Непростое объединение Ботанического сада и Ботанического музея в Ботанический институт

The institution currently known as the Komarov Botanical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences was formally established in 1931 as the Botanical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences by merging of the Botanical Garden and the Botanical Museum of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Both merged institutions had their own long history. The Botanical Garden was established in 1714 as the Apothecary (Physic) Garden, since 1823 the Imperial Botanical Garden, and since 1918 the Principal Botanical Garden. The Botanical Museum was established in 1824 by separating the botanical collections kept in the Academy of Sciences and the Kunstkammer. The article deals with the process of merging the two institutions, and several new sources are published for the first time. It is shown that the majority of staff, especially in the Botanical Museum was satisfied by the status quo and only some scientists supported full merging of the garden and the museum. However, exactly this variant was accomplished. Further events have shown that this decision was the right one in terms of the development of botany in the USSR.