Institute of Oriental Manuscripts

What Institute of Oriental Manuscripts does

The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IOM RAS, Институт восточных рукописей РАН) is a non-profit state research institute headquartered on Palace Embankment (Dvortsovaya Naberezhnaya, 18) in Saint Petersburg, Russia, tracing its origins to the Asian Museum established within the Imperial Academy of Sciences in November 1818. The institute houses one of the world's oldest and most comprehensive collections of Oriental manuscripts — anchored by the foundational 700-manuscript J.-L. Rousseau collection acquired in 1819-1825 — including rare Hebrew incunabula, Tibetan manuscripts from Dunhuang and Khara-Khoto, and extensive Central Asian holdings spanning the Near East, Middle East, Far East, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Its operations center on manuscript preservation, systematic cataloging, philological and historical research, scholarly publishing, and graduate education in Oriental studies.

The institute's product portfolio comprises six peer-reviewed academic journals (Written Monuments of the Orient, Pis'mennye pamyatniki Vostoka, Mongolica, Turcologica, Manuscripta Orientalia, and Islam in the Territory of the Former Russian Empire), historical publication series such as Bibliotheca Buddhica and the Orthodox Palestine Research Collection, a research library with electronic catalog access, doctoral and postdoctoral programs in Oriental studies (including a $4,000+/year fee track for foreign citizens), and monograph/paper publishing services. Distribution is conducted through digital publications databases, on-site reading rooms, and academic conferences (Freiman Readings, Zograph Readings, Rosenberg Seminar, Annual Academic Sessions). The recorded output is substantial — over 11,000 Russian-portal publications including 1,611 monographs and 9,168 articles.

IOM RAS operates as a wholly state-funded unit of the Russian Academy of Sciences (a government_state_entity parent), with no private shareholders, venture investors, or equity holders. Revenue mechanics consist of government research appropriations as the dominant funding stream, transaction-based publication sales, and subscription-style tuition from foreign doctoral students. The customer base is composed of academic orientalists, philologists, historians, graduate students, and the cultural public, with primary research outputs serving international scholarly consumption. Leadership is headed by Director Irina F. Popova (Doctor of Historical Sciences, Corresponding Member of RAS), supported by Deputy Director for Academic Affairs Tatiana A. Pang, Doctoral Programs Curator Sergei L. Burmistrov, Library Head Irina O. Volkova, and Academic Secretary E.V. Tanonova.

Name

Institute of Oriental Manuscripts

Legal name

Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences (Институт восточных рукописей Российской академии наук)

Website

https://orientalstudies.ru

Company type

Private

Founded year

1818

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (IOM RAS) is a Russian Academy of Sciences research institute in Saint Petersburg that preserves, catalogs, and studies Oriental manuscripts from across Asia while publishing peer-reviewed journals and training doctoral students in orientalist scholarship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Oriental Studies Research

NAICS

Libraries and Archives (51921), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Interdisciplinary/General Education & Study Skills (EDAGABAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Assessment, Testing & Exam Prep Publishing (MPAJABAF), Business, Management & HR Reference (Operations, Strategy, HR, Leadership) (EDAGAGAF)

Keywords

• Oriental manuscript research
• Academic journal publishing
• Philological studies
• Doctoral education programs
• Scientific library services

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint Petersburg

HQ country

Russia

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Government Research Funding: As a Russian Academy of Sciences institution, receives state funding for research activities, manuscript preservation, and academic operations
2. PhD Program Tuition: Annual fee for foreign citizens enrolled in doctoral and postdoctoral programs
3. Publication Sales: Sale of books, monographs, and journals published by the institute

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (IOM RAS) is a state-funded research institute under the Russian Academy of Sciences that collects, preserves, catalogs, and studies Oriental manuscripts from the Near East, Middle East, Far East, Central Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. It publishes peer-reviewed academic journals and monographs, offers doctoral and postdoctoral training in Oriental studies, and operates a scientific library housing rare and unique manuscript collections.

Product overview

The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts RAS (IOM RAS) is a premier research institution in Saint Petersburg, Russia, dedicated to the study of Eastern manuscripts and Oriental studies. The institute operates as a research organization rather than a commercial enterprise, offering academic journals (including The Written Monuments of the Orient, Pis'mennye pamyatniki Vostoka, Mongolica, Turcologica, Manuscripta Orientalia, and others), doctoral and postdoctoral academic programs in Oriental studies, a scientific library with extensive manuscript collections and electronic catalog access, and monograph/paper publishing services. The portfolio centers on scholarly research, manuscript preservation, academic publishing, and education in philology, history, and cultural studies of Eastern civilizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Written Monuments of the Orient (WMO): Peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Institute covering written monuments of the Orient.
• Pis'mennye pamyatniki Vostoka (PPV)
• Mongolica
• Manuscripta Orientalia
• Turcologica

Products and services

• The Written Monuments of the Orient (WMO) Peer-reviewed journal publishing research on written monuments of Eastern civilizations, including historical-philological studies and scholarly articles on manuscripts from Asia.
• Pis'mennye pamyatniki Vostoka (PPV) Russian-language academic journal covering written monuments of the Orient, with articles on philology, history, and manuscript studies.
• Mongolica Scholarly journal dedicated to Mongol studies, covering Mongolian history, culture, language, and manuscripts, published by IOM RAS.
• Turcologica Academic journal focused on Turkic studies, Turkic languages, literature, and history of Turkic-speaking peoples.
• Manuscripta Orientalia International journal dedicated to manuscript studies, paleography, and textology of Eastern manuscripts.
• Islam in the Territory of the Former Russian Empire (ITFRE) Encyclopedic reference work and journal covering the history and study of Islam in regions of the former Russian Empire.
• The Orthodox Palestine Research Collection Scholarly collection dedicated to research on Palestine, Orthodox Christianity, and related historical documents.
• Doctoral and Postdoctoral Programs Postgraduate education program in Oriental studies offering doctoral and postdoctoral training in areas including general history, historiography, philosophy of religion, literature, and languages of Asia.
• Scientific Library of IOM RAS The institute's research library containing extensive collections of Oriental manuscripts, books, and periodicals, including an electronic catalog and bibliographic rarities.
• Monographs and Papers Publications IOM RAS publishes monographs, academic papers, and translated works by researchers covering various aspects of Oriental studies, including manuscript catalogs and translations.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Shaanxi Normal UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2026Co-organizes the international conference on The Written Legacy of Dunhuang, Khara-Khoto and Central Asia
• Lanzhou UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2026Co-organizes the international conference on The Written Legacy of Dunhuang, Khara-Khoto and Central Asia
• Saint Petersburg State University (СПбГУ)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2026Co-organizes the annual Zograph Readings conference on Indian studies and collaborates on academic events and research programs
• Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia (РГПУ им. Герцена)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2026Participates in organizing the Zograph Readings conference on Indian studies
• Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (MAE RAS, Kunstkamera)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2026Co-organizes academic conferences including Zograph Readings and other scholarly events
• HSE University Saint PetersburgcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2024Co-hosts the annual conference on Army and military traditions of the Near East with young orientalists from HSE
• Higher School of Economics (HSE University)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 November 2024Joint hosting of young orientalists conferences covering Near East military traditions
• Datsan Gunzechoinei Buddhist Temple (Saint Petersburg)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 November 2024Participates in the annual St. Petersburg Tibetological Seminar as a venue partner

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF): France's national library with a renowned département des manuscrits including Oriental holdings. Peer given its dual role as manuscript archive and scholarly publisher/research institution for Eastern materials.
• Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin: German state library with one of the world's most important Oriental manuscript collections (Turfan Collection). Directly comparable as a custodian of Central Asian and Middle Eastern manuscripts with scholarly research programs.
• Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford: Historic research library housing significant Hebrew, Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Persian manuscript collections, and supporting digital scholarly publishing initiatives. Peer given overlapping custodial, digitization, and Oriental-scholarship missions.
• British Library: Major national library housing significant Asian and Middle Eastern manuscript collections alongside broader holdings. Comparable as a global manuscript-custody and scholarly-research institution, though it operates at a much larger and more diversified scale.

Emerging players

• International Dunhuang Project (IDP): Multilateral initiative to preserve and digitize Dunhuang manuscripts and Silk Road artifacts. Directly comparable to IOM RAS's Dunhuang/Khara-Khoto holdings and its co-organized international conference on the same subject.

Regional players

• Nalanda University: India-based international research and teaching university focused on Buddhist and Oriental studies. Comparable given overlap in doctoral-level training, scholarly publishing, and buddhology/tibetology research adjacent to IOM RAS's expertise.
• Dunhuang Academy: Chinese state research institution dedicated to Dunhuang studies and Silk Road heritage, including manuscript preservation and scholarly publishing. Comparable given shared research focus on Dunhuang manuscripts and the existing joint conference partnership via Lanzhou/Shaanxi Normal University.

Direct peers

• School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London: Specialized academic institution focused on Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, combining manuscript/archival research, scholarly publishing, and doctoral training. Closest Western analogue to IOM RAS's research-and-publishing-academic-program model.
• Institute of Oriental Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow): The Moscow-based sister institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences focused on Oriental studies. Direct peer given overlapping mandate in manuscript research, academic publishing, and training of orientalists within the same Russian state academic infrastructure.

Others

• Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton): Independent research institution hosting scholars in historical and philological studies. Comparable as a model for state-supported advanced-research and postdoc-style scholarly training, though without the manuscript-custody component.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Institute of Oriental Manuscripts