Maintaining Maritime History since 1799 (to the Anniversary of the Central Naval Library)

The article describes the history of the Naval Library beginning with the Ordinance of Emperor Paul I of 25 November, 1799 till the present day. The article contains the story of Library Directors - the outstanding people of their time, employees, saving the library during the siege of Leningrad, as well as gives an outlook for the near future. The first part of the article describes the difficulties the new library had to overcome in the beginning of its glorious historical path. The second part covers the activities of the great Directors - seafarers, such as I. Kruzenshtern, F. Wrangell - Admirals, toured round the world, and many others, successfully managed the library in the nineteenth century. The third part focuses on the difficulties that befell the library in the twentieth century: Revolution, the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War. We are still grateful to E. Kazais, A. Maimistov, B. Nikolsky for their hard work, that allowed to save the collections. The final part of the article gives an overview on the current state of library and the prospects for the near future.

The Admiralty Board, Xavier de Maistre, Hydrographer, Admiral, Languages, Seafarers, Pilot Chart, Astronomer, Librarian

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