Under the short reign of Peter 11. the salaries of the members were withdrawn, and the academy was alto gether neglected by the court. It was again patronized by the empress Anne, and flourished for some time under the direction of Baron Korf ; but, upon his death, towards the end of Anne's reign, an ignorant person was appoint ed president, and many of the most able members quit ted the kingdom. It again revived upon the accession of Elizabeth ; the original plan was enlarged ; an aca demy of arts was added in 1758, but again separated from it in 1764. Men of learning were a second time encou raged to settle at Petersburgh ; and the annual fund was increased to 10,6591.
Catharine 11. took the academy more immediately un der her protection ; corrected many of its abuses, and in fused new vigour into its proceedings. To obtain infor mation respecting the nature and state of her vast em pire, she encouraged men of talents to visit the different provinces ; for which purpose she granted a largess of 2000/. to be renowed as occasion might require. These travellers were instructed by the academy to make in quiries concerning the different sorts of soil and water ; the best method of cultivating barren and desert spots ; the local disorders incident to men and animals, and the best means of relieving them ; the breeding of cattle, and especially of sheep ; the rearing of bees and silk worms ; the proper places for fishing and hunting ; the various minerals and plants ; and the different arts and trades. They were also enjoined to determine, with ac curacy, the latitude and longitude of the chief towns ; to make astronomical, geographical, and meteorological observations ; to trace the course of rivers ; to take the most exact charts ; and to observe the manners and customs of the different nations, their language, antiqui ties, traditions, history, religion, dress ; and, in short, to obtain every information which might tend to illustrate the real state of the Russian dominions. The accounts of these expeditions, undertaken by Pallas, Gmelin, Stol berg, Guldenstaedt, and other ingenious men, have thrown much light upon the state of that extensive em pire. The academy is divided into three classes. . The first, comprehending astronomy and geography ; the second, physics and mathematics; and the third, me chanics.
The academy has an excellent library, consisting of 36,000 curious books and manuscripts, and an extensive museum, in which a vast collection of specimens, illus trative of natural history, are deposited ; an observatory, &c. It has for its motto, Pau/atim,
The Transactions of this academy were first pub lished in 1728, under the title of Commentarii Acad. Scientiarum Imperious Peiropolitanx, ad an. 1726. This series was continued till 1746, when, on account of some new regulations, the title was changed to Novi Com mentarii;&c. This last series went on till 1783, when it was again changed to that of Nova Acta, &c. This new series differed from the former, in having a history of the proceedings of the academy, and also an abstract of its memoirs, prefixed to each volume. The com mentaries were contained in 14 volumes. About 30 vo lumes of the new commentaries were published in La tin. During this series, the labours of the academi cians were considerably interrupted, on account of the misconduct of some of the directors. In 1783, however, by the appointment of a new director, the dissensions subsided, and new ardour was given to its proceedings. The Transactions of the academy abound with ingenious and learned disquisitions upon various branches of know ledge, which show the rapid progress in science which the Russians have made during the last century. The princess Dashkoff is at present the directress of this academy.
The Academy of Arts, was established at Peters burgh by the empress Elizabeth, at the suggestion of count Shuvalof, with a fund of 40001. per annum for its support. The number of scholars was limited to 40. It was first annexed to the Academy of Sciences, and after wards formed into a separate institution, by the empress Catharine. and princess augmented the annual fund to 12,0001. and the number of scholars to 300. She also constructed a large circular building for the accommo dation of the academy. The scholars are admitted at the age of six, and continue till they arrive at eighteen. They are supported at the expense of the crown, and are taught reading, writing, drawing, arithmetic, and the French and German languages. Prizes are distri buted annually ; and, from those who have obtained four, twelve are selected, who are sent abroad at the ex pense of the empress ; and, when they settle in any town, they receive an annual salary of 60/. which is con tinued for four years.