Moscow University is rightfully considered the oldest Russian university. It was founded in 1755. The establishment of a 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 did not cope with this task. Therefore, M.V. Lomonosov has 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, the favorite of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, patronized the development of Russian science and culture, helped many of M.V. Lomonosov.

After getting acquainted with the presented I.I. Shuvalov and M.V. Lomonosov's project of a new educational institution, Elizaveta Petrovna signed a decree on the founding of Moscow University on January 25, 1755. The 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 M.V. Lomonosov, 3 faculties were formed at Moscow University: philosophy, law and medicine. All students began their studies at the Faculty of Philosophy, where they received fundamental training in the natural sciences and the humanities. Education could be continued, specializing in law, medicine, or at 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. The 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 wide dissemination of advanced scientific and social ideas among students and teachers. 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 commoners." 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 estate was done away with; “At the university, the more respectable student 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. The raznochintsy also made up the majority of the students. The most capable students were sent to foreign universities to continue their education, strengthening contacts and ties with world science.

State allocations only partially covered the needs of the university, especially since initially no tuition fees were charged from students, and later they began to exempt poor students from it. The university's leadership had to look for additional sources of income, not excluding even engaging in commercial activities.

Patrons of the arts (Demidovs, Stroganovs, E.R.Dashkova and others) rendered enormous material assistance to the University. They acquired and transferred to the university scientific instruments, collections, books, and established scholarships for students. The graduates did not forget about their alma mater. More than once, in a difficult time for the university, they raised funds by subscription. According to the established tradition, the 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. Solovyov, F.I. Buslaeva, N.K. Hudzia, I.G. Petrovsky and others.

Moscow University has played an outstanding role in the dissemination and popularization of scientific knowledge. The public could be present at lectures by university professors and students' debates. In April 1756, a printing house and a bookstore were opened at Moscow University on Mokhovaya Street. This laid the foundation for domestic book publishing. At the same time, the university began to publish twice a week the country's first non-governmental newspaper Moskovskie vedomosti, and in January 1760, the first literary magazine in Moscow, Polenoe Uveveslenie. For ten years, from 1779 to 1789, the printing house was headed by a student of the university gymnasium, an 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: the philosophers N.N. Popovsky, D.S. Anichkov; mathematics and mechanics V.K. Arshenevsky, M.I. Pankevich; medic S.G. Zybelin; botanist P.D. Veniaminov; physicist P.I. Fears; 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: legal scholars 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: Experts of nature, History and Russian antiquities, Lovers of Russian literature.

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

Until 1804, the activities of the university were regulated by the "Imperially approved project on the Establishment of Moscow University." In 1804, the university charter was adopted. The university was provided with significant autonomy, the rector and deans of the faculties were elected from among the professors. The first elected rector was 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 were awarded the title of "real student". The continuity of the various levels of education increased. According to the charter of 1804, the university carried out general management of secondary and primary educational institutions of the central provinces of Russia.

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

Only for the university library by 1815 it was possible 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 XIX century, the number of students exceeded 500 people.

In the first half of the 19th century, Moscow University occupied a leading place in the social life of Russia. Many members of the Decembrist organizations were his pets. The traditions of free thought were continued by the student circles of the brothers of Crete, 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 development of Russia were in full swing. Public courses of lectures and disputes of the head of the Westernizers, the brilliant scientist-historian T.N. Granovsky gathered all the 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 onto the path of capitalism. The University Charter of 1863 reflected the government’s general course in pursuing reforms designed to accelerate the country's development. The growth of industry, trade, agriculture, transformations in the field 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 Nikolaev's reign, was restored. About 1,500 students studied at the four faculties of the university - history and philology, physics and mathematics, law and medicine, most of whom belonged to commoners.

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

On the initiative and with the assistance of the university, in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, famous Moscow museums emerged: 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 national education and science, existed only until 1884. After the assassination of Tsar Alexander II by the Narodnaya Volya in 1881, the government resumed its offensive on university autonomy and tightened control over teaching. Nevertheless, the university has retained 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. Trubetskoy, S.N. Bulgakov, P.A. Florensky. Students and professors responded to the most pressing problems of Russian reality. Famous figures of the leading political parties of Russia studied or taught at the university.

Moscow University students were at the forefront of freedom fighters in the 1905-1907 revolution. 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-renowned 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 sharply decreased in connection with the First World War, which began in 1914.

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

At the same time, some of the students and famous scientists who did not accept the new political order were forced to leave Moscow University. Reorganizations of the 1920s and 1930s also caused some damage in pursuit of an increase in the number of specialists. Medical, Soviet law and (temporarily) faculties were withdrawn from the university, and independent universities were created on their basis.

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. Excessive excesses were also made in the organization of the educational process: a "brigade-laboratory method" of teaching was introduced, canceling lectures, giving the study of the material on its own to student teams of 3-5 people, the individual exam was replaced by collective reports of the teams.

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

The tragic events of public life of the 30-50s did not pass by the university. Ideological and administrative diktat on the part of the authorities hindered creative freedom. Contacts with foreign scientific centers were limited. Many scientists were subjected to unreasonable repression, 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 thousand students were enrolled in the full-time department alone. Over 30 professors and researchers have become 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 a difficult test 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. Volunteers from Moscow State University completed the 8th (Krasnopresnenskaya) division of the people's militia. She fought heroically during the defense of Moscow.

Since October 1941, the university was in evacuation, 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 Nazi hordes near Moscow.

During the war years, the university has graduated more than 3 thousand specialists. Scientists of the Moscow State University, with their scientific achievements, 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-going vessels, the substantiation of the theory of the accuracy of artillery shooting and shooting across areas, the provision of accurate time signals for the entire country, 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, a memorial sign was unveiled in 1975 near the 1st educational building, and the Eternal Flame of Glory was lit.

Post-war reconstruction and further development of the country was impossible without a new upsurge 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 auditoriums were equipped with the latest equipment for that time. The university budget has grown more than 5 times compared to the pre-war level.

Strengthening the material base, measures taken since the mid-50s to democratize political life in the country, expanding contacts with foreign states have significantly enriched the range of scientific research carried out at the university. Numerous specialized laboratories are being created, including interfaculty laboratories, and a powerful Research Computing Center has been organized. New faculties have 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 country's first Faculty of Soil Science. 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 students and postgraduates. To teach foreign citizens the Russian language in 1959, one of the first preparatory faculties of such a 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 famous 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. Baranskiy, 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. Huber; 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 was adopted. 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 thousand students and about 7 thousand post-graduate students study at Moscow State University. The number of professors and teachers is 4 thousand people. In addition, the university employs about 5 thousand researchers.

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

Compare Lenin's activities with the "deeds" of today's liberals and it will become clearer why the main production of the poor-brain liberals is the lie about Lenin and his followers.

• 1918, January - engineer (future academician) G.O. On behalf of Lenin, Graftio develops an estimate for the construction of the Volkhov hydroelectric power station.


• 1918, March - Flight research base under the direction of. Professor Zhukovsky. Collaboration with the Settlement and Testing Bureau at the Higher Technical School (MSTU named after Bauman).


• 1918 - At a meeting with the Russian scientist Winter, Lenin asked to start active work in nuclear power.


• 1918, March - Lenin's proposal to the Academy of Sciences to organize research in the field of nuclear energy


• 1918 May - The Institute for the Study of the Brain and Mental Activity is created.


• 1918, June - II All-Russian Aviation Congress.


• 1918, July - First radium plant.


• 1918, August - creation by Mikhail Bonch-Bruevich on behalf of Lenin of the Higher Geodetic Administration and the state enterprise


• "Aerial photography".
  1918, September - Institute for Physical and Chemical Research of Solids.


• 1918, October - TsAGI - The first institute in the world, headed by Zhukovsky and Tupolev, uniting a wide range of research.


• 1918, December - created:
  - State Institute of Applied Chemistry;
  - Scientific Chemical-Pharmaceutical Institute.


• 1918 - The first radio laboratory in Tver.


• 1918, December - a larger Nizhny Novgorod radio laboratory.


• 1918 - Commission for Artillery Experiments (KOSARTOP). She created a program to create new weapons, ammunition and devices.


• 1919, January - Russian Scientific Chemical Institute.


• 1919 - Faculty of Physics and Mechanics at the Petrograd Polytechnic.


• 1919 - Commission for the Development of Heavy Aviation (COMTA)


• 1919, July - Russian Astronomical and Geodetic Institute (AGI).


• 1919, December - State Computing Institute (GVI).


• 1923, April - the institutes of AGI and GVI are reorganized into a single


• State Astronomical Institute.


• 1920, March - Shukhov radio-TV tower on Shabolovka.


• 1920, November - Institute of Engineers of the Red Air Fleet (VVIA named after Zhukovsky).


• 1920 - The first faculty of air communications at the Wayship Institute.


• 1920 - opened:
  - Institute of Engineers of the Red Air Fleet (VVIA named after Zhukovsky);
  - State Institute of Public Health;
  - Biochemical Institute named after A. N. Bach, Institute for Vaccine and Serum Control;
  - Tuberculosis Institute;
  - Institute of Social Hygiene, etc.


• 1920 - Resolution of the Congress of Soviet Metallurgists on the development of electrolytic production of magnesium for aluminum-magnesium alloys.


• 1921, January - The first Soviet civilian aircraft - the KOMTA heavy triplane.


• 1921, January - by order of Lenin, a Commission was created to work out a program for the development of "aeronautics and aircraft construction."


• 1921, February - at the initiative of V.A. Steklov Institute of Physics and Mathematics was established.
  At the same time, by the decree of the Glavprofobra and the Collegium of the People's Commissariat of Posts and Telegraphs of 01/31/1921 at the Electrotechnical College of People's Communications named after Podbelsky, the Moscow Electrotechnical Institute of People's Communications named after V.I. Podbelsky (MEINS) *


• 1921, November - institutes are created:
  - State X-ray and Radiological (Biomedical Institute);
  - State Physics and X-ray Institute;


• 1921, December - Radium Institute.


• 1922 - First particle accelerator.


• 1921 - Floating Marine Research Institute (Plavmornin).


• 1921 - Experimental workshop of the latest inventions (EKSMANI - experimental workshop of the latest inventions).


• 1922, October - Commission at TsAGI for the construction of metal aircraft, headed by Tupolev.


• 1922, December - a 3-year program for the development of the aircraft industry.


• 1921-1923 - the Astrophysical Institute, the Biological Institute named after V.I. K.A. Timiryazeva, Geographical Institute.


• 1922 - 11 research institutes were organized at Moscow State University. At the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics:
  mathematics and mechanics, physics and crystallography, mineralogy and petrography, zoology, botany, anthropology, astronomical and geodetic, geological, soil, geographical and chemical
  At the Faculty of Medicine - the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity.


• 1922 - The world's first radio broadcast of the concert.


• 1923 - Institute of Postgraduate Studies for the Training of Scientific Personnel


• 1923 - production of a 400-horsepower aircraft engine (American "Liberty") and a 300-horsepower "Hispano-Suiza" and development of the Soviet aircraft engine M-11.


• 1924 - The world's first all-metal twin-engine bomber TB-1.


• 1924 - Unified State Aviation Trust.

Only in 1918 - 1919. 33 research institutes were created. By 1923, the number of research institutes reached 56, and in 1929 - 406.

On April 26 (May 7), 1755, the first university in our country was opened in Moscow, or rather, on that day a part of the university - a gymnasium - was opened, but less than three months later, classes began at the university itself.

The opening of the university was solemn. The only newspaper in Russia at that time reported that about 4,000 guests visited the university building on Red Square that day, music thundered all day, illumination blazed, "there were countless numbers of people, all day long, even until four o'clock in the morning."


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

The first building of the Moscow University (now the Moscow State University) was located in the building of the Main Pharmacy (former Zemsky Prikaz) on the site of the State Historical Museum on Red Square (Voskresenskiye Vorota passage, 1/2). The university was located in this building from April 1755 (opening) until it moved to a new building on Mokhovaya Street in 1793.

In this house, rebuilt as an educational institution, on April 26, 1755, the official opening - "inauguration", as they said, of the gymnasium of the Imperial Moscow University, and with it the university itself, took place.

An educational institution, opened on the basis of a personal decree "On the establishment of Moscow University and two gymnasiums" issued by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna on January 24, 1755. Attached to this act was the "Project on the Establishment of Moscow University", which provided for the creation of three faculties at the university: law, medicine and philosophy.

In accordance with § 22 of the "Project on the Establishment of Moscow University," education in all its faculties was to last three years. Admission to university students in accordance with § 23 was carried out based on the results of an exam, during which those who wanted to study at the university had to show that they were "capable of listening to professors' lectures."


All those who entered the university initially studied for three years at the Faculty of Philosophy, studying the humanities1, as well as mathematics and other exact sciences. After three years, they could either remain at the same faculty for in-depth study of one of the subjects, or move to the medical and law faculties, where their studies continued for another four years. The medical faculty studied not only medicine, but also chemistry, botany, zoology, agronomy, mineralogy and other natural sciences.

In September-October 1755, the number of state-owned students was increased to thirty people. The first enrollment was completed at this point: Moscow University began to operate. However, at that time, neither the Faculty of Law, nor the Faculty of Medicine had yet emerged as independent departments of the university.

Lomonosov decided to act through the favorite of the Empress Ivan Shuvalov - a young empty dandy, who played himself a patron of science and art. Shuvalov supported his proposal, but at the same time appropriated the fame of the creator of the university, "the inventor of that useful business." In addition, Shuvalov made a number of changes to the Lomonosov project that worsened and crippled it.

Lomonosov was not mentioned either in official documents or during the opening of the university. But it was not possible to hide the truth about Lomonosov's great merit. Pushkin also said that Lomonosov, who "himself was our first university," "created the first Russian university." In our Soviet era, the government named Moscow University after its founder.

From the very beginning, the building of the Main Pharmacy met all the needs of the university with great difficulty: here, in addition to lecture halls, there were classrooms of the university gymnasium, a library and a mineralogical office, a chemical laboratory, and a printing house with a bookstore. Therefore, already from the 1760s. some of the classrooms are being transferred to newly acquired houses on Mokhovaya Street. The final move of the university to Mokhovaya took place at the end of the 18th century.

The first university building, having lost its inhabitants, was gradually decaying (in the photograph we see its state in the middle of the 19th century) and was dismantled in connection with the construction of the Historical Museum. A memorial plaque in its wall now testifies to the Moscow University that once opened in this place.

The Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education "Lomonosov Moscow State University" was founded in 1755. Despite the fact that the university was opened under Elizaveta Petrovna, the empress's father, Peter I. The emperor represented the university as a center of science and culture. But he did not have time to carry out his plans.
The development of the Russian Empire during the time of Elizabeth Petrovna needed a large number of educated people. The St. Petersburg University, colleges and schools that already existed at that time could not cope with the task. The enlightened people of Russia had ideas about creating an educational institution in which common people could study.
One of these people was Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov. He was always interested in the development and education of the country. In 1753, leaving Petersburg for Moscow, he began together with Count I.I. Shuvalov, a confidant of the imperial court, to develop a project for the creation of the first Moscow University. The count had a great influence on the foreign and domestic policy of the country and was sure that after the appearance of Moscow State University, Russia would be able to compete on equal terms with all the peoples of Europe. On January 25, 1755, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna signed a decree establishing Moscow University.
Initially, the project of the new building was undertaken by the architect Boris Iofan, the author of the skyscraper "Palace of the Soviets". However, he was removed from work, and the project was transferred to L.V. Rudnev.
At first, the university founded three faculties: law, medicine and philosophy.
Three professors taught law:
1. Professor of all jurisprudence, who was supposed to know natural and popular rights, legalization of the Roman ancient and new empires and, accordingly, teach this.
2. Professor of Russian jurisprudence, who was supposed to know and teach internal state law.
3. A professor of politics, who was supposed to show the mutual behavior, alliances and actions of states and sovereigns among themselves, as it happened in the past centuries and as it happens in the present time.
The Faculty of Medicine had three professors:
1. Doctor and professor of chemistry.
2. Doctor and professor of natural history.
3. Doctor and Professor of Anatomy.
Philosophical - six:
Professors of philosophy, physics, oratorio, poetry, history, antiquity and criticism.
Also MV Lomonosov wanted the university to have a gymnasium.
Education began at the Faculty of Philosophy. Students received basic training in science and humanities. Education could be continued, specializing in one of the three faculties. The professors gave lectures in Latin and in Russian. The most prominent students were sent to foreign universities.
The University has played an outstanding role in the dissemination of scientific knowledge. In April 1756, a printing house and a bookstore were opened at Moscow State University, which gave rise to domestic book publishing. The activities of Moscow University helped to create such large centers as the Kazan Gymnasium, the Maly Theater, the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg.
In the 19th century, the first scientific societies were formed at the university: the Society of Nature Experts, the Society of Russian History and Antiquities, and the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature.
The war with Napoleon, which began in 1812, caused an unprecedented patriotic enthusiasm among Moscow State University students.
In the 19th century, Moscow University played a leading role in the social life of Russia.
The abolition of serfdom in 1861, the entry of Russia on the path of capitalism - all this had a strong impact on university life. The growth of industry, trade, agriculture, transformations in the field of administration, the court, the army - all this required an increased level of education. In 1863, the number of teachers at the university increased. About 1,500 students studied at four faculties (in 1758 there were only 100). By 1941, the university had over 5,000 students.
Since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), the university was in evacuation. Over the years, Moscow University has graduated more than 3,000 students. More than 5,000 university students fought on the fronts of the war. About 3,000 students, graduate students, professors, teachers and employees of Moscow State University did not return from the battlefield. A monument was erected in their honor and the Eternal Flame of Glory was lit.
Lomonosov Moscow State University trained such people as:
Balmont Konstantin Dmitrievich
Bukharin Nikolay Ivanovich
Lermontov Mikhail Yurievich
Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich.

Date Faculty opening
10/01/1929 Chemical
05/16/1934 Historical
07/23/1938 Geographical and geological
12/20/1941 Economic and philological
06/07/1952 Faculty of Journalism
06.12.1965 Faculty of Psychology
03.16.1970 Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics
04/10/1973 Faculty of Soil Science
1988 Faculty of Foreign Languages
06.06. 1989 Sociological
1991 Faculty of Materials Science
1992 Faculty of Fundamental Medicine
1993 Faculty of Public Administration
1997 Faculty of Pedagogical Education
2001 Faculty of Arts
2002 Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics
2003 Faculty of World Politics

On April 26 (May 7), 1755, the first university in our country was opened in Moscow, more precisely, on that day a part of the university - a gymnasium - was opened, but after three months classes began at the university itself. The opening of the university was solemn. The only newspaper in Russia at that time reported that about 4,000 guests visited the university building on Red Square that day, music thundered all day, lights blazed, “there were countless numbers of people, all day long, even until four o'clock in the morning.

The need to create 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 state's needs for domestic specialists. Among the most enlightened people in Russia, the idea of ​​the need to create a classical state university was ripening, where not only nobles, but also commoners could study.
In 1741, the Russian throne was occupied by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. She contributed to the development of national science and culture, brought educated people closer to her. Its official policy in the field of education was to continue the work started 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 Kamer-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 patronized scientists, writers and artists. Among other things, he supported many of Lomonosov's initiatives. Under his patronage, Moscow University was founded in 1755 (Shuvalov became its first curator), and in 1757 the Academy of Arts was created (Shuvalov was its president until 1763). A young, charming, patriotic nobleman significantly influenced the development of Russian 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 doubts that if Russia was given education, it would "compete in education" on equal terms 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 widespread is the assertion that Moscow University was created thanks to the cares of the great Russian scientist Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, whose name he bears.

Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov

Moscow University was not the first university in Russia, but it was the first university to which all young people, without exception, were admitted, regardless of what class they belong to. One thing was required of a young man entering the university: that he was talented and wanted to study.

There has never been such a university in Russia. True, in 1725 an 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 academicians strove to preserve their exclusive position in Russia, so foreign students and teachers preferred foreign ones instead of “discovering” Russian talents in Russia.

In the winter of 1753, Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov left Petersburg for Moscow, where at that time the court of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna was located, and began to work hard to create a university here. He developed a project, 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 Tatiana's day, the Empress signed a decree on the founding of Moscow University, the curators of which were I.I. Shuvalov, L. Blumentrost (Leibmedic), and A.M. Argamakov.

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

Although Lomonosov was not present at the opening of the university and did not teach there, he took an active part in the development of Moscow University: he strove for lectures at the first Russian university to be 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 Voskresensky) Gates. It was built at the end of the 17th century. and resembled in its design the famous Sukharev tower. Empress Elizabeth signed the decree on the transfer of the Pharmacy House to the newly opened Moscow University on August 8, 1754.

Organization of the educational process

Initially, Moscow University had three faculties with a staff of 10 professors. The Faculty of Philosophy relied on 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 will 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 attend additional courses. In addition, all students participated in monthly debates led by the university's tenured professors. A week before the next dispute, the topic and the names of the speakers from among the students were announced. At the end of each half of the year, open disputes were organized at the university with the participation of professors, all students and fans of science from among the residents of Moscow. Preparing for disputes 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 a salary of 40 rubles from the treasury. a year, and the rest lived on their own funds. In the minutes of the university conference on July 2, 1759, there is such an entry: "One of the reasons that hindered the success of the classes was the lack of textbooks, which the state-owned employees could not acquire due to poverty."

At the end of 1757, Count I.I. Shuvalov ordered to release money for shoes and dresses in order to dress the students decently. At the same time, it was ordered to give out to the state officials "in addition to the salary for food, a half a month each." An instruction to the director of the university (§22) forbade students to enter classes in naked fur coats, gray caftans and bast shoes, which were considered the clothes of the poor. During Lomonosov's lifetime, Moscow University was not yet an Imperial University: the educational institution was directly subordinate to the Governing Senate, and its professors were not subject to any court, except for the university one. The activities of the university were regulated by the "Imperially approved project on the establishment of Moscow University." Only under Alexander I, in 1804, was the new charter of His Imperial Majesty Moscow University adopted, according to which the rector was elected annually by the professors' meeting and personally approved by the emperor. From that time until 1917, the university was called the Imperial Moscow University.

Breastplate of a graduate of the Imperial Moscow University

The rewarding of small swords, which gave personal nobility, served to strengthen discipline among students, to encourage their diligence in their studies. For special merits, the best students received the next military ranks ahead of schedule. Studying at Moscow University was equated with military service. Completing the full course of the university, the student received the chief officer's rank (the military rank of a junior reserve officer).

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

Initially, no tuition fees were charged from students, but government allocations only partially covered the needs of the university, so later on they began to exempt poor students from fees. The university's leadership had to look for additional sources of income, not excluding even engaging in commercial activities. The philanthropists (Demidovs, Stroganovs, E.R.Dashkova and others) rendered enormous material assistance. They acquired and transferred to the university scientific instruments, collections, books, and established scholarships for students. The graduates did not forget their university. In a difficult time for the university, they raised funds by subscription. According to the established tradition, the 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. Solovyov, F.I. Buslaeva, N.K. Hudzia, I.G. Petrovsky and others.

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

In April 1756, a printing house and a bookstore were opened at Moscow University on Mokhovaya Street. This laid the foundation for domestic book publishing. At the same time, the university began to publish twice a week the country's first non-governmental newspaper Moskovskie vedomosti, and in January 1760, the first literary magazine in Moscow, Polenoe Uveveslenie. For ten years, from 1779 to 1789, the printing house was headed by a student of the university gymnasium, an 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: Experts of nature, History and Russian antiquities, Lovers of Russian literature.

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

Tatyana's Day

There is a version that I.I. Shuvalov presented the Decree on the University to Elizaveta Petrovna on January 25, in order to please her mother, who had a birthday that day. Since then, the celebration of Tatiana's day, first of all, as the day of the foundation of the University, has become traditional and beloved by everyone who is fortunate 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, in fasting and prayer, caring for the sick and helping those in need. Tatiana was to crown her righteousness with the crown of martyrdom.

When sixteen-year-old Alexander Sever (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 they brought her to the temple of Apollo to force her to offer a 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 tortured, but she never denied Christ. All the torture of the torturers was 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.

Since its inception, the holiday has not been celebrated pompously and has included a prayer service in the university church and small celebrations. However, in the 60s of the XIX century, January 25 became an unofficial student holiday, which was divided into official and unofficial parts. The official celebrations included: lunch in the canteen, a prayer service in the university church on Mokhovaya, an address by the rector to students and the presentation of awards, as well as walks around the university premises: classrooms and libraries.

After that, an unofficial program began. The 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 in chalk on the backs of the walking students and took them home. On this holiday, all differences were erased: teachers walked with students, the rich had fun with the poor. The wealthy students dressed in plain clothes and had fun with the rest of the students on the street. University graduates also celebrated this holiday with great pleasure. Thus, the foundation day of the university has become a favorite holiday for all students in the country.

The holiday was so merry that everyone who could joined and walked that day, and the university graduate A.P. Chekhov once said about the celebration of Tatyana's day: “On that day, everyone drank, except for the Moskva River, and that was due to the fact that it was frozen ... The pianos and grand pianos crackled, the orchestras did not stop. It was so much fun that one student, out of excess of feelings, bathed in a tank where sterlets swim. "

After celebrating the centenary in 1855, it became a tradition to organize the annual meeting of Moscow University graduates on Tatyana'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 Proletarian Students, and the celebration of Tatiana's Day was banned. In 1992, after Viktor Antonovich Sadovnichy took over as rector, the tradition of celebrating Tatyana's Day at Moscow University was renewed.