Continuity of gifting to political leaders of Russia in the first quarter of the 20th century

Gifts to the state leaders were a noticeable phenomenon of the political and cultural life of Russia in the 20 th century. The type and range of the pre-revolutionary gifting gave us the opportunity to distinguish four main functions of gifts to the emperor Nicholas II: diplomatic, sacral (includes so-called gifts “with all one’s heart"), normative (variant of gifts in return) and a souvenir function. The author retraces continuity in relation to the gifts which were being given later to the Soviet political leaders.