by Lyudmila KULESHEVICH, Cand. Sc. (Geol. & Mineral.), leading research scientist, head of the Pre-Cambrian Geology Museum, Geology Institute, RAS Karelian Research Center, Petrozavodsk, Russia The oldest rocks of 3.5 to 1.6 billion years lie on Pre-Cambrian basements. Here in Russia they are found in the Aldan shield in southeastern Siberia and within Fennoscandinavia (Baltic area) in Karelia. These formations provide an insight into the earliest evolution of the earth when its mantle was taking shape, and minerals and oxygen built up. Witnesses of these processes-natural geological objects as well as rock, ore and mineral samples-are collected in the Pre-Cambrian Geology Museum of the RAS Karelian Research Center. BEGINNING This museum, founded in 1961 — in fact simultaneously with the Geology Institute of the Karelian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences and headed by Viktor Yudin, Cand. Sc. (Geol. & Mineral.)—was conceived as a repository of geological evidence. Field samples found in Karelia by scientists of the Geology Institute and other research bodies made up its initial collection which has grown to more than 3.5 thous. items. Displayed in two halls, they are an ocular demonstration of the mineral wealth of our land and show the record of geological studies begun nearly 300 years ago with the discovery of iron and copper ore deposits, and a chalybeate water spring detected in 1714 about 50 km northeast of Petrozavodsk.* All that gave an impetus to further exploration. But regular prospecting began only as late as the latter half of the 19th century, largely owing to Professor * See: N. Chikina, "Healing Waters of Karelia", Science in Russia, No. 2, 2010. -Ed. стр. 97 Platon Puzyrevsky of St. Petersburg University, Grigory Hälmersen (elected to the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences as full member in 1844), Alexander Inostrant-sev (elected to the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences as corresponding memb ... Читать далее