ON THE ISSUE OF CULTURAL HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE VOLGA REGION IN THE 1920s: ULYANOVSK NEWSPAPERS ABOUT OPENING BOOKS PALACE NAMED AFTER V.I. LENIN AND ITS FIRST EVENTS
Authors: Mankov Andrei V. 
Published: November 2024

The extensive history of Russian libraries periodically attracts the attention of researchers in Russian culture. This provision is also relevant to the regional aspect of this scientific problem. The Middle Volga region is no exception to the rules, where the first libraries in educational institutions appeared at the very beginning of the XIX century, and commercial and public ones – during the reign of Nicholas I. January 2025 marks the 100th anniversary of the opening Ulyanovsk Books Palace, which gives the presented research an undoubted relevance. Moreover, the interest in this event is emphasized by assigning the Books Palace the name of the world proletariat leader and a native of Simbirsk Region, V.I. Lenin, as well as inviting the widow of V.I. Lenin – N.K. Krupskaya to its opening. As a result of the socio-political and ideological importance that the governorate authorities attached to him, Ulyanovsk newspapers wrote a lot about him at that time. How did contemporaries see the fact of opening the Books Palace in the provincial center? What were its features? What is known about the initial history of the institution?

The purpose of the work is to study the peculiarities in the process of appearance and opening of the Books Palace named after V.I. Lenin, as well as its first events held in early 1925.

Materials and methods. The author uses problem-analytical and chronological methods. The presented publication analyzes mainly Soviet newspapers published in Ulyanovsk in 1925.

Research results. The author points out that the opening of a new institution of Soviet culture, the Books Palace, on January 21, 1925, took place in a solemn atmosphere with the participation of responsible employees of the town of Ulyanovsk, as well as the famous bibliographer M.G. Medvedeva. The newly formed institution of Soviet culture, being the heir of Karamzin Public Library and Goncharovskaya public libraries, which had a rich long-term history, became not only one of the largest repositories of books and manuscripts in the Middle Volga region, but also rightfully turned out to be one of the most important educational and enlightenment centers of the region, as evidenced by early cultural and educational events, the first of which is considered to be a large-scale exhibition dedicated to the events of 1905.

Conclusions. The uprise of the Books Palace undoubtedly gave a powerful impetus to the spiritual and scientific development of the entire Middle Volga region in the second half of the 1920s, as well as to the process of preserving the cultural heritage of its peoples. For Ulyanovsk residents, not only the fact of the start of the new library became important, but also the grand opening of a large repository itself. This was a notable phenomenon in the cultural and socio-political life of the town of Ulyanovsk and the Middle Volga region in the 1920s. And, perhaps, it was one of the first events of beginning cultural revolution in Simbirsk-Ulyanovsk Volga region.