An outstanding event in the development of paleontological knowledge in Russia was the inauguration of the Russian Paleontological Society on May 5, 1916. The first organizational meeting was held a little earlier - on March 1. The charter was signed by 52 people. The initiators of the Society, its organizers and most active members were N. N. Yakovlev, A. A. Borisyak, M. D. Zalesky, A. N. Krishtofovich, M. V. Pavlova, A. N. Ryabinin, P. I. Stepanov and M. E. Yanishevsky, who were members of the first Council of the Society.