ANNOTATION: The Russian State Library in Moscow serves as the national library as well as a public, with the largest collection in the country (about 45 million items). It should not be confused with Russian National Library in St. Petersburg, which is one of the oldest public libraries in eastern Europe; it holds over 34 million volumes. There are over 50,000 public libraries throughout the country. Some of the larger collections include the Gorky Moscow Institute of Literature library in Moscow (13.2 million volumes), the State University of Technology library in St. Petersburg (2.9 million volumes), the Bauman Moscow State Engineering University library (three million volumes), the Moscow M. V. Lomonosov State University (7.27 million volumes), the State University at Petersburg (6.4 million volumes), and dozens of other massive collections throughout the country. The Russian Library Association was established in 1994...

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ANNOTATION: Major building began in the Moscow Kremlin only after the wooden fortifications were replaced by stone walls in the 1360's. The present towers were added during the late fifteenth century by Italian architects, although the preserved tower roofs date only from the seventeenth century...

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ANNOTATION: The arts in Russia date back to the earliest days of the country. But Russian artists did not produce internationally recognized works in many fields until the early 1800's. Throughout much of the 1800's and the early 1900's, Russia became an international leader in classical music, ballet, drama, and literature. Several Russian painters and sculptors also gained worldwide fame...

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