ABSTRACT
The peculiarity of the formation of Russian archaeology is the fact that before the beginning of the eighteenth century there was no antiquarianism in Russia, such as was important for Europe as a cultural phenomenon. This was partly due to the fact that Classical artifacts were not known and were not discovered on its territory until the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Interest in antiquities originally manifested itself in the collection of rarities and jewels in the princes’ and tsars’ treasure rooms, and in church vestries. The initial steps of Russian archaeology belong to the era of Peter the Great, though some mentions of archaeological sites can be found in earlier times. In 1714, the first Russian Museum – the Kunstkamera in St Petersburg – was founded on Peter’s orders and acquired a collection of artifacts from the burial mounds of southern Siberia, which he had received as a gift. In 1718 he issued the following decree:
if anyone finds in the soil or in the water any ancient things … also any ancient inscriptions on stones, iron or copper things, or any weapons, old and unusual at the present time, dishes and everything else that is old and unusual, this has to be brought and will be rewarded adequately.
