Russian State Library

The national library and depository of Russia, and one of the most extensive libraries in the world, known as the Lenin Library until 1992. When it was established in Moscow in 1917, confiscated private collections formed the bulk of its holdings. It now houses over 28 million books and periodicals.

The Russian State Library (Российская государственная библиотека in Russian) is the national library of Russia, located in Moscow.

The library was founded on July 1, 1862, as Moscow's first free public library named The Library of the Moscow Public Museum and Rumiantsev Museum, or The Rumiantsev Library. In 1925 – 1991 it was called V.I.Lenin State Library of the USSR and in 1992 it was renamed to its present name.

At the present behind the scenes of the Russian State Library is over 275KM of shelves, number of items reach 42 million, including over 17 million books and serial volumes, 13 million journals, 350 thousands music scores and sound records, 150 thousands maps and others.

In front of the main entrance of the library is a monument to Fyodor Dostoevsky.