The Russian State Library is inhabited by the ghost of a famous writer and bibliologist who guards the book collection and even assists in finding the desired book among a huge collection of books, among which there is a library he personally collected during his lifetime, which he bequeathed to the RSL.
A portrait of a famous writer and a no less famous now ghost can be seen on one of the walls in the library, and if you ask the workers about the ghost of Nikolai Rubakin, they will gladly tell you an amazing story.
Librarians are sure that the ghost has a special mission to protect the entire library, but he is especially attached to his books, which were donated to the library fund in 1946, when the writer bequeathed his personal library to the Russian State Library.
According to the library staff, amazing things happen at night in empty halls. Although all doors are locked and sealed with wax seals, the night watchmen constantly hear the echoing footsteps of an invisible visitor through the empty rooms.
None other than Nikolai Rubakin walks through the halls, who carries his eternal guard to protect the 76,000 books he has transferred to the library. This is the number of books that this library got as a gift according to his will.
The reason for the appearance of the spirit of Rubakin in the walls of the library is believed to be the fact that when Rubakin's books were brought, an urn with the donor's ashes was brought with them. This urn was kept in the library for some time and later it was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery, and the spirit of the writers remained in the library without surviving parting with their priceless literary collection.
Modern library workers are not afraid of this ghost, they consider him harmless and kind, and he also helps people find the right book among the endless series of shelves lined with folios, and for this you just need to ask the spirit of the library for help and the necessary book will be found immediately.