The Academy of Sciences of the USSR grew out of the Academy of Sciences that was founded by Peter the Great in 1724 and opened by his widow Catherine I in 1725. (Lecture 23) During Russia's relapse into a feudal country the running of its affairs was controlled by members of the court, who did not have much scientific education.
Immediately after the October Revolution the statutes of the Academy were redrafted, and its president was determined by election through its members. During the years that followed the Academy received state funds to establish many new institutes. In 1934 - the number of its institutes had grown to 25 - it was transferred from St. Petersburg to Moscow.
Growth of the Academy continued throughout the history of the USSR. In 1957 an entire new city, Akademgorodok, was established near Novosibirsk to manage the resources of Russia's Far East; at the turn of the century it housed over 20 research institutions and a university.
When the USSR collapsed in 1991 the Academy of Sciences administered more than 290 research institutions.