MSU celebrates its 270th anniversary

On January 25, 1755, Empress Elizabeth Petrovna signed the decree establishing the first university in Russia. This day is considered the official founding date of Moscow State University (MSU). The establishment of the university in Moscow was largely made possible through the efforts of two individuals: the encyclopedic scientist Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov and his associate, the first curator of the University, Count Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov.

Initially, teaching was conducted in three faculties: Philosophy, Medicine, and Law. Today, MSU has several branches and comprises approximately 40 faculties, with over 50,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. The university currently employs more than 6,000 professors and lecturers, 6,000 candidates of sciences, 3,000 doctors of sciences, and over 300 academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences. MSU has become a major research center and has played a crucial role in the development of science, education, and culture.

Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov, whose name Moscow University has borne since 1940, was convinced that only the dissemination of science and enlightenment could contribute to the prosperity of Russia. His life's main goal was to bring Russian science to the European level, which he brilliantly achieved. Today, Lomonosov Moscow State University is the best university in Russia and one of the leading universities in the world.