) , native_name = , native_name_lang = , logo = , logo_upright = , logo_alt = , logo_caption = , image = Fersman Mineralogical Museum.JPG , image_upright = , alt = , caption = Current headquarters of the Fersman Mineralogical Museum in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, map_type = Russia Moscow , map_relief = , map_size = , map_caption = , coordinates = , former_name = , established = 1716 , dissolved = , location = Moscow,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. , type = , accreditation = , key_holdings = , collections = Systematic collection,Crystal collection,Locality collections,Pseudomorph collection and Gems and stone art collection , collection_size = more than 135,000 items , visitors = , founder = , executive_director = , leader_type = , leader = , director = , president = , ceo = , chairperson = , curator = , architect = , historian = , owner = , publictransit = , car_park = , parking = , network = , website = , embedded = Fersman Mineralogical Museum (russian: Минералогический музей им. А. Е. Ферсмана) is one of the largest mineral museums of the world, located in

. Its collections include more than 135,000 items. Among them natural

crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macro ...

geode A geode (; ) is a geological secondary formation within sedimentary and volcanic rocks. Geodes are hollow, vaguely spherical rocks, in which masses of mineral matter (which may include crystals) are secluded. The crystals are formed by the fill ...

s, druses and other kinds of mineral treasures. The museum was named after

Alexander Fersman Alexander Evgenyevich Fersman (; 8 November 1883 – 20 May 1945) was a prominent Soviet Russian geochemist and mineralogist, and a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (1919–1945). Early life and education Fersman was born in St. Peter ...

History

Early history

The museum was founded in 1716 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

as a mineral cabinet of

Kunstkamera The Kunstkamera (russian: Кунсткамера) or Kunstkammer (German for "Culture Room" (literally) or "Art Chamber", typically used for a " cabinet of curiosities") is a public museum located on the Universitetskaya Embankment in Saint Pet ...

. On 5 December 1747 a great fire destroyed virtually the whole collection. Only the most valuable items were saved, including the "Silver Horn". In 1836 the Kunstkamera was divided into 7 separate museums, including Mineralogical museum which was moved to the new building. In 1898 the museum was significantly expanded and renamed the Geological museum.

In Moscow

Museum was moved from Petersburg to

in 1934 together with the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across ...

. Thirty railway carriages were required to move the museum's collection of more than 60,000 specimens.

Collections

All museum acquisitions since 1716 were divided at the beginning of 20th century by the academician

Vladimir Vernadsky Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (russian: link=no, Влади́мир Ива́нович Верна́дский) or Volodymyr Ivanovych Vernadsky ( uk, Володи́мир Іва́нович Верна́дський; – 6 January 1945) was ...

to 5 main collections: * Systematic collection consists of more than 90000 items representing about 2400 mineral species (from 4000 species known in nature). * Crystal collection includes more than 4800 crystals of minerals representing all

crystal system In crystallography, a crystal system is a set of point groups (a group of geometric symmetries with at least one fixed point). A lattice system is a set of Bravais lattices. Space groups are classified into crystal systems according to their poin ...

s and most of

space group In mathematics, physics and chemistry, a space group is the symmetry group of an object in space, usually in three dimensions. The elements of a space group (its symmetry operations) are the rigid transformations of an object that leave it uncha ...

s. * Locality collections included more than 31000 specimens representing genetic features, mineral association and ore types. *

Pseudomorph In mineralogy, a pseudomorph is a mineral or mineral compound that appears in an atypical form (crystal system), resulting from a substitution process in which the appearance and dimensions remain constant, but the original mineral is replaced b ...

collection includes about 2200 mineral specimens, representing different kinds pseudomorphs and also different features of mineral growing and transformations in various conditions. * Gems and stone art collection includes among 8000 rough and faceted gemstones, items made of stones.

Directors

* 1835–1845 Grigori Gelmersen * 1845–1857 Konstantin Grevingk * 1857–1866 Adolf Gebel * 1866–1873 Nikolai Koksharov * 1873–1900 Fyodor Shmidt * 1900–1906

Feodosy Chernyshov Feodosy Nikolayevich Chernyshov or Feodosii Nikolaevich Chernyshev (russian: Феодо́сий Никола́евич Чернышёв; – ) was a geologist and a paleontologist. He was among the first to produce high resolution geological maps ...

* 1906–1919

* 1919–1945

** 1930–1945 Vladimir Kryzhanovsky (executive director) * 1945–1945 Vladimir Kryzhanovsky * 1947–1953 Dmitry S. Belyankin * 1953–1976 Georgi Barsanov * 1976–1980 Yuri Orlov * 1980–1982 Vladimir Sobolev * 1983–1995 Aleksandr Godovikov * 1995–2010 Margarita Novgorodova *2011–2015 Viktor Garanin *2016–present Pavel Plechov

References

External links

Photo (1024x768)
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Article in the GeoWikipedia
{{authority control Mineralogy museums Geology museums in Russia Natural history museums in Russia Museums in Moscow 1716 establishments in Russia