Ancient Literature Amateur Society

Ancient Literature Amateur Society arose in the era of the Great Reforms of Alexander II on the
initiative of the well-known historian, Prince Paul Petrovich Viazemsky, and the Moscow Marshal
of Nobility of the province, Count Sergey Dmitrievich Sheremetev. ALAS Charter was approved
by the Ministry of Peoples Education on May 17, 1877, on the basis of provisions approved by
the Committee of Ministers on May 6, 1877. The first fundamental paragraph of the Charter was
as follows: ALAS aimed to publish the Slavic-Russian manuscripts remarkable in the literary,
scientific, artistic or of everyday life, and to reprint the rare books without correction.

ALAS funded over 200 facsimile editions of manuscripts and fragments thereof, establishment of
a unique library, the museum and the collection (now housed in the Department of Manuscripts of
the National Library), organization of archaeographic expeditions, subsidizing of research
projects. The Society engaged in independent researches, the results of which were considered at
the meetings, the report, massages, lecturing were included as well. ALAS lived through the
October Revolution, and ceased to exist in 1948.

Resumption of the ALAS was held at base of the Russian State Library, in the Pashkov House.
The founders of Restored ALAS were Anatoly Borisovich Yanovsky, Viktor Fedorovich
Molchanov, Yan Valentinovich Novikov, Konstantin Anatolievich Babkin, German Lvovich
Sterligov, Boris Alexandrovich Ugrinovich. The main trustee of the Society became Nikolai
Tokarev. German Sterligov was elected as Chairman of the Board. Over the last five years, the
Society has published and charitably distributed a number of facsimile ancient chronicles and
books; the total edition is over 100 000 books, including 37 Volums of the Illustrated Chronicle of
the 16th century.

Modern generations need true landmarks and road map - and this goal is served by ancient
manuscripts issued by the Society. After all, without knowledge of the past it is impossible even
to understand what is happening today, and even more, to do the right steps for the future.
Moreover, without proper confession of the Christian faith, without reading and knowledge of
untainted Holy Scriptures, in principle, personal salvation is impossible.

What was managed to be done for these 7 years can not be explained by the efforts of the Society.
The fact that the unique folios nearly 450 years after were available for reissue; the fact that
edition, publishing and distribution of the books as a gift were supported by extremely generous
and far-sighted man; the fact that we did not meet any obstacles from the authorities (even though
these books destroys many of the established myths of official history); the fact that these
masterpieces have already been sent to the largest universities and libraries of the world; and the
fact that tens of thousands of people read them in order to become well-educated people of our
time - the intellectual elite; the fact that all over the country and in some foreign countries there
are a like-minded troops, distributing books, become true, without exaggeration, educators in their
towns: all these facts can be regarded only as a miracle and God's mercy.