On October 22, 2012, at the IOM RAS, the First St Petersburg Tibetological Seminar initiated by the IOM's Director, Prof Dr Irina F. Popova and Dr Alexander V. Zorin, the academuc curator of the IOM's Tibetan library; Alla A. Sizova was the academic secretary. The major aim of the new academic event which is supposed to be annual is to unite scholars from various institutions of St Petersburg and the Russian Federation who carry on researches related to the study of Tibetan history, literature, religion and culture. The written heritage of Tibet is to be of special interest and importance. Issues connected with the actual position of the Tibetans and Tibetan culture worldwide are to be dealt with, too.

Scholars from four St Petersburg institutions where Tibetology and Buddhology are traditionally represented took part in the first Seminar, these are the IOM RAS (6 participants), the Faculty of Oriental Studies of St Petersburg State University (2), the State Hermitage (1) and the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (1). Moreover, Dr Elena D. Ogneva, the A.E.Krymsky Institute of Oriental Studies, Kiev, Ukraine, who worked at the Tibetan library of the then Leningrad Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies (now the IOM) during 1960s to 1970s, attended the Seminar. Thus, eleven papers were submitted in two sessions entitled Archives and Collections and History, Literature and Culture of Tibet.

The Seminar was inaugurated by Prof Dr Irina F. Popova who told briefly about the history of the formation of the collections of manuscripts and olв printed books at the Asiatic Museum/IOM RAS. Her presentation served as an introduction to the first session on the archives and collections related to Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism. Four papers were connected with the period covering the first third of the 20th century -

• Dr Tatiana V. Ermakova (IOM). The Contribution of B.Baradyn into the Replenishment of Collections of the Asiatic Museum [Вклад Б. Барадийна в пополнение коллекций Азиатского музея]
• Dr Julia I. Elikhina (State Hermitage). The Tibetan Sculpture that Belonged to Acad. Th.I. Stcherbatsky [Тибетская скульптура, принадлежавшая Ф. И. Щербатскому]
• Dr Dmitry V. Ivanov (Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography). The Grand Prince Alexander Mikhailovich and One 'Mongolian' Collection kept at the MAE [Великий князь Александр Михайлович и одна „монгольская“ коллекция МАЭ]
• Dr Svetlana S. Sabrukova (IOM). The Educational Program of Mtshan-nyid School According to the Archival Documents of A.M. Pozdneev [Программа образования школы „цанид“ по архивным материалам А. М. Позднеева].

Some actual issues of preservation and processing of the collections were touched in the other two presentations -

• Dr Elena D. Ogneva (the A.E.Krymsky Institute of Oriental Studies, Kiev). The Tibetan Books in Ukraine. Manuscripts and Block Prints from State and Private Collections [Тибетоязычная книга в Украине: рукописи и ксилографы в государственных и частных собраниях]
• Alla A. Sizova (IOM). Bilingual Tibetan-Mongolian Texts. New Acquisitions of the Mongolian Collection at the IOM RAS [Двуязычные тибето-монгольские сочинения (новые поступления в монгольский фонд ИВР РАН)].

The second session, on History, Literature and Culture of Tibet, started with two presentations of scholars from St Petersburg State University -

• Prof Dr Vladimir L. Uspensky. The Meaning of the Tibetan Language for the History and Culture of the Countries and Peoples of Central and Eastern Asia [Значение тибетского языка в истории и культуре стран и народов Центральной и Восточной Азии]
• Maria A. Soloshcheva. The Search of the Legitimate Successor of the 6th Dalai Lama during 1706-20 [Поиски легитимного преемника Далай-ламы VI в 1706―1720 гг.].

The other three papers were aimed at presenting some Buddhist texts -

• Dr Alexander V. Zorin (IOM). The Results of the Complex Study of the Unique Tibetan Scroll Дх-178 Kept at the IOM RAS [Итоги комплексного исследования уникального тибетского свитка Дх-178 из коллекции ИВР РАН]
• Dr Natalia S. Yakhontova (IOM). The Tibetan Dictionary „The Drop of the Ocean Water“ of Mngon-brjod Genre Kept at the IOM RAS [Тибетский словарь „Капля воды океана“ жанра онг джод из собрания ИВР РАН]
• Dr Safarali Kh. Shomakhmadov (IOM). 'Gandi' in the Texts of Central Asian Buddhist Tradition [‘Gandi’ в тексте центральноазиатской буддийской традиции].