The article is dedicated to the round table ''Scientific and engineering societies of St. Petersburg: history and modernity (on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Russian technical society)'' which held on April 26, 2016 in St. Petersburg. The organizers of the event were the St. Petersburg Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute for the History of Science and Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and the Emperor Alexander I St. Petersburg State Transport University. Presentations were made by representatives of the historian community and scientific and engineering societies of St. Petersburg.