Agenția Națională a Arhivelor

R

Rokas Raguckis

15 November 2025

As part of my research, I visited this institution a few times. Generally, with regards to access, everything was fine. You're allowed to take photos, you can send orders via email or while on the premises. I was pleasantly surprised by the polite and courteous attitude shown by the guards on the first floor. This, however, does not translate to the people working on the second floor. I will single out just one, the reading room's custodian, a short man in his mid 30s, who often donned a brown leather coat indoors; he was abrasive in attitude and equally brutish, indistinguishable from the kind of lowly thugs you might encounter on the street. In particular, he found it fit to bark orders in the reading room (is it not a place for quiet reading or am I mistaken in assuming this?) in front of other readers. This, mind you, was his reaction to me placing the order document on his desk after I had finished reading, as is customary in most archives. He also displayed a deeply patronizing attitude; although he knew that my Russian wasn't as fluid as I had hoped it would be, he often feigned being obtuse, almost irritated, at me trying to communicate my intentions. After I had notified the archive of the custodian's impoliteness, his mood changed for the better. If nothing else, then at least the gentleman has one redeemable quality. I have nothing but praise for the archive, however, it would have been even better if the gentleman in question had shown basic manners from the beginning.