FOREWORD

The geomagnetic researches in Russia have a rich history. The first sistematic observations of a geomagnetic field on territory of Russian Empire were organized in the beginning of XVIII century. The first magnetic observatories were created in middle XIX century. The network of repeate stations was created simultaneously. Russian ships ploughed seas and oceans and make observations of magnetic declination. The expedition by Lazarev and Cruzenstern (1803-1806) carried out magnetic measurements in Antarctic Region near to Antarctic Continent. A scientific school arised at physical faculty of the St.-Petersburg University. It has brought up Pleiad of the skilful scientist working in the field of a geomagnetism and aeronomy.

After the first world war and the civil war in Russia, the geomagnetic researches have revived already in a middle of 20-th years. These years the General magnetic survey on territory of former Soviet Union was begun. It proceeded before the second world war. To this time the whole territory was covered with measurements of scale 1:25000000. It was first in the world full magnetic survey on such huge area. In 1940 the research Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism (in the future – IZMIRAN) was created on the basis of Office of General Magnetic Survey.

The International Geophysical Year (1956-1957) has served as high-power stimulus for broad development of researches on the geomagnetism and aeronomy. A network of complex magnetic and ionospheric observatories was created. There were builded up new research institutes in various cities in Russia. Nonmagnetized schooner «Zarya» began observations at oceans.

IGY has entered russian magnetologist into international scientific community. Russian institutions came in an informal infrastructure of this community. Data of a number of Russian magnetic observatories became to be used for determination of global (Êð) or regional (AU, AL, ÀÅ) indexes of magnetic activity. The World Data Center B was created in Moscow.

In 1958 the third artificial sattelite of the Earth was launched in Russia. The magnetometer for realization the satellite magnetic survey had been installed on boart. In 1964 such satellite magnetic survey was carried out in whole volume. It was the start of the space research in the field of geomagnetism and aeronomy in Russia.

In 1967 Institute of Space Researches was created to coordinate the broad investigations of the Earth, Sun, planets, Solar vind est..

In 60-70 years the geomagnetic and aeronomic researches were carried out in some specialized institutes, such as Polar Geophysical Institute, SibIZMIR (later Institute of Solar Terrestrial Physics in Irkutsk), Institute of Space Physics and Aeronomy (Yakutsk), Institute of Applide Geophysics (Moscow). Exept such monoinstitutes there are large amount of as large as small scientific laboratories daeling with geomagnetism and aeronomy in some of wide dicciplinary research Institutes and Universities. First of all, it is Institute of Physics of Earth (nowadays O.Yu.Shmidt United Institute of Physics of the Earth). Among Universities there is Moscow State University, where the researches were conducted both on physical and geological faculties, and in affiliated Research Institute of Nuclear Physics. There are many other Universities daeling with the IAGA problems. There are Leningrad (nowadays St.-Petersburg), Rostov, Saratov, Kazan Universities and many others. Such investigations are carried out by a number of geophysical institutes on Ural (Institute of Geophysics in Ekaterinburg), in Siberia (Institute of geology and geophysics in Novosibirsk) and so on. The magnetic survey are carried out by many geological institutes. Marine geomagnetic surveys are carried out by Institute of the Oceanology (Moscow), Institute of Marine Geophysics (Sakhalin) etc.

In the begininig of the next millennium Russia has a ramified structure of research institutions, both as large specialised Institutes, and smaller scientific collectives. The Universities supply this structure with young scientists. The network of observatories, and also the systems of the sattelite and interplanetary probes supply it with data. Participation in international scientific organizations, and first of all in IAGA ensure it natural inclusion in the world system of researches.

The present report is composed from the scientific reports of leading Russian Institutes working in the field of the geomagnetism and aeronomy. Such construction of the report seems to be more convenient for the reader, because it relates scientific results of the russian scientist to a particular Institute or University, where these results were obtained.

The report is composed by a National commission on geomagnetism and aeronomy under Russian National Geophysical Committee.

Editors.