Ibrahim Gardner
Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. It is the oldest classical university in Russia, founded in 1755, and has produced 13 Nobel laureates, 6 Fields Medal winners, and 1 Turing Award winner. The university has faced challenges, including political repression and war, but has solidified its position as a major academic force in Russia and worldwide. MSU offers a wide range of programs and is considered one of the most prestigious universities in Russia, attracting international students and scholars.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of Establishment | 25 January 1755 |
| Founder | Mikhail Lomonosov |
| Initial Number of Faculties | 3 |
| Initial Number of Students | 100 |
| Language of Instruction | Latin and Russian |
| Initial Location | Principal Medical Store on Red Square |
| Current Location | Mokhovaya Street, Sparrow Hills, Moscow |
| Number of Campuses | 6 |
| Number of Faculties | 43 |
| Number of Departments | 300+ |
| Number of Research Institutes | 15 |
| Number of Students | 47,000+ |
| Number of International Students | 4,000 |
| Courses Offered | 300+ |
| World Ranking | 87th |
| Unique Status | Funded directly by the state |
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What You'll Learn
History of Moscow State University
Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1755 by the linguist M.V. Lomonosov, it is the oldest surviving, largest, and most prestigious university in Russia. It was modelled after German universities, with its original faculty being predominantly German.
The university's main building was constructed between 1782 and 1793 to a Neo-Palladian design by Matvei Kazakov. It was rebuilt after the Fire of Moscow in 1812 by Domenico Giliardi. At this time, the university had three faculties: philosophy, medicine, and law. In the second half of the 19th century, Moscow State University became the most important centre of scientific research and scholarship in Russia.
The university underwent a notable expansion following the Russian Revolution of 1917, and it maintained its preeminent role in various disciplines during the Soviet period. After the revolution, the university opened its doors to qualified students of all social classes, and efforts were made to assist those of the lower classes in attaining entrance qualifications.
In the post-war era, Joseph Stalin ordered the construction of seven tiered neoclassic towers around the city, including the main building of Moscow State University on Lenin Hills. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on April 12, 1949, and the building was completed in 1953. Stalin died seven months before the high-rise "Temple of Science" opened its doors to students.
Today, Moscow State University includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. It has a long-standing reputation for its education and research facilities, especially in the areas of science and mathematics. The university's A.M. Gorky Research Library is one of the largest libraries in Russia.
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Academic reputation
Moscow State University (MSU) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia, with a rich history, founded in 1755 on the initiative of Mikhail Lomonosov, a respected Russian polymath and scientist. The university has played an outstanding role in the democratisation of education in Russia, and its long-standing democratic traditions continue today.
MSU has a strong academic reputation, with 13 Nobel laureates, 6 Fields Medal winners, and 1 Turing Award winner affiliated with the university as of 2019. It has educated many notable alumni, including writers Anton Chekhov, Boris Pasternak, and Ivan Turgenev; politicians Mikhail Gorbachev, Mikhail Suslov, and Ruslan Khasbulatov; and mathematicians and physicists Vladimir Arnold, Boris Demidovich, Vladimir Drinfeld, Vitaly Ginzburg, Andrey Kolmogorov, Grigory Margulis, Andrei Sakharov, and Yakov Sinai. The university also has a strong research focus, with 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and 6 branches, as well as numerous scientific discoveries to its name.
MSU offers a wide range of academic programs, with over 300 bachelor's, specialist, and master's degree programs, as well as unique courses such as the Faculty of Space Research and interdisciplinary courses in bioinformatics and nanotechnology. The university is also known for its strong international collaboration, with student exchange programs and research partnerships with universities worldwide. It has more than 700 partnership agreements with universities from 64 countries and participates in academic exchange programs such as Erasmus+. The university also has a large multinational campus, with 10,000 foreign students, graduate students, and interns from 90 countries annually.
In addition to its academic reputation, MSU has a notable history of political influence, with the emergence of social-democratic organisations in the early 20th century causing conflict with the Tsarist government. The Russian Revolution of 1917 brought significant changes to the university, abolishing tuition fees and opening up higher education to a wider population. During World War II, the university contributed to military science and, in the post-war period, received increased funding and fostered international collaboration once again.
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Notable alumni
Moscow State University has a long list of notable alumni, including 13 Nobel laureates, 6 Fields Medal winners, and one Turing Award winner. The university is the alma mater of writers Anton Chekhov, Boris Pasternak, and Ivan Turgenev.
Boris Pasternak
MA, 1913 - Writer, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1958.
Alexander Prokhorov
Physics professor - Nobel Prize in Physics in 1964.
Alexey Abrikosov
MS 1948 - Soviet-Russian-American physicist; Nobel laureate in Physics in 2003.
Mikhail Gorbachev
MA 1955 - Russian politician and statesman, served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. Gorbachev won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990.
Pyotr Kapitsa
Physics professor - Nobel laureate in Physics in 1978.
Lev Landau
Physics professor - Nobel laureate in Physics in 1962.
Vladimir Arnold
Mathematician - Shaw Prize (2008), State Prize of the Russian Federation (2007), Wolf Prize (2001), Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics, Harvey Prize (1994), RAS Lobachevsky Prize (1992), Crafoord Prize (1982), Lenin Prize (1965).
Grigory Barenblatt
Mathematician - Timoshenko Medal (2005).
Grigory Margulis
PhD 1970 - Russian-American mathematician; Erastus L. De Forest Professor of Mathematics at Yale University; winner of the Fields Medal in 1978.
Alexander Ivanovich Oparin
Soviet biochemist notable for his theories about the origin of life and for his book 'The Origin of Life'.
Wassily Kandinsky
Russian painter and art theorist, generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstraction in Western art.
Other notable alumni include:
- Vladislav Yurievich Doronin - businessman, real estate developer, and art collector.
- Ilya Frank - professor of physics; Nobel Prize in Physics in 1958.
- Vitaly Ginzburg - physicist; Nobel laureate in Physics in 2003.
- Ilya M. Sobol - mathematician.
- Eugene Dynkin - mathematician, Leroy P. Steele Prize (1993).
- Alexander Bogomolny - Israeli-American mathematician; creator of the mathematical education website Cut-the-Knot.
- Sergei Novikov - mathematician; winner of the Fields Medal in 1970.
- Nikolai Bogolyubov - theoretical physicist and mathematician.
- C. A. R. Hoare - British computer scientist; winner of the Turing Award in 1980.
- Mikhail Suslov - politician.
- Ruslan Khasbulatov - politician.
- Vladimir Drinfeld - mathematician and physicist.
- Andrey Kolmogorov - mathematician.
- Andrei Sakharov - mathematician and physicist.
- Yakov Sinai - mathematician and physicist.
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Campus and buildings
Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. It was founded in 1755 and is Russia's oldest university. The university has 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, over 300 departments, and six branches. The main campus is located on a hilltop in southwest Moscow, offering a panoramic view of the city. The campus covers approximately 1.6 square kilometres.
The main building of Moscow State University is a 239-metre (784 ft) skyscraper with 36 storeys in its central part. It was designed by Lev Rudnev in the Stalinist architectural style and constructed between 1947 and 1953. The building features a 58-metre spire topped with a 12-ton five-pointed star. The main tower consumed over 40,000 tons of steel and 130,000 cubic metres of concrete. It was inaugurated on 1 September 1953 and was the tallest building in Europe for 37 years, from 1953 to 1990. It still holds the record for the tallest educational building in the world. The building's design inspired various structures in socialist countries, such as the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, and the logo of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.
The campus has a rich history, with the university initially occupying a building on Red Square, now the site of the State Historical Museum. In the 18th century, the university consisted of three departments: philosophy, medicine, and law. The medical campus expanded in the late 19th century with a new site in Devichye Pole, designed by Konstantin Bykovsky. In 1930, the medical campus and education separated from Moscow University, with the former coming under the management of the independent I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University.
Following World War II, a new campus was constructed on Vorobyovy Gory (Sparrow Hills), featuring modern lecture halls and laboratories. This site became the main location for most faculties from 1953 onwards. The campus was built using Gulag labour, as were many of Joseph Stalin's construction projects during this period.
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Corruption and bribery
MSU has been at the centre of several corruption scandals. In 1985, the Dean of the law faculty was dismissed for accepting bribes. More recently, in 2019, the deputy dean of the faculty of World Politics was caught accepting a €30,000 bribe for PhD admission. This incident occurred just a year after another MSU professor was recorded receiving €35,000 from a student. These incidents highlight the pervasive nature of corruption in Russian higher education, where bribery is considered a common practice.
The types of corruption and bribery in the education system extend beyond admissions and encompass various services and goods. These include exams, grades, degrees, private tutoring, public tenders, and auxiliary services such as canteen privileges, library access, and student housing. The Moscow magazine Bolshoi Gorod published an investigative piece in 2011, exposing the range of services that could be procured through bribery, including academic degrees and official documents.
To address corruption and bribery in universities, various measures have been proposed and implemented. In 2001, the Russian government introduced the Unified State Examination (USE), a nationwide standardised test for university admissions, aimed at fostering transparency and competition. Additionally, there have been calls for reducing the number of educational institutions, increasing public spending on education, implementing impartial evaluation systems, and establishing watchdog bodies to strengthen civil society control. While these measures aim to tackle corruption, it remains a pervasive issue in the country's education system, undermining its quality and integrity.
The issue of corruption in education is not unique to Russia, as evidenced by the college admissions scandal in the United States. Similar to post-Soviet countries, the U.S. education system faces challenges with privilege and the perpetuation of elite networks. However, the approach to higher education as a source of social capital and abnormal remuneration creates a unique incentive for corruption during the admissions process. Addressing income inequality and prioritising intellectual development over networking could help mitigate corruption in both post-Soviet and U.S. contexts.
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Frequently asked questions
Moscow State University (MSU) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia, founded on 25 January 1755. It is the oldest classical university in Russia and has been ranked as the best university in the country. The university has produced 13 Nobel laureates, 6 Fields Medal winners, and one Turing Award winner.
MSU is the highest-ranked university in Russia and is considered one of the most prestigious universities in the country. It has a consistent position within the global top 150 of the QS World University Rankings. The university has a unique status where it is funded directly by the state, bypassing the Ministry of Education.
Notable alumni of MSU include writers Anton Chekhov, Boris Pasternak, and Ivan Turgenev; politicians Mikhail Gorbachev, Mikhail Suslov, and Ruslan Khasbulatov; and mathematicians and physicists Vladimir Arnold, Boris Demidovich, and Vladimir Drinfeld, among others.
