The Astronomical Council of the USSR Academy of Sciences was founded in December 20, 1936, by a decree of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Its main task was to coordinate studies in the field of ground-based optical astronomy that were carried out in the USSR by astronomical institutions, belonging to the Academy of Sciences and to other organizations.
Chairmen of the Astronomical Council were the well-known Russian scientists academician V.G. Fessenkov, academician A.A.Mikhailov, corresponding member of the Academy E.V.Mustel. The present director of the Institute of Astronomy is academician A.A.Boyarchuk. Professor A.G.Massevitch, who was vice-chairman of the Astronomical Council for 35 years, has performed great services to the evolution of the Astronomical Council to a recognized research center.
Scientific investigations in the Astronomical Council started after the war. On the commission from the International Astronomical Union, the Astronomical Council began creation of the "General Catalogue of Variable Stars" (GCVS), and in 1948 the first edition was published. At present the fourth edition of the catalogue in 5 volumes is published. In 1959, by a decree of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences, several scientific departments were organized in the Astronomical Council and an intensive development of studies in the fields of physics and evolution of stars, solar activity, physics of the Moon, and, later on, stellar spectroscopy proceeded.
With the beginning of space research in late fifties, a very intensive work in organization and carrying out observations of artificial satellites and use of these observations for studies in the field of space geodesy, geodynamics and geophysics started.
In 1958, near Zvenigorod (Moscow region), by a decree of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences, the Zvenigorod Experimental Station of the Astronomical Council (now the Zvenigorod Observatory of the Institute of Astronomy of RAS) was founded. The Astronomical Council organized a net of tracking stations over the country and abroad (in several countries of Asia, Africa, and South America). Large amount of visual, photographic and, later on, laser observations of artificial satellites were performed on these stations. These observations were aimed for geodesy, geophysics, ephemeris service, and space monitoring problems. By the middle eighties most of these stations having fulfilled their tasks, were closed, with their equipment given to the universities and other educational institutes.
In 1975, at the Simeiz branch of the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory of the USSR Academy of Sciences, that was assigned to the Astronomical Council, a laser ranging station was built. Later the 1-meter Zeiss telescope was installed there. At present, observations with this telescope, that belongs to the Institute of Astronomy, are carried out according to the program of the Institute, though the Simeiz Observatory has been again transferred to the Crimean Observatory.
In 1971, the Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Technics was organized in the Astronomical Council. In 1980, on its technical basis the Astronomical Data Center was founded as a Soviet branch of the Strasbourg Centre de Donnees Stellaire (CDS). Since 1986 a new research field --- the dynamics of stellar and planetery systems --- is developed.
In December 1990, the Astronomical Council, being in fact a scientific institution for many years, was reorganized, by a decree of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences, into the Institute of Astronomy of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and in 1991 into the Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences (INASAN).