Moscow State University

Moscow State University, also called MSU or M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, is a big public research university in Moscow, Russia. It has 15 research institutes, 43 different school sections called faculties, over 300 departments, and six smaller campuses. Many important leaders from the past, including leaders of the Soviet Union, studied there. The university has been linked to 13 Nobel Prize winners, 6 winners of the Fields Medal, and one winner of the Turing Award, showing how many smart and successful people have been part of the university.

History

Main article: Imperial Moscow University

Ivan Shuvalov and Mikhail Lomonosov promoted the idea of a university in Moscow, and Russian Empress Elizabeth decreed its establishment on 23 January 1755. The first lectures were given on 7 May 1755. Both Moscow State University and Saint Petersburg State University claim to be Russia's oldest university.

In the 18th century, the university had three departments: philosophy, medicine, and law. In 1804, medical education split into clinical (therapy), surgical, and obstetrics faculties.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the university began to admit children from working-class families. In 1919, the university abolished tuition fees. During Joseph Stalin's first five-year plan (1928–32), the university was expanded.

In 1970, the university had special rules affecting some students. In the mid-1980s, a dean was dismissed for wrong actions. After 1991, nine new faculties were established, and the university gained a unique status: it is funded directly from the state budget.

In 2008, Russia's most powerful supercomputer was launched at the university. In March 2022, the university's rector endorsed the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, leading some universities and companies to suspend their relationships with Moscow State University.

Campus

Main article: Main building of Moscow State University

Since 1953, many parts of the university have been in a place called Sparrow Hills in southwest Moscow. The main building has a very tall tower that was the tallest in Europe until 1990. It is 240 meters high and has 36 floors.

The main building holds many important rooms and schools, like the Museum of Earth Sciences and classes for math, geology, geography, and arts. Other schools, such as journalism and psychology, are in another building nearby. The university also has smaller schools in several countries.

Faculties

Moscow State University has many different schools, called faculties, where students can study many subjects. As of 2009, there were 39 faculties and 15 research centers. Some of the faculties include:

• Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics
• Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Cybernetics
• Faculty of Physics
• Faculty of Chemistry
• Faculty of Materials Science
• Faculty of Biology
• Faculty of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics
• Faculty of Soil Science
• Faculty of Geology
• Faculty of Geography
• Faculty of Fundamental Medicine
• Faculty of Space Research
• Faculty of History
• Faculty of Philology
• Faculty of Philosophy
• Faculty of Economics
• Faculty of Law
• Faculty of Journalism
• Faculty of Psychology
• Institute of Asian and African Countries
• Faculty of Sociology
• Faculty of Foreign Languages and Area Studies
• Faculty of Public Administration
• Faculty of World Politics
• Faculty of Political Science
• Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts
• Faculty of Global Studies
• Faculty of Education
• Graduate School of Business Administration
• Faculty of Physics and Chemistry
• Moscow School of Economics
• Graduate School of Translation and Interpretation
• Graduate School of Public Administration
• Graduate School of Public Audit
• Graduate School of Administration and Innovations
• Graduate School of Innovative Business Administration
• Graduate School of Contemporary Social Sciences
• Graduate School of Television
• Center of Military Training

Institutions and research centers

• Skobeltsyn Institute of Nuclear Physics
• Institute of Mechanics
• Sternberg Astronomical Institute
• A.N. Belozersky Institute of Physico-Chemical Biology
• Research Computing Center
• N.N. Bogolyubov Institute for Theoretical Problems of Microphysics
• White Sea Biological Station
• Moscow University Herbarium

Academic reputation

MSU was ranked between 101st and 150th in the world in 2024 by the Academic Ranking of World Universities, and 105th in 2026 by the QS World University Rankings.

The university works with universities around the world, sharing students and teachers. It offers special courses supported by UNESCO, including ones about people moving between countries and water science. In 1991, it opened colleges with France, the United States, and Germany.

Because of its support for the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the university's reputation suffered. (See: sanctions).

Staff and students

Moscow State University has a large team of educators and workers. Over 4,000 teachers and 15,000 support staff help keep the university running. There are also about 5,000 researchers working in its labs and institutes.

Many students study here too. More than 40,000 young people are working toward their first degrees, and about 7,000 are studying for higher degrees. Each year, the university welcomes around 2,000 students and researchers from many countries around the world.

Notable people

Main article: List of Moscow State University people

Many famous people studied at Moscow State University. Some of them have won the highest awards in science and math. The university educated well-known writers like Anton Chekhov, Boris Pasternak, and Ivan Turgenev. It also educated important leaders such as Mikhail Gorbachev and scientists like Vladimir Arnold and Andrey Kolmogorov.

Religious organizations

Russian law does not allow religious groups to operate directly inside universities, but they still do at Moscow State University. You can find religious books and items for worship on the university grounds.

Russian Orthodox Church

There are two Orthodox churches at Moscow State University: the small church dedicated to Saint Tatiana and another church named after Saints Cyril and Methodius.

In 2011, a leader of the Russian Orthodox Church asked the university to build a small chapel. He thought it would help teach young people important values. This idea had different opinions from people online and in the news.

Later, the university gave an important honor to this church leader for his work with young people. When he visited the university, some students said they were made to attend the meeting, but university leaders said this was not true.

Criticism

In 2009, a person named O. A. Zinovieva wrote a book saying that people who were forced to work were used to build part of the Moscow Metro. However, experts say there is no proof for this idea.

In 2012, two university workers were caught taking money from someone who wanted to join a special study program. They were arrested and faced court action for this dishonest behavior.

In 2014, a group online said that some workers at the university helped write fake research papers for others. This was seen as very unfair.

In early 2021, some students said they were treated badly and threatened by a university leader. She made hurtful comments about students who were standing up for the environment and called them bad names.

Moscow State University in philately

Main article: ru:Московский государственный университет § МГУ в филателии

Moscow State University has been featured on many stamps from Russia and the Soviet Union. Some of these stamps show the university’s famous 26-storey building, its older buildings, and events held there. Stamps have celebrated important occasions such as the Moscow Festival of Youth and Students, international meetings of architects and astronomers, and special anniversaries of the university and the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.