Any Russian citizen or foreigner will be able to get a library card identifying them and allowing them access to the building as well as access over the internet.

Aside from the collection, 64 reading rooms and a conference hall with 300 seats have been built.

Each seat in the new hall is equipped with an ultra-modern conference system, allowing readers to connect to the system. In the center of the hall an interactive display has been installed.

One of the rooms contains the original of the Russian constitution.

Aside from Russian and Slavic material, the new library will be connected to the world digital library.

Loading docs – too long for the President

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev took part in the opening ceremony and was presented with library pass No.1. He stressed that it was ordinary citizens rather than the country’s leaders that should benefit from the library’s design.

The President tested the ultra-modern facilities for himself (AFP Photo / Mikhail Klimentyev)

He urged staff to make sure there were no technical glitches on launch day that would prevent users from accessing the material online.

When visiting a reference room to use the electronic archive, the Russian leader was not satisfied with how it worked. He successfully logged into the system and typed “Constitution” in the search bar.

“It takes so long to load it! The files are too heavy,” the President said when he clicked to open one of the documents.

Medvedev congratulated all “who created the library for the residents of St. Petersburg and our foreign friends.”

“The book has unending significance in the history of mankind. Without it, passing down cultural traditions and things standing out in people’s memories is impossible. The book enables the people to realize that they are part of the nation,” the president said.

The exact date when the library’s website will be launched hasn’t yet been announced.

Named after 1st President

Borrowing a US tradition, the library has been named after the Russian Federation's first president Boris Yeltsin – an idea proposed after his death two years ago. On the eve of the opening, the widow of the first president, Naina Yeltsina, visited the new library and expressed admiration for the new structure.

“One feels a link between centuries as one wanders around the library hall, admiring historical creations that became all the more unique because they were returned after they were taken away from Russia centuries ago. History and people are very close here,” Yeltsina said.

The order to build the new library was signed in 2007 by then-president Vladimir Putin, who himself suggested naming the new library after Boris Yeltsin.

The past on display in historic building

The library is located in the 18th century Synod building

The library is located in the 18th century Synod building. The institution of Synod was introduced by Tsar Peter the Great in 1721. It not only united the church leaders, but also was engaged in education issues.

The foundations of today’s building were laid down in 1830 and it was finished in 1834. The interiors of the Synod Church – Orthodox Patriarch’s former residence – were looted after the Bolshevik revolution. They were restored recently.

For years the church was used as one of the halls to store the historical archive. Three years ago more than seven million priceless historic documents were moved to a new storage facility, featuring 220 kilometres of shelves. Now these archives have been scanned and will soon be available for the digital library users across the world.