INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY RAS

The Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences is a modern research centre aiming to acquire new knowledge about ancient societies and cultures. Its profile is largely determined by academic traditions and the functional structure established many decades ago. The Institute is the successor to the oldest centre of archaeological research in Russia – the Imperial Archaeological Commission, founded in 1859 in St Petersburg to study and preserve the sites and monuments of the past.

In 1919, by the Decree of Sovnarkom (the Council of People's Commissars) the Archaeological Commission was reorganised into the Russian Academy of History of Material Culture (RAHMK). It became the leading research body in the field, aiming to provide "a comprehensive study of monuments of the past, arts, antiquities and material culture of the common people...; to work out scientific methods of their preservation; to launch research in theoretical archaeology and to conduct archaeological excavations ...” The Moscow Branch of the RAHMK was also established in 1919 and played the main role in the development of the Academy.

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