Rumiantsev Museum

a collection of books, manuscripts, coins, and ethnographic and other materials assembled by Count N. P. Rumiantsev and given to the state after his death in 1826. The collection was opened for viewing in St. Petersburg in 1831 and was moved in 1861 to Moscow, where it formed the nucleus of the newly created Moscow Public Museum and Rumiantsev Museum. In July 1862 a library was founded as part of the Rumiantsev Museum.

The Rumiantsev Museum was in the Pashkov House, which was built in the 1780’s by the architect V. I. Bazhenov and which is now the old building of the Lenin State Library of the USSR. The museum was one of the most popular cultural and educational establishments in Moscow. However, its subdivisions—particularly the library, picture gallery, and ethnographic museum—grew so large that by the early 20th century, the museum suffered from a lack of space. Over the period 1921–27, the museum’s collections, with the exception of the library and manuscript division, were transferred to other museums and picture galleries in Moscow. In 1925 the library was renamed the Lenin State Library of the USSR.