Moscow University is rightfully considered the oldest Russian university. It was founded in 1755. The establishment of the university in Moscow became possible thanks to the activities of the outstanding scientist-encyclopedist, the first Russian academician - Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (1711-1765). In 1940, during the celebration of the 185th anniversary, the university was named after M.V. Lomonosov.

Back in 1724, at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, founded by Peter I, a university and a gymnasium were established to train scientific personnel in Russia. But the academic gymnasium and the university failed to cope with this task. Therefore, M.V. Lomonosov repeatedly raised the question of opening a university in Moscow. His proposals, formulated in a letter to I.I. Shuvalov, formed the basis of the project of Moscow University. Shuvalov, a favorite of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, patronized the development of Russian science and culture, helped M.V. Lomonosov.

After reviewing the presented by I.I. Shuvalov and M.V. With the Lomonosov project for a new educational institution, Elizaveta Petrovna signed a decree on the founding of Moscow University on January 25, 1755. The solemn opening ceremony of classes at the university took place on the day of the celebration of the anniversary of the coronation of Elizabeth Petrovna on May 7, 1755. Since then, these days are traditionally celebrated at the university with student celebrations, the annual scientific conference "Lomonosov Readings" and the days of scientific creativity of students are timed to coincide with them.

In accordance with the plan of M.V. Lomonosov at Moscow University, 3 faculties were formed: philosophical, legal and medical. All students began their education at the Faculty of Philosophy, where they received fundamental training in natural sciences and the humanities. Education could be continued, specializing in law, medicine or the same philosophical faculty. Unlike European universities, Moscow did not have a theological faculty, which is explained by the presence in Russia of a special education system for training ministers of the Orthodox Church. Professors gave lectures not only in the then generally recognized language of science - Latin, but also in Russian.

Moscow University stood out for its democratic composition of students and professors. This largely determined the widespread dissemination among students and teachers of advanced scientific and social ideas. Already in the preamble of the decree on the establishment of a university in Moscow, it was noted that it was created "for the general education of raznochintsy." People from various classes could enter the university, with the exception of serfs.

Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov pointed to the example of Western European universities, where the principle of estates was done away with; “At the university, that student is more respectable, who has learned more; and whose son he is, there is no need for that. During the second half of the 18th century, out of 26 Russian professors who taught, only three were from the nobility. Raznochintsy made up the majority of students. The most capable students were sent to foreign universities to continue their education, strengthening contacts and ties with world science.

State appropriations only partially covered the needs of the university, especially since initially students were not charged tuition fees, and later they began to exempt poor students from it. The university management had to find additional sources of income, not excluding even commercial activities.

Huge material assistance to the University was provided by patrons (Demidovs, Stroganovs, E.R. Dashkova, etc.). They acquired and donated to the university scientific instruments, collections, books, established scholarships for students. The graduates did not forget about their alma mater either. More than once, in difficult times for the university, they raised funds by subscription. According to the established tradition, professors bequeathed their personal collections to the university library. Among them are the richest collections of I.M. Snegireva, P.Ya. Petrova, T.N. Granovsky, S.M. Solovyova, F.I. Buslaeva, N.K. Gudzia, I.G. Petrovsky and others.

Moscow University played an outstanding role in the dissemination and popularization of scientific knowledge. The lectures of university professors and student debates could be attended by the public. In April 1756, a printing house and a bookshop were opened at Moscow University on Mokhovaya Street. This marked the beginning of domestic book publishing. At the same time, the university began publishing twice a week the first non-governmental newspaper in the country, Moskovskie Vedomosti, and from January 1760, the first literary magazine in Moscow, Useful Entertainment. For ten years, from 1779 to 1789, the printing house was headed by a pupil of the university gymnasium, the outstanding Russian educator N.I. Novikov.

In the 18th century, remarkable figures of Russian science and culture studied and worked within the walls of Moscow University: philosophers N.N. Popovsky, D.S. Anichkov; mathematicians and mechanics V.K. Arshenevsky, M.I. Pankevich; medic S.G. Zybelin; botanist P.D. Veniaminov; physicist P.I. Strakhov; soil scientists M.I. Afonin, N.E. Cherepanov; historian and geographer H.A. Chebotarev; historian N.N. Bantysh-Kamensky; philologists and translators A.A. Barsov, S. Khalfin, E.I. Kostrov: lawyers S.E. Desnitsky, I.A. Tretyakov; publishers and writers D.I. Fonvizin, M.M. Kheraskov, N.I. Novikov; architects V.I. Bazhenov and I.E. Starov.

A year after the foundation of the university, the first readers were accepted by the university library. For over 100 years it served as the only public library in Moscow.

The educational activities of Moscow University contributed to the creation on its basis or with the participation of its professors of such large centers of national culture as the Kazan Gymnasium (since 1804 - Kazan University), the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg (until 1764 - under the jurisdiction of Moscow University), the Maly Theater.

In the 19th century, the first scientific societies were formed at the university: Testers of Nature, Russian History and Antiquities, and Lovers of Russian Literature.

The combination of the tasks of education, science and culture in the activities of the Moscow University turned it, in the words of A.I. Herzen, into the "center of Russian education", one of the centers of world culture.

Until 1804, the activities of the university were regulated by the "Highly Approved Project on the Establishment of Moscow University." In 1804, the university charter was adopted. The university was granted considerable autonomy, the rector and deans of the faculties were elected from among the professors. The first elected rector was the professor of history and literature Kh.A. Chebotarev. The Council of Professors decided all issues of university life, awarded academic titles. Books printed with the approval of the Council in the university printing house were exempted from general censorship.

Students studied at four faculties (departments): moral and political sciences, physical and mathematical sciences, medical sciences, verbal sciences. The training lasted 3 years. After the final exams, the best of those who graduated from the university were awarded the degree of candidate, the rest - the title of "valid student". The continuity of the various levels of education was strengthened. According to the charter of 1804, the university carried out general management of secondary and primary educational institutions in the central provinces of Russia.

The invasion of Russia in 1812 by the Napoleonic army caused an unprecedented patriotic upsurge among university students. Many joined the militia, and the work of university doctors was especially noted by M.I. Kutuzov. During the stay of Napoleonic soldiers in Moscow, the university buildings almost completely burned down. The library, archive, museum, scientific equipment were destroyed. The restoration of the university became the business of the entire Russian society. Scientific institutions, scientists, individuals donated money, books, old manuscripts, natural science collections, instruments to the university.

Only for the university library by 1815 managed to collect 7.5 thousand books. Despite the difficult situation of the university, professors and students began their studies on September 1, 1813. By the 20s of the 19th century, the number of students exceeded 500 people.

In the first half of the 19th century, Moscow University occupied a leading place in the public life of Russia. Many members of the Decembrist organizations were his pets. The traditions of freethinking were continued by the student circles of the Kritsky brothers, N.P. Sungurova, V.G. Belinsky, A.I. Herzen and N.P. Ogareva, N.V. Stankevich. In the classrooms of the university, disputes between Westerners and Slavophiles about the ways of Russia's development were in full swing. Public courses of lectures and disputes of the head of the Westerners, the brilliant historian T.N. Granovsky was collected by the entire Moscow intelligentsia of the 1840s.

A new stage in the life of the university began after the fall of serfdom in 1861 and Russia's entry into the path of capitalism. The university statute of 1863 reflected the general course of the government to carry out reforms designed to accelerate the development of the country. The growth of industry, trade, agriculture, transformations in the sphere of administration, courts, and the army demanded an increase in the level and expansion of university education. According to the charter of 1863, the number of academic disciplines and the number of teachers increased. Much attention was paid to the organization of practical and laboratory classes, seminars. The election of the rector and deans, which was actually destroyed during the years of the Nikolaev reign, was restored. At four faculties of the university - historical and philological, physical and mathematical, legal and medical - about 1,500 students studied, most of whom belonged to raznochintsy.

In pre-revolutionary Russia, professors at Moscow University did a lot to strengthen the connection between science and practice. University scholars wrote textbooks for schools. Many students of the university worked as teachers, representing the most qualified part of the Russian teachers.

On the initiative and with the assistance of the university in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, well-known Moscow museums arose: the Polytechnic, Historical, Zoological, Anthropology, Fine Arts (now the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts); The Botanical Garden and the Zoological Garden (Moscow Zoo) were opened.

The charter of 1863, which opened up new opportunities for the development of domestic education and science, lasted only until 1884. After the assassination of Tsar Alexander II by Narodnaya Volya in 1881, the government resumed its offensive against university autonomy and tightened control over teaching. Nevertheless, the university has preserved itself as one of the centers of advanced scientific knowledge and spiritual life in Russia.

The names of prominent Russian thinkers of the late 19th - early 20th centuries are associated with the university: V.S. Solovyova, V.V. Rozanova, E.N. and S.N. Trubetskikh, S.N. Bulgakov, P.A. Florensky. Students and professors responded to the most topical problems of Russian reality. Well-known figures of the leading political parties in Russia studied or taught at the university.

Students of Moscow University were in the forefront of freedom fighters in the revolution of 1905-1907. At a meeting on September 9, 1905, students adopted a resolution demanding the overthrow of the autocracy and the transformation of Russia into a democratic republic.

The rise of the revolutionary movement on the eve of the First World War also affected Moscow University. In 1911, in protest against the illegal dismissal of a number of professors and the violation of university autonomy, more than 130 professors and teachers defiantly left its walls. Among them are world-famous scientists: K.A. Timiryazev, P.N. Lebedev, N.D. Zelinsky, N.A. Umov, S.A. Chaplygin, V.I. Vernadsky, V.I. Picheta and others. The government responded by expelling more than a thousand students from the university, arresting and expelling revolutionary-minded students from Moscow. The number of students also dropped sharply in connection with the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

After the revolution of 1917, significant changes took place in the fate of higher education. On the one hand, its deep democratization took place. Tuition fees were abolished, students were provided with state scholarships. Since 1919, the university has been completely transferred to state funding. In order for people from working and peasant families to be able to obtain the amount of knowledge necessary for entering a university, a preparatory workers' faculty has been operating at the university since 1919. Teaching at the university in the first post-revolutionary decade was continued by world-famous scientists: D.N. Anuchin, N.E. Zhukovsky, N.D. Zelinsky, A.N. Severtsov, K.A. Timiryazev, S.A. Chaplygin.

At the same time, some students and famous scientists who did not accept the new political order were forced to leave Moscow University. Some damage was also caused by the reorganizations of the 20-30s, started in pursuit of an increase in the number of specialists. Medical, Soviet law and chemical (temporarily) faculties were withdrawn from the university, and independent universities were created on their basis.

The geological, mineralogical and geographical departments at the natural faculties were transformed into the same universities. On the basis of the humanities faculties, the Moscow Institute of Philosophy, Literature and History was opened in 1931, which merged again with Moscow State University only ten years later. Excesses were also made in the organization of the educational process: the “brigade-laboratory method” of teaching was introduced, canceling lectures, giving the study of the material to chance to student teams of 3-5 people, individual exams were replaced by collective reports of teams.

Fortunately, this period in the life of the university was short-lived. In 1932, the "brigade-laboratory" method was abolished. New curricula were introduced, the mode of work in higher education changed. In 1934, the first candidate dissertations during the years of Soviet power were defended at the university.

The university was not spared by the tragic events of public life in the 1930s and 1950s. The ideological and administrative dictatorship on the part of the authorities hindered the freedom of creativity. Contacts with foreign scientific centers were limited. Many scientists were subjected to unreasonable repressions, entire areas of research, especially in the social sciences, philology, cybernetics, and biology, were curtailed.

Despite these heavy losses, university science as a whole achieved significant results in the 1920s and 1930s. By 1941, about 5,000 students were studying in the full-time department alone. Over 30 professors and researchers became full members of the USSR Academy of Sciences. University scientists have developed textbooks for higher and secondary schools.

The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 was an ordeal for our country. Already on June 25, 1941, the first group of students and employees of Moscow State University went to the front, mainly to replenish the command and political staff of the Red Army. The 8th (Krasnopresnenskaya) division of the people's militia was equipped with MSU volunteers. She fought heroically during the defense of Moscow.

Since October 1941, the university was evacuated, first in Ashgabat, and since the summer of 1942 - in Sverdlovsk. The university returned to Moscow only in the spring of 1943, although classes with the students who remained in the capital resumed in February 1942 after the defeat of the fascist hordes near Moscow.

During the war years, the university graduated more than 3 thousand specialists. With their scientific achievements, MSU scientists have made a significant contribution to the defense of the country and the development of its economy. More than 3 thousand scientific developments were carried out at Moscow State University during the military four years. Among them are the improvement of aircraft construction and control of sea vessels, the substantiation of the theory of the accuracy of artillery fire and area fire, the provision of accurate time signals for the entire country, and the invention of explosives.

In total, more than 5 thousand university students fought on the war fronts, over a thousand people were awarded orders and medals of the USSR and the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition during the war years, and seven were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

About 3 thousand students, graduate students, professors, teachers and employees of Moscow State University did not return from the war. In their honor, next to the 1 educational building in 1975, a memorial sign was opened, and the Eternal Flame of Glory was lit.

Post-war reconstruction and further development of the country was impossible without a new rise in university education. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the financial situation of Moscow University improved significantly. A huge complex of new university buildings is being erected on the Lenin Hills. On September 1, 1953, training sessions began in them. Laboratories and classrooms were equipped with the latest equipment for that time. The university budget has grown more than 5 times compared to the pre-war.

The strengthening of the material base, the measures taken since the mid-50s to democratize the political life in the country, the expansion of contacts with foreign countries have made it possible to significantly enrich the range of scientific research conducted at the university. Numerous specialized laboratories, including interfaculty ones, are being created, and a powerful Scientific Research Computing Center has been organized. New faculties appeared as part of Moscow State University: the Institute of Oriental Languages ​​(since 1972 - the Institute of Asian and African Countries at Moscow State University), the Faculty of Psychology, the Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics, the first Faculty of Soil Science in the country. The total number of full-time students increased from 13,000 in 1953 to 31,000 in 2001.

Moscow University has become a major international center for the training of undergraduate and graduate students. In order to teach foreign citizens the Russian language in 1959, one of the first preparatory departments of this profile in our country was formed at the university (now the Center for International Education).

In total, from 1917 to the present, Moscow University has graduated about 180 thousand specialists and about 35 thousand candidates of science for the national economy, culture and education.

Many well-known scientists worked at the university: mathematicians and mechanics M.V. Keldysh, A.N. Kolmogorov, N.N. Luzin, I.G. Petrovsky, I.I. Privalov; physicists V.K. Arkadiev, N.N. Bogolyubov, S.I. Vavilov, A.A. Vlasov, P.L. Kapitsa, I.V. Kurchatov, L.D. Landau, G.S. Landsberg, Ya.B. Zeldovich; chemists Ya.I. Gerasimov, V.A. Kargin, A.N. Nesmeyanov, N.N. Semenov; geographers N.N. Baransky, A.A. Borzov, V.N. Sukachev; geologists A.D. Arkhangelsky, N.V. Belov, A.A. Bogdanov; biologists and soil scientists A.N. Belozersky, D.G. Vilensky, L.A. Zenkevich; historians A.V. Artsikhovsky, B.D. Grekov, A.A. Guber; art critics V.N. Lazarev, A.A. Fedorov-Davydov; philologists D.D. Blagoy, S.M. Bondi, D.N. Ushakov; philosophers V.F. Asmus, V.P. Volgin, G.E. Glezerman; lawyers M.N. Gernet, P.E. Orlovsky, A.N. Trainin; psychologists A.N. Leontiev, A.R. Luria, S.L. Rubinstein; economists L.Ya. Berry, A.Ya. Boyarsky, V.S. Nemchinov.

In 1992, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, Moscow University received the status of a Russian self-governing (autonomous) higher educational institution. In November 1998, the Charter of the Moscow State University named after M.V. M.V. Lomonosov, according to which the rights of faculties and research institutes were significantly expanded. They are independent educational and scientific organizations that are part of the structure of Moscow State University.

Currently, Moscow University includes 29 faculties, as well as 9 research institutes. More than 300 departments are represented at the faculties of the University. More than 31,000 students and about 7,000 postgraduates study at Moscow State University. The number of professors and teachers is 4 thousand people. In addition, about 5,000 researchers work at the university.

Two and a half centuries of the history of the oldest Russian university testify to the enormous contribution of its pupils to the cause of serving the universal ideals of freedom, humanism, goodness, beauty, and truth.

In Moscow, on April 26 (May 7), 1755, the first university in our country was opened, more precisely, on that day a part of the university was opened - a gymnasium, but three months later classes began at the university itself. The opening of the university was solemn. The only newspaper in Russia at that time said that about 4 thousand guests visited the university building on Red Square that day, music blared all day, illuminations burned, “there were an uncountable number of people, through the whole day, even until four in the morning.

The need for a university

The economic and socio-political development of the Russian Empire in the middle of the 18th century required a significant number of educated people. Petersburg Academic University, military educational institutions and vocational schools could not meet the needs of the state in domestic specialists. Among the most enlightened people of Russia, the idea of ​​the need to create a classical state university was ripening, where not only nobles, but also raznochintsy could study.
In 1741, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna took the Russian throne. It contributed to the development of domestic science and culture, brought educated people closer to itself. Her official policy in the field of education was to continue the work begun by her father, Emperor Peter I. He dreamed of a university that would become a center of science and culture.

Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov

An important role in the implementation of the educational policy of Russia was played by the favorite of the Empress, the chamber junker I.I. Shuvalov. In the 1750s, Shuvalov had a noticeable influence on the domestic and foreign policy of Russia, promoted the development of Russian science and art, and provided patronage to scientists, writers and artists. Among other things, he supported many of the undertakings of M. V. Lomonosov. Under his patronage, Moscow University was founded in 1755 (Shuvalov became its first curator), and in 1757 the Academy of Arts was established (Shuvalov was its president until 1763). A young, charming, patriotic nobleman significantly influenced the development of domestic science and culture, patronized Russian scientists, writers, poets, and artists. Thanks to the commonwealth and cooperation of Count Shuvalov and Academician Lomonosov, the idea of ​​​​creating a Moscow University was born. Count Shuvalov had no doubt that if Russia was given education, it would "compete in education" on an equal footing with all the developed peoples of Europe. These thoughts and aspirations brought him closer to M.V. Lomonosov, whom Count Shuvalov valued as an outstanding Russian scientist.

The idea of ​​creating a university was embodied in the project of I.I. Shuvalov, written jointly with M.V. Lomonosov, which the Empress approved on January 24, 1755 by a personal decree “On the establishment of Moscow University and two gymnasiums”. But more common is the assertion that Moscow University was created thanks to the care of the great Russian scientist Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov, whose name it bears.

Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov

Moscow University was not the first university in Russia, but it was the first university that accepted all young people without exception, regardless of what class they belong to. From a young man entering the university, one thing was required: that he be talented and want to study.

There has never been such a university in Russia. True, in 1725 the Academy of Sciences with a university was opened in St. Petersburg. Despite the fact that the most advanced scientists of Russia taught there: M.V. Lomonosov, S.P. Krasheninnikov, G.V. Richman, they never managed to turn the St. Petersburg Academic University into an all-Russian center of education. Foreign academics sought to maintain their exclusive position in Russia, so foreign students and teachers were preferred instead of “discovering” domestic talents in Russia.

In the winter of 1753, Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov left St. Petersburg for Moscow, where at that time the court of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna was located, and began to work hard to establish a university here. He developed a draft, which outlined the main provisions of the structure and activities of the first national university, and presented it to I.I. Shuvalov. Thus, Count I.I. Shuvalov became the second person to whom Moscow University owes its discovery.

On January 12 (25), 1755, on Tatyana's Day, the Empress signed a decree on the founding of Moscow University, curators of which were I.I. Shuvalov, L. Blumentrost (life physician), and director - A.M. Argamakov.

The first professors were mostly foreigners, only two of them were Russians: N.N. Popovsky in literature and philosophy and A.A. Barsov in mathematics and literature, as well as a teacher of Russian and Latin languages ​​​​F.Ya. Yaremsky - they were students of St. Petersburg Academic University.

Although Lomonosov did not attend the opening of the university and did not teach there, he took an active part in the development of Moscow University: he made sure that lectures at the first Russian university were read by Russian professors and in Russian. His efforts were crowned with success only 3 years after his death. According to the Decree of Catherine II, "for the better dissemination of sciences in Russia, lectures began in all three faculties by natural Russians in the Russian language."

The Apothecary House was chosen as the building for Moscow University, located next to Red Square at the Kuryatnye (now Resurrection) Gates. It was built at the end of the 17th century. and resembled in its design the famous Sukharev Tower. On August 8, 1754, the Empress Elizabeth signed the decree on the transfer of the Apothecary House to the Moscow University, which was being opened.

Organization of the educational process

Initially, three faculties were formed at Moscow University with a staff of 10 professors. The Faculty of Philosophy was supposed to have four professors: philosophy, physics, eloquence and history. Three professors worked at the Faculty of Law: general and Russian jurisprudence, as well as politics. It was planned that the Faculty of Medicine would have three professors: chemistry, natural history and anatomy (there were vacancies here for several years).

Scheduled classes at the faculties were held five days a week. Students were required to attend all public lectures, and those who wished could also listen to additional courses. In addition, all students participated in monthly debates, which were led by full-time university professors. A week before the next debate, its topics and the names of the speakers from among the students were announced. At the end of each semester, open debates were organized at the university with the participation of professors, all students and admirers of science from among the inhabitants of Moscow. Preparation for debates helped students in their studies. The formation of Moscow University was difficult. The number of students grew slowly - in 1758 there were only 100 of them.

Only 30 students received from the treasury a salary of 40 rubles. a year, and the rest lived on their own means. In the minutes of the university conference dated July 2, 1759, there is the following entry: “One of the reasons that prevented the success of classes was the lack of textbooks, which state-owned students could not acquire due to poverty.”

At the end of 1757, Count I.I. Shuvalov ordered that money be spent on shoes and dresses in order to adequately dress the students. At the same time, it was ordered to issue state-owned cash "in addition to the salary for food, half a month each." The instruction to the director of the university (§22) forbade students to enter the classrooms in shearling fur coats, gray caftans and bast shoes, which was considered the clothes of the poor. During the life of Lomonosov, Moscow University was not yet Imperial: the educational institution was directly subordinate to the Governing Senate, and its professorship was not subject to any court, except for the university. The activities of the university were regulated by the "Highly Approved Project on the Establishment of Moscow University". Only under Alexander I, in 1804, was a new charter of His Imperial Majesty Moscow University adopted, according to which the rector was annually elected by the professorial assembly and approved personally by the emperor. From that time until 1917, the university was called the Imperial Moscow University.

Badge of a graduate of the Imperial Moscow University

Strengthening discipline among students, encouraging their diligence in their studies, was rewarded with small swords, which gave personal nobility. For special merits, the best students received early military ranks ahead of schedule. Studying at Moscow University was equated with military service. Finishing the full course of the university, the student received the chief officer rank (military rank of junior reserve officer).

From spring in the evening, students and university gymnasiums were involved in military training. Students and gymnasium students formed a university amusing battalion, its review was held every autumn by the Moscow military commandant or one of the chiefs of the regiments stationed in the city.

Initially, students were not charged tuition fees, but state appropriations only partially covered the needs of the university, so in the future, poor students began to be exempted from fees. The university management had to find additional sources of income, not excluding even commercial activities. Huge material assistance was provided by patrons (Demidovs, Stroganovs, E.R. Dashkova, etc.). They acquired and donated to the university scientific instruments, collections, books, established scholarships for students. Do not forget your university and graduates. At a difficult time for the university, they raised funds by subscription. According to the established tradition, professors bequeathed their personal collections to the university library. Among them are the richest collections of I.M. Snegireva, P.Ya. Petrova, T.N. Granovsky, S.M. Solovyova, F.I. Buslaeva, N.K. Gudzia, I.G. Petrovsky and others.

Moscow University played a prominent role in the dissemination and popularization of scientific knowledge. The lectures of university professors and student debates could be attended by the public.

In April 1756, a printing house and a bookshop were opened at Moscow University on Mokhovaya Street. This marked the beginning of domestic book publishing. At the same time, the university began publishing twice a week the first non-governmental newspaper in the country, Moskovskie Vedomosti, and from January 1760, the first literary magazine in Moscow, Useful Entertainment. For ten years, from 1779 to 1789, the printing house was headed by a pupil of the university gymnasium, the outstanding Russian educator N.I. Novikov.

For over 100 years, the university library was the only public library in Moscow.

In the 19th century, the first scientific societies were formed at the university: Testers of Nature, Russian History and Antiquities, and Lovers of Russian Literature.

The combination of the tasks of education, science and culture in the activities of the Moscow University turned it, in the words of A.I. Herzen, into the "center of Russian education", one of the centers of world culture.

Tatyana's Day

There is a version that I.I. Shuvalov presented Elizaveta Petrovna with the Decree on the University precisely on January 25, in order to please his mother, who had a birthday that day. Since then, the celebration of Tatiana's Day, first of all, as the day of the founding of the University, has become traditional and loved by everyone who was lucky enough to study in this temple of science.

Holy Martyr Tatiana. Icon

Holy Martyr Tatiana

The Holy Martyr Tatiana was born into a noble Roman family - her father was elected consul three times. He was a secret Christian and raised a daughter devoted to God and the Church. Having reached adulthood, Tatiana did not marry and gave all her strength to the Church. She was made a deaconess in one of the Roman churches and served God, caring for the sick in fasting and prayer and helping those in need. Tatiana's righteousness was to be crowned with a crown of martyrdom.

When sixteen-year-old Alexander Severus (222-235) began to rule Rome, all power was concentrated in the hands of Ulpian, the worst enemy and persecutor of Christians. Christian blood flowed like a river. Deaconess Tatian was also captured. When she was brought to the temple of Apollo to force her to sacrifice to the idol, the saint prayed, and suddenly an earthquake occurred, the idol was blown to pieces, and part of the temple collapsed and crushed the priests and many pagans. Then they began to beat the holy virgin, gouged out her eyes, but she endured everything courageously, praying for her tormentors that the Lord would open their spiritual eyes to them. For three days she was tormented, but she did not renounce Christ. All the tortures of the tormentors were exhausted, she was sentenced to death, and the courageous sufferer was beheaded with a sword. Together with her, as a Christian, the father of Saint Tatiana, who revealed to her the truths of the faith of Christ, was also executed.

From the beginning of its foundation, the holiday was not celebrated magnificently and included a prayer service in the university church and small celebrations. However, in the 60s of the 19th century, January 25 became an unofficial student holiday, which was divided into official and unofficial parts. Official celebrations included: lunch in the dining room, a prayer service in the university church on Mokhovaya, the rector's address to students and the presentation of awards, as well as walks around the university premises: auditoriums and libraries.

After that, an unofficial program began. Students had fun and walked around the center of Moscow in groups, singing songs. The police treated the noisy students with understanding, and in the morning the police wrote the address with chalk on the backs of the students who went too far and took them home. On this holiday, all differences were erased: teachers walked with students, the rich had fun with the poor. Wealthy students dressed in a simple way and had fun with the rest of the students on the street. University graduates also celebrated this holiday with great pleasure. Thus, the founding day of the university has become a favorite holiday for all students in the country.

The holiday was so cheerful that everyone who could join and walk on this day, and a university graduate A.P. Chekhov once said about the celebration of Tatyana’s Day: “Everyone drank that day, except the Moskva River, and that was due to the fact that it was frozen ... Pianos and grand pianos crackled, orchestras did not stop. It was so fun that one student, out of an excess of feelings, bathed in a tank where sterlets swim.

After the celebration of the centenary in 1855, a tradition arose to arrange an annual meeting of graduates of Moscow University on Tatiana's Day as a regular celebration.

After the revolution, the Bolsheviks considered the holiday too violent. In 1918, the university church was closed, and a reading room was set up in it. The holiday "Tatiana's Day" was replaced in 1923 with the "Day of the Proletarian Students", and the celebration of Tatiana's Day was banned. In 1992, after Viktor Antonovich Sadovnichy took office as rector, the tradition of celebrating Tatyana's Day at Moscow University was renewed.

Despite the fact that the first university in Russia, teaching in which was organized in accordance with Western European standards, was opened in St. Petersburg, the history of higher education does not begin with it. The first in the Moscow Kingdom was the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, which trained mainly translators who knew the languages ​​of the neighboring major powers.

First university in Russia

The first university modeled on Western European educational institutions was St. Petersburg State University, the date of organization of which is January 28, 1724. However, the affairs of the university did not work out the first time, and soon, due to a lack of students, it was closed and resumed its work only in 1819.

The official version says that the current university traces its origins to the decree of Peter the Great, although many scholars adhere to an alternative point of view. According to an alternative view, the university of modern St. Petersburg State University was created on the basis of the Main Pedagogical Institute, which, in turn, was a reorganized Teacher's Seminary, founded in 1786.

However, in Soviet times, the myth of the continuity of the current university and the institution created by Peter I was established. The current leadership of the country and the educational institution itself adheres to the same point of view. Thus, according to official history, St. Petersburg is considered the first university in Russia. In 1999, the 275th anniversary of the university was solemnly celebrated. So the legend of the first university in Russia was confirmed at the highest level. Despite all the difficulties with determining the historical championship, St. Petersburg University remains today one of the most prestigious institutions of higher education in the country.

History of Moscow State University

Despite the fact that the university in Moscow was organized thirty years later than the one in St. Petersburg, its history, unlike the first one, was not interrupted. Thus, there can be no doubt about the date of its foundation, which is reliably established on the basis of the decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, signed on January 24, 1755. On the founding day of the university, students annually celebrate Tatyana's Day, which is considered a holiday for all Russian students. Contrary to the official point of view, some historians are sure that Moscow is right to be considered the first university in Russia.

The first university building was located on Red Square, on the site of the modern Historical Museum. Since the university was a state institution in the eighteenth century, it was directly subordinate to the Governing Senate, and there were special conditions for trial and dismissal for its professors.

Already in the 18th century, the university acquired its own press, a gymnasium, and in 1791 received the right to award academic degrees. However, the number of students at the time of the founding of Moscow State University was only one hundred people.

Significant changes took place in 1804, when a new charter of the Imperial Moscow University was adopted. It was now to be managed by the University Council, headed by the rector, who, nevertheless, was personally approved by the emperor.

Modernity of Moscow University

The history of Moscow State University has always been inextricably linked with Moscow and its intellectual elite. Today the university is the largest and one of the most prestigious universities in the country. The university has more than six hundred buildings and structures at its disposal, the most famous of which is the main building on Sparrow Hills.

In 2017, the structure of the university has forty-one faculties. Research institutes are actively functioning and developing, working in close conjunction with the scientific structures of the Academy of Sciences.

In addition to the Moscow buildings, there are also branches of the university in such cities as Sevastopol, Astana, Yerevan, Baku, Bishkek, Tashkent and Dushanbe. Each of the branches makes a significant contribution to the development of the intellectual environment of the cities in which they are located.

Kazan and other universities

It was opened in 1805 and immediately turned into one of the most important centers of scientific centers. In addition, not the most central position on the map of Russia made it possible to maintain a certain level of freedom at the university, which made Kazan a center of attraction for freedom-loving students.

At the end of the nineteenth century, Kazan University became the center of the socialist movement thanks to several student circles in which the young Vladimir Lenin took part. It was in his honor that the university was named in 1924.

In addition to universities founded on the orders of this or that Russian monarch, there were other higher schools on the territory of the Russian Empire. For example, the Derpt Imperial University was organized by order of the Swedish king Gustav ll in 1632, when Derpt, the current Estonian Tartu, was under the rule of Sweden.

Until 1710, the university taught exclusively in Swedish, after which the dominant position in the city and the university was occupied by immigrants from German lands, and, consequently, teaching was conducted in German. However, the history of the university was interrupted in the middle of the eighteenth century. He resumed his work again only in 1802 by decree of Paul l, who forbade sending students to study abroad. As in other universities of the Russian Empire, teaching at the new educational institution was conducted in Russian.

Dorpat University in the 20th century

After the fall of the autocracy and the defeat of Russia in World War I, persecution of Russian-speaking professors and students began in Dorpat, and the university itself was evacuated to Voronezh.

It was on the basis of Derpt University that Voronezh State University was created. And the Voronezh Kramskoy Art Museum was created on the basis of the collection of the Dorpat Gallery.

After the accession of Estonia to the USSR, teaching at the university resumed in Russian, it was this time that became the heyday of local science. The activity of Yuri Mikhailovich Lotman and his philological school, which went down in history under the name of Tartu, brought the university worldwide fame.

Modern Derpt University

After Estonia gained independence and declared Estonian as the only state language, teaching at the university is conducted in Estonian and English.

The university is well integrated into the system of European and international education. It has many international exchange programs under the European Erasmus program.

Education and formation of Moscow University

Moscow University is rightfully considered the oldest Russian university. It was founded in 1755. The establishment of the university in Moscow became possible thanks to the activities of the outstanding scientist and encyclopedist, the first Russian academician Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (1711–1765).

A.S. Pushkin rightly wrote about the titan of Russian and world science of the 18th century: “Combining the extraordinary strength of the will with the extraordinary strength of the concept, Lomonosov embraced all branches of education. The thirst for science was the strongest passion of this soul, full of passions. Historian, rhetorician, mechanic, chemist, mineralogist, artist and poet, he experienced everything and penetrated everything ... ”In the activities of M.V. Lomonosov reflected all the power, beauty and vitality of Russian science, which has reached the forefront of world scientific knowledge, the successes of the country, which, after the transformations of Peter I, managed to significantly reduce the backlog from the leading powers of the world and become one of them. M.V. Lomonosov attached great importance to the creation of a system of higher education in Russia. Back in 1724, at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, founded by Peter I, a university and a gymnasium were established to train scientific personnel in Russia. But the academic gymnasium and the university failed to cope with this task. Therefore, M.V. Lomonosov repeatedly raised the question of opening a university in Moscow. His proposals, formulated in a letter to I.I. Shuvalov, formed the basis of the Moscow University project. I.I. Shuvalov, a favorite of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, patronized the development of Russian science and culture, helped M.V. Lomonosov.

After reviewing the presented by I.I. With Shuvalov's project for a new educational institution, Elizaveta Petrovna signed on January 12 (25 according to the new style) January 1755 (on St. Tatiana's Day according to the Orthodox church calendar) a decree on the founding of Moscow University. The solemn opening ceremony of classes at the university took place on the day of the celebration of the anniversary of the coronation of Elizabeth Petrovna on April 26 (May 7), 1755. Since then, these days are traditionally celebrated at the university with student celebrations, the annual scientific conference "Lomonosov Readings" and the days of scientific creativity of students are timed to coincide with them.

In accordance with the plan of M.V. Lomonosov at Moscow University, 3 faculties were formed: philosophical, legal and medical. All students began their education at the Faculty of Philosophy, where they received fundamental training in natural sciences and the humanities. Education could be continued, specializing in law, medicine or the same philosophical faculty. Unlike universities in Europe, Moscow University did not have a theological faculty, which is explained by the presence in Russia of a special education system for the training of ministers of the Orthodox Church. Professors gave lectures not only in the then generally recognized language of science - Latin, but also in Russian.

Moscow University stood out for its democratic composition of students and professors. This largely determined the widespread dissemination among students and teachers of advanced scientific and social ideas. Already in the preamble of the decree on the establishment of a university in Moscow, it was noted that it was created "for the general education of raznochintsy." People from various classes could enter the university, with the exception of serfs. M.V. Lomonosov pointed to the example of Western European universities, where the principle of estates was done away with: “At the university, that student is more respectable, who has learned more; and whose son he is, there is no need for that. During the second half of the 18th century, out of 26 Russian professors who taught, only three were from the nobility. Raznochintsy made up the majority of students in the 18th century. The most capable students were sent to foreign universities to continue their education, strengthening contacts and ties with world science.

State appropriations only partially covered the needs of the university, especially since initially students were not charged tuition fees, and later they began to exempt poor students from it. The university management had to find additional sources of income, not excluding even commercial activities. Huge material assistance was provided by patrons (Demidovs, Stroganovs, E.R. Dashkova, etc.). They acquired and donated to the university scientific instruments, collections, books, established scholarships for students. The graduates did not forget about their alma mater either. More than once, in difficult times for the university, they raised funds by subscription. According to the established tradition, professors bequeathed their personal collections to the university library. Among them are the richest collections of I.M. Snegireva, P.Ya. Petrova, T.N. Granovsky, S.M. Solovyova, F.I. Buslaeva, N.K. Gudzia, I.G. Petrovsky and others.

Moscow University played an outstanding role in the dissemination and popularization of scientific knowledge. The lectures of university professors and student debates could be attended by the public. In April 1756, a printing house and a bookshop were opened at Moscow University on Mokhovaya Street. This marked the beginning of domestic book publishing. At the same time, the university began publishing twice a week the first non-governmental newspaper in the country, Moskovskie Vedomosti, and from January 1760, the first literary magazine in Moscow, Useful Entertainment. For ten years, from 1779 to 1789, the printing house was headed by a pupil of the university gymnasium, the outstanding Russian educator N.I. Novikov.

A year after the foundation of the university, the first readers were accepted by the university library. For over 100 years it served as the only public library in Moscow.

The educational activities of Moscow University contributed to the creation on its basis or with the participation of its professors of such large centers of national culture as the Kazan Gymnasium (since 1804 - Kazan University), the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg (until 1764 - under the jurisdiction of Moscow University), the Maly Theater and others

In the 19th century, the first scientific societies were formed at the university: Testers of Nature, Russian History and Antiquities, and Lovers of Russian Literature.

In the 18th century, remarkable figures of Russian science and culture studied and worked within the walls of Moscow University: philosophers N.N. Popovsky, D.S. Anichkov; mathematicians and mechanics V.K. Arshenevsky, M.I. Pankevich; medic S.G. Zybelin; botanist P.D. Veniaminov; physicist P.I. Strakhov; soil scientists M.I. Afonin, N.E. Cherepanov; historian and geographer H.A. Chebotarev; historian N.N. Bantysh-Kamensky; philologists and translators A.A. Barsov, S. Khalfin, E.I. Kostrov; jurists S.E. Desnitsky, I.A. Tretyakov; publishers and writers D.I. Fonvizin, M.M. Kheraskov, N.I. Novikov; architects V.I. Bazhenov and I.E. Starov.

The combination of the tasks of education, science and culture in the activities of the Moscow University turned it, in the words of A.I. Herzen, into the "center of Russian education", one of the centers of world culture.

In what year the first university was opened, you will learn from this article.

Where was the first university opened?

Education plays a very important role in the life of every person. The first universities were opened for this very purpose. Educational institutions have a long history.

The oldest universities in Europe:

1. Italian University of Bologna, opened in 1088,
2. English Oxford University, opened in 1100 (pictured),
3. English University of Cambridge, opened in 1200,
4. French University of Montpellier, opened in 1220.
5. German Heidelberg University, opened in 1386,
6. American Harvard University, opened in 1636,
7. Japanese Ryuge University, opened in 1639
8. University of Tokyo, opened in 1877.

But The first university in the world was founded in 372 in the state of Koguryo.. It was called "Taehak" or "Kendan". In 992, the state university "Kugchzhagam" was opened, in which scientists and feudal officials were trained. Today it is known as the university of light industry.

When was the first university in Europe opened?

In Constantinople in 425 opened the first institution of higher education. But it received the status of the first university in 848.

It is also an interesting fact that in 859 Al-Karaun University was founded in Morocco, which has been operating continuously from this year to the present day.

When was the first university opened in Russia?

The first university in Russia was opened on January 12, 1755 by decree of Empress Elizabeth. It was called Moscow University. Interestingly, it was opened on the day of St. Tatiana, so modern students consider her their patroness and celebrate this day as a student's day. For the university, the building of the Aptekarsky House was allocated, which is located near Red Square next to the Resurrection Gate. The founder of Moscow University is a famous scientist