The State Public Historical Library of Russia was founded in 1938 under the Soviet Union as the State Public Historical Library of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic or State Public Historical Library.

[3][2] The library contained valuable collections of antique and Russian coins, ancient Russian and Egyptian antiquities, painted Etruscan vases and mirrors, natural science collections of minerals, insects, butterflies and herbaria.

[3] By March 20, 1938 the museum library had grown and changed significantly so that the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks passed a resolution for the library to merge with the Joint Library of the Institute of Red Professors and a number of other small libraries to form the State Public Historical Library of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

[2] The Library's functions were defined: By 1970 its collection numbered around 3 million items which included over 30,000 rare historical books.

[1] Despite the collapse the role of the Historical Library remained relatively unchanged continuing acting as a repository and information center for historical materials.