MSU (Дополнительное чтение)

Moscow State UniversityShort History Of M.V.Lomonosov Moscow State UniversityM. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University is the largest university inRussia. Founded in 1755, it also claims to be the oldest university inRussia. In 1940, the University was renamed in honour of its founder,MikhailLomonosov.The establishment of the University was instigated by Ivan Shuvalov andMikhail Lomonosov, and the decree ordering its creation was issued byRussian Empress Elizabeth on January 25th of 1755.In 1779, Mikhail Kheraskov founded a boarding school for noblemen, whichwas transformed into a gymnasium for the Russian nobility in 1830. TheUniversity press, run by Nikolay Novikov in the 1780s, published the mostpopular newspaper in Imperial Russia — Moskovskie VedomostiIn the 18th century, the University had three faculties: philosophy,medicine, and law.

In 1804, medical education was split into Clinical(therapy), Surgical and Obstetrics faculties. A college for future studentswas affiliated with the University before being abolished in 1812.The building was first located near the Kremlin and later was transferred toMokhovaya street. In 1884–1897, the Department of Medicine, supportedby private donations, the City Hall, and the national government, built anextensive, 1.6 kilometer long, state-of-the-art medical campus.It was designed by Konstantin Bykovsky, with university doctorslike Nikolay Sklifosovskiy and Fyodor Erismann acting as consultants.In 1905, a social-democratic organization was created at the Universitycalling for the tsar to be overthrown and for Russia to be turned into arepublic. The Tsarist government repeatedly began closing the University.In 1911, in a protest over the introduction of troops onto the campus andmistreatment of certain professors, 130 scientists and professors resigned,including prominent figures such as Nikolay Zelinskiy,Pyotr Lebedev,and Sergei Chaplygin.

Thousands of students were also expelled.After the October Revolution in 1917, the school began allowing theadmission of children of the proletariat and peasants.In 1919, tuition feeswere abolished, and a preparatory facility was created for children ofthe working class so that they would be able to pass the admissionexaminations.Stalin’s political repressions of the 1930s and 1950s severely limited thedevelopment of scientific ideas, as Soviet scientists had virtually nocontacts with their colleagues abroad.Certain branches of science (e.g., genetics) were condemned for beingbased on anti-Communist ideologies, and a number of scientists andscholars were sentenced to life imprisonment or even murdered.World War II was one of the most difficult periods in the history of Russia.University students and staff began to enlist in the army on the third day offighting.

One of the divisions formed out of university volunteers foughtdefending Moscow.Many Moscow State University professors, students, and staff wereevacuated during the war first to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, thento Sverdlovsk, returning to Moscow in 1943, after the German troops weredefeated near the capital. During the war, over 3,000 specialists weretrained at the University. University scientists continued their research, andtheir contributions to applied science allowed improvements in aircraftdevelopment, the accuracy of artillery fire, etc. Also, new explosives wereinvented, a study of uranium was carried out, a blood coagulant wasintroduced into medical practice, university geologists discovered tungstenand new oil deposits in Central Asia, and university geographers suppliedthe Red Army with maps and charts. University lawyers made theircontribution during the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials.During the post-war period, the leading role of Moscow State University inthe restoration and further development of the country was fully recognized.Since 1953, most of the faculties have been situated on the Sparrow Hills,in the southwest of Moscow.

The Main building was designed by architectLev Rudnev. In the post-war era, seven huge neoclassic towers were builtaround the city. The MSU main building is the largest of these. It was thetallest building in the world outside of New York City at the time of itsconstruction, and remained the tallest building in Europe until 1990. Thecentral tower is 240m tall, 36 stories high, and flanked by four huge wingsof student and faculty accommodations.Questions1. Who inspired the foundation of Moscow University?2. How old is Moscow State University?3.

What faculties were the first to be founded?4. What prominent doctors were among the professors of Moscow University?5. Do you know any names of the outstanding graduates or professors ofMSU?6. Where was the original location of Moscow University?7. What is the height of the main building situated on the Sparrow Hills?Staff and StudentsSince its foundation in 1755, Moscow State University has been enjoyingthe status of a major instruction and research centre, with its 40 faculties,12 research institutes.Currently 40,000 undergraduates, 7,000 postgraduates are enrolled in theuniversity.

A unique team of professors, teachers and research fellowsworks here — the university employs more than 4,000 academic staff and15,000 other staff members. There are about 5,000 researchers engagedin various research activities in its various institutes and departments.There are around 2,000 overseas students in the University.The University has well-established contacts with the most distinguisheduniversities in the world, exchanging students and lecturers with the leadinguniversities overseas.

It houses the UNESCO Hydrology Courses, theInternational Biotechnology Center, the International LASER Center,courses or seminars on Russian as a foreign language.The University has awarded honorary degrees to more than 60 scientists,statesmen as well as politicians from abroad. Many prominent universityscholars and scientists in return hold honorary degrees from foreignacademies and universities.The University is commonly regarded as one of Russia's most prestigiousuniversities and has high entry requirements for its prospective students.However, Moscow State University performs inconsistently in internationaland national rankings of higher education studies. While it was placed 77thoverall by the Academic Ranking of World Universities and 112th by QSWorld University Rankings, it was not included among top 200universities by recent Times Higher World University Rankings and came inat 296th.

With its large number of faculties, Moscow State University seemsto be strong in natural sciences (38th place in the world by QS WorldUniversity Rankings), but relatively weak in humanitarian disciplines(190th in Life Sciences).Still, it is the best Russian university according to all three internationalrankings mentioned above (with nearest Russian competitor being SaintPetersburg State University that scored 300-400th).Questions1. How many students are currently enrolled in the University?2.

Do you know any famous graduates of MSU?3. What disciplines are stronger in MSU?4. What is the reason for the currently low ranking of MSU?5. Do you trust the ranking performed by Times Higher World University?6. Is it a challenge for you to be the student of MSU? Why?Campus and facilitiesThe historical building on Mokhovaya Street now houses mainly the Facultyof Journalism, the Faculty of Psychology, and The Institute of Asian andAfrican Studies.The central tower of the Main building of Moscow University on theSparrow Hills is 240 m tall, 36 stories high, and flanked by four huge wingsof student and faculty accommodations.

It is said to contain a total of 33kilometers of corridors and 5,000 rooms.The star on the top of the tower is large enough to include a small roomand a viewing platform; it weighs 12 tons. The building's facades areornamented with giant clocks, barometers, thermometers, statues, carvedwheat sheaves, and Soviet crests. It stands before a terrace featuringstatues of male and female students gazing optimistically and confidentlyinto the future.Facilities available inside the building include a concert hall, a theater, amuseum, various administrative services, a library, a swimming pool, apolice station, a post office, a laundry, a hairdresser's salon, severalcanteens, bank offices and ATMs, shops, cafeterias, a bomb shelter, etc.Along with the University administration, the Museum of Earth Sciencesand four of the main faculties – the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics,the Faculty of Geology, the Faculty of Geography, and the Faculty of Fineand Performing Arts – now reside in the Main building.Several other buildings - the Faculty of Physics, Chemistry and Biologysurround the main building.Sports facilities were later added to the campus, including the only baseballstadium in Russia.