia, with an emphasis on the Asiatic portions of the Russian Empire to the east (especially Eastern Siberia and Central Asia). This eastward exploration was an integral component of the rise of Russian nationalism, with this eastward focus and attention by Russian nationalists serving as a counterweight to their growing negative views toward Western Europe.

As with many other national geographic societies, the Russian Geographical Society's emphasis today has shifted from exploration to more academic and applied pursuits. Today, the RGS is one of nearly 30 scientific organizations associated with the Russian Academy of Sciences (the RGS has had formal ties with the academy since 1938). Research interests of RGS members today span the breadth of human, physical, and regional geography and geographic techniques, with an emphasis on studying the challenges facing modern Russia from Kaliningrad to the Russian Far East. The organization's 13th Congress, held in August 2005, was attended by approximately 400 members.