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TheAll-Union Society "Znanie" (All-Union Society for the Dissemination of Political and Scientific Knowledge) was an educational and propaganda organization in theSoviet Union andRussia that arose in 1947.[1] Its original name was the "All-Union Society for the Dissemination of Political and ScientificKnowledge".[1] Its first president wasSergei Vavilov.[2]
It was engaged in educational activities and anti-religious propaganda among the population of the USSR by giving lectures, as well as publishing relevant popular science literature. Like other Soviet public organizations, it was under the control of theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union. The society had a publishing house "Znanie",[2] (not to be confused with the identically named Russian publishing house running from 1898 to 1913). The society was awarded theOrder of Lenin in 1972.[3]
After thecollapse of the USSR, the property of the society on the territory of Russia passed to theKnowledge Society of Russia, which became the legal successor of the All-Union Knowledge Society. The new organization fell into decline in the 1990s: the number of members decreased and many regional branches disappeared. In June 2016, the congress of the Knowledge Society of Russia decided to liquidate this organization.[4]
In 2015, a new state-public organization "Znanie" was created by presidential decree of theRussian Federation. The new organization is not the official successor of any of the above.
