Preparation course of Congress on the Siberia Research Institute organization (Oct. 1917 - Jan. 1919)

In the given article preparation course of Congress on the Siberia ResearchInstitute organization is considered on the basis of archive documents set into a scientific usage for the first time, Congressworks of the Siberia Research Institute organization and periodicals. The establishment of such an institution was topical for the scientificsociety of that time. The article represents preparation course of the Congress on the Siberia Research Institute organization, whichwas considered by contemporaries as a Siberian Academy of Science, once again stressing the significance of that institution for science,especially during such a hard period of Russian history as the Civil War. The idea of such an Institute first appeared during the FirstSiberian Meteorological Congress taken place in Irkutsk in 1917. Primarily the creation of a special Ministry was planned, but consideringdifficulties with political life of the country in that period of its history it became impossible. It was Siberia that became the centre tounite all the country, and it was hard to begin such consolidation without a full and serious study of it. The most outstanding public figuresof that time took part in preparation course of the Congress and then they became members of the Executive Bureau in Irkutsk andthe Organization Committee of the congress members in Tomsk. Different questions and problems stood before organizers and itsoperatively solving could be followed on the basis of the correspondence data between Tomsk and Irkutsk committees. Lists of membersof the Congress, program of their staying in Tomsk, topics of reports, placement questions were coordinated; also different eventsafter the end of the Congress were discussed. Such a great work connected with the preparation course of the Congress was done bythese groups, and due to this activity the Congress was financially patronized by the Council of Ministers. The Provisional Statute thendiscussed on the sectional assemblies was developed during the preparation course of the Congress. The purpose of activity of the Institute,its structure, management system of the Institute and its departments and branch offices were defined in that Statute. The Congresson the Siberia Research Institute organization took place in Tomsk on January 15-26, 1919 under the aegis of the Ministry of PublicEducation. Thoughts about an extremely unsatisfactory situation with science were repeatedly underlined. The future Siberia ResearchInstitute was aimed to correct it.

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