BIN RAS

Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences is one of the oldest scientific institutions in Russia. It was founded in 1714 (according to other sources - at the end of 1713) by Emperor Peter The First as a Pharmaceutical Garden («Aptekarsky ogorod»). Initially, its goal was to grow medicinal plants for the needs of the army, but already in the first decades of his activity, scientific collections were laid and scientific work began.

In the 18th century, the Pharmaceutical Garden was also called the Medical Garden. At the end of the 18th century, it was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Medico-Surgical Academy (now the Kirov Military Medical Academy) and became its Botanical Garden. In 1823, at the suggestion of an outstanding statesman, Prince Kochubey, it was reorganized into the Imperial Botanical Garden, which began to develop rapidly and soon became one of the leading botanical institutions in Europe and the world. In 1913, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of its founding, the Imperial Botanical Garden was named after Peter the Great. After the October Revolution, in 1918, it became known as the Main Botanical Garden of the RSFSR,
from 1925 - the Main Botanical Garden of the USSR, and in 1930 it was transferred to the jurisdiction of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

Currently, the institute includes 20 scientific departments, teams of employees of which conduct research in almost all major areas of modern botany and mycology in the areas of 52 «Biological Diversity», 51 «Ecology of Organisms and Communities», 50 «Biology of Development and Evolution of Living Systems» and 53 «General Genetics» of the Basic Research Plan of the Russian Academy of Sciences Basic Research Programs of the State Academies of Sciences for 2013–2020.