THE TREASURES OF PULKOVO OBSERVATORY Olga Tsiopa St.-Petersburg, Russia
Pulkovo Observatory was organized in 1839. It used to be called the astronomical capital of the world because of an exceptional precision of astrometrical observations. The official name now is the Main Astronomical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences (GAO RAN)
“Children” of Pulkovo Observatory Crimean Astrophysical Observatory Special Astrophysical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences (6 m telescope and RATAN-600) Expeditions: Ararat, Ordubad, The Pamirs (4300m ), Kislovodsk Solar Station, Nikolaev, Chile, Bolivia
PERESTROJKA has astronomical consequences. Only Kislovodsk station was saved. Dr.Guseva is restarting observations in Bolivia. Pulkovo observatory accepted scientists from the closed Institute of Theoretical Astronomy. Robbing of the museum, fire in the library.
Glass library contains more than 30 000 plates starting from 1893. 400 are more than 100 years old. Digital catalogue of frames ( coordinates of images) is available now. The digital copy of the whole Pulkovo plate collection is in preparation.