In 1901-1903 the Russian Empire compiled lists of historical places and monuments in all of its 80 provinces. It is very interesting to see which objects were included in these lists and which did not, although they had an ancient history and were important for the history of the regions. It is especially interesting to study the principles of this selection in the outskirts of the empire: in Poland and in the Baltic provinces. On the materials of Russian provinces (Novgorod, Pskov, Petersburg) it is interesting to compare the correlation of secular and spiritual "places of memory", of which there were more, to whom they were dedicated, which heroes and saints the empire considered the most important, and who were not included in the lists. A comparative analysis of the principles of compiling these lists in different regions of the empire helps to make a conclusion about the nature of historical policy in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the twentieth century.