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Pages of History
The Smolensk Regional Universal
Library named after A.T. Tvardovskiy (till August
1994 it was Lenin Regional Scientific Library) is the central library of the
region, conducting its activity in a new social and jurisdictional sphere. As a
centre of information and culture it gives its readers free access to millions
of documents. The
Smolensk Regional Universal Library
is one of the oldest libraries of Russia. It was founded in 1831 by Nickolay
Ivanovich Chmelnitzkiy, the governor of the city, who was the famous dramatist,
the translator of Moliere’s works, one of A.S. Pushkin’s friends, the great
patriot, an active participant of the Patriotic War of 1812.
On July.3, 1830 the instruction of
Minister of Internal Affairs “About an instituion’ in provinces” of
public libraries was published. With the purpose of creation of library in the
beginning of 1831 N.I.Chmelnitskiy dispatched letters to the famous writers,
including A.S.Pushkin, V.P.Zhukovskiy, N.I.Grech, N.I.Gnedich and others with
the request to direct their compositions to Smolensk Public Library. The
request didn’t remain without the answer. The fund of library was replenished
and due to donations of various societies and private persons. In the beginning
the library was located in the house occupied by the governor
N.I.Chmelnitskiy, supervision of it was charged to the official of office of the
governor, then it was transferred into a premise of the Manufactory exhibition.
The library repeatedly changed a site, its destiny was at times dramatic.
After the October revolution its
fund was filled up from the nationalized private collections, the establishments
of the city. In 1922 the fund numbered already 230 thousand copies of books,
number of readers- about six thousand, by 1940 there were already over 650
thousand copies of books, a number of readers was 230 thousand persons.
However on the eighth day after the
beginning of the Great Patriotic War the building of the library was destroyed
during the bombardment, many books were lost in a fire, the part was taken away
to Germany. The most valuable editions had been evacuated before the war to
Lenin Moscow State Library (nowadays the Russian State Library) there they are
and now.
After the liberation of Smolensk
region the library began to work in the building at the Cathedral court,its
Funds were replenished from created then the State Fund, and also from funds of
libraries of east areas of the country, where there was no occupation.
In 1944 the library returned into a
restored building, where it was before the war and where it is located to this
day. It is one of the most beautiful private residencies in the centre of
Smolensk (till October, 1917 – Merchant Assembly) in Bolshaya Sovetskaya
Street, the house 25/19. The area of the library repeatedly extended due to
adjoining buildings, now it is about 5 thousand sq. meters.
In pre-war 30th years at
the library the literary study which was frequently visited by poets
A.T.Tvardovsky, M.V.Isakovsky, N.I.Rylenkov worked. The readers of the library
were a sculptor S.T.Konyonkov, an actor A.Papanov, a writer A.Beliaev and
others.
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