"Big Soviet Encyclopedia" is one of the largest and most authoritative reference publications of the last century. The first edition was published in 1926, and the last, thirty volumes, was published in 1978. Each volume of the encyclopedia contained comprehensive and systematized information from various fields of knowledge - from natural sciences to literature and art. In total, there were about 100,000 articles in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia that described world culture, history of peoples, geography, science, technology, economy and many other aspects of life. This edition became an integral part of the home library of many Soviet families and continues to be a valuable source of knowledge for many readers.