The working group was set up by presidential executive order to coordinate the work of the relevant federal agencies, research and public organisations and other organisations and groups to preserve historic heritage, and facilitate the study and spread of knowledge about the history of the Russian state in the 13th-17th centuries, based on Russian Federation archives.
The working group’s members include representatives of the Russian Academy of Sciences, commercial companies, non-profit organisations, and the heads of state agencies.
In his opening remarks, Mr Magomedov said that at this moment, with Russia in a difficult geopolitical situation, the country’s past is no less important a resource than its natural riches and industrial capability. Russia’s history, along with other factors, can help to preserve the civil and political unity of the country’s multi-ethnic people.
Head of the Federal Archive Agency Andrei Artizov noted the thorough and painstaking work the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts has done to preserve and develop the archival base relating to the early period in Russia’s statehood, and proposed that the Russian Academy of Sciences organise a conference bringing together leading specialists in state document archives.