November 21 – 330 years since the birth of Voltaire (1694-1778), French writer, philosopher, historian. Creative heritage of Voltaire (birth name – François-Marie Arouet) is extremely diverse. The writer paid tribute to all artistic trends of the era – from classicism to sentimentalism and all genres: tragedy, epic works, historical chronicle, tetrastich, heroic poem, philosophical essay. He was a distinguished scientist that created a kind of philosophical manifestos of his time: ‘Philosophical Letters’, ‘Treatise on Tolerance’, ‘Dictionary of Philosophy’. A great place in Voltaire's work is occupied by his historical works: ‘History of Charles XII’, ‘Century of Louis XIV’, ‘Experience on the morals and spirit of the peoples’. Voltaire is a recognised classic of dramaturgy: the tragedies ‘Oedipus’, ‘Brutus’, ‘Zaira’, ‘Mohammed’. The best known part of his legacy today is his philosophical novels ‘Zadig, or Fate’, ‘Candide, or Optimism’, and ‘The Simple-Minded’.

Exactly 245 years ago, Catherine II became the owner of the library of the great Voltaire. The relationship between the most radical Jacobin of Europe and the sole ruler of All Russia is one of the brightest episodes in the history of the two countries. And perhaps most surprisingly, Voltaire was for a long time not only a literary but also a political adviser to the Russian Empress.

Voltaire's library was bought by Catherine II from Voltaire's niece and heiress Madame Denis after his death and transported to St Petersburg in 1779. Voltaire's official heiress received from the Empress for her famous uncle's collection a considerable amount of money, a memorable letter of honour signed by Catherine herself, a chest with a portrait of the Empress, as well as diamonds and furs.

The library contained 6,814 volumes of printed editions, about 2,000 of which had numerous handwritten notes by the philosopher himself (marginalia). In addition, the collection feature about fifty volumes of manuscripts; thirteen of them are copies of Voltaire's works with his author's edits, his correspondence, manuscripts of Frederick II and other contemporaries of one of the major representatives of the Enlightenment era thought of the 18^th century; five volumes of manuscript materials relating to the history of Russia under Peter the Great, about three dozen volumes of manuscript copies of books banned by censorship in the 18^th century. The library was not only actively used by the Empress herself, but also became a kind of landmark of St. Petersburg, a must-visit place of for foreign travellers and diplomats.

Under Nicholas I, who saw Voltaire primarily as a man that had prepared and inspired the freethinking of the 18^th th century, and thus the French Revolution and the December Uprising, the Voltaire's library was closed to the public. An exception was made only for A.S. Pushkin, who received special permission from the Emperor to work with Voltaire's books and manuscripts, mainly with materials on Russian history. In November 1861, by the highest order, Voltaire's library – 6800 volumes of books and manuscripts, was transferred to the Imperial Public Library. Soon its cataloguing began.

The staffs of the State Hermitage and the National Library of Russia (NLR) have devoted their research to various stages of studying this library, introducing its holdings into the scientific turnover, and investigating the owner's notes. In addition, the Voltaire Library has become a symbol of friendly relations between Russia and France. In the year of the 300^th anniversary of St. Petersburg (2003), the Centre for the Study of the Enlightenment Epoch, the ‘Voltaire's Library’ was opened in the NLR with the financial support of the French government. Nowadays, in addition to the memorial part, there is a study room with a library and equipment for creating information databases. The Research Centre for the Study of the Enlightenment Age was opened by French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin. Voltairian lectures held by the Centre that attracted Russian and foreign Voltaire scholars and researchers became traditional. The Voltaire Library is open to visitors and researchers. The importance of this monument of European culture of the 18^th century can hardly be overestimated.

The section ”Books” of the museum Collection repository features both philosophical and selected works of fiction by the great French thinker.