Belarusian State University
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The Belarusian State University (BSU) (, ; ) is a university in
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
,
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
. It was founded on October 30, 1921. The university was ranked 387th in the world in the 2023
QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...
.


History


1919–1949

On February 25, 1919, the Central Executive Committee of the Belorussian SSR resolved to establish the first national university in
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
. However, the occupation of
Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
by the Polish army delayed these plans, and the university's opening was set back to October 30, 1921. Initially, the university comprised three faculties (Workers, Medicine, and Humanities) that enrolled a total of 1,390 students. The faculty included 14 professors, 49 lecturers and 10 teaching assistants, most of whom were transferred from the universities of
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
,
Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...
and
Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
. In 1922, the Pedagogical Faculty was established. The first class that counted 34 economists and 26 lawyers graduated in 1925. By 1930, the university consisted of six faculties: Workers, Medicine, Pedagogical, National Economy, Law and Soviet Development, Chemical Technology. In 1941 the university consisted of six Faculties: Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics,
Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
, History, Geography, and Languages. There was also a Workers Faculty that provided part-time education to full-time employees of factories and plants, as well as special part-time Polish- and
Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
-language sections. After Minsk was occupied by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
in June 1941, some students and academic staff were evacuated to the east. In May 1943, the Belarusian State University was re-opened in the town of Skhodnya, 12 km northwest of
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
. The university relocated back to Minsk in the summer of 1944 and classes resumed. In 1949, the university was named after
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the
Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...
.


1950–2007

In 1975 the Faculty of Radiophysics and Electronics was split off from the Faculty of Physics, and in 1989 the Faculty of Philosophy and Economics was established. The research institutes for physico-chemical problems and nuclear problems were opened in 1978 and 1986, respectively. Following Belarus' independence from the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
in 1991, new faculties and institutes were created: the Faculty of International Relations (1995), the State Institute of Management and Social Technologies (2003), the Military Faculty (2003), the St. Methodius and Cyril Theological Institute (2004), the Faculty of Humanities (2004), the Institute of Business and Technology Management (2006), and the Confucius Institute for Sinology (2007). Rector
Alyaksandr Kazulin Alyaksandr Kazulin (, , born 25 November 1955 in Minsk) is the former leader of the Belarusian Social Democratic Party and one of the candidates who ran for the office of President of Belarus on 19 March 2006. He was a rector of the Belarusian ...
was fired in 2003 on accusations of corruption.


2008–present; criticism and political controversies

In 2008, the activist
Franak Viačorka Francišak Valancinavič (Franak) Viačorka (Viacorka) (, , ''Frantishek Valentinovich Vechyorko'', born 26 March 1988) is a politician and journalist from Belarus, President of the Digital Communication Network and non-resident fellow at the Atl ...
, a member of Partyja BPF, was expelled from the Journalism Faculty of the Belarusian State University and forced into military service. In the same year, Michaił Paškievič, a member of the
United Civic Party The United Civic Party (UCP; ; ) is a banned liberal-conservative and liberalism, liberal list of political parties in Belarus, political party in Belarus. The party opposes the government of Alexander Lukashenko and has participated in the countr ...
and leader of the party's youth wing, was expelled from the BSU History Faculty for political activity. In 2009, the BSU Law Faculty expelled the student Tatsiana Shaputska, a member of the Malady Front, after her participation in the Civil Society Forum of the
Eastern Partnership The Eastern Partnership (EaP) is a joint initiative of the European Union, together with its member states, and six Eastern Europe, Eastern European countries. The EaP framework governs the EU's relationship with the post-Soviet states of Armen ...
in
Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
. As part of the
international sanctions International sanctions are political and economic decisions that are part of diplomatic efforts by countries, multilateral or regional organizations against states or organizations either to protect national security interests, or to protect i ...
against the regime in Belarus following a crackdown of the opposition following the
2010 Belarusian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Belarus on 19 December 2010. The elections had originally been planned for the beginning of 2011. However, the final date was set during an extraordinary session of the National Assembly on 14 September 2010. ...
, Siarhiej Abłamiejka, at that time rector of the Belarusian State University, was banned from entering the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. In its decision, the EU Council accused him of being ''"responsible for the expulsion of several students from the University because they participated in the demonstrations on 19 December 2010 and in other peaceful demonstrations in 2011."''Council Decision 2012/642/CFSP of 15 October 2012 concerning restrictive measures against Belarus
EUR-Lex EUR-Lex is the official online database of European Union law and other public documents of the European Union (EU), published in 24 official Languages of the European Union, languages of the EU. The Official Journal of the European Union, Offici ...
, 2012
It was reported that students were expelled from the Belarusian State University for participating in the protests in 2010 and 2011. According to reports by human rights organizations, politically motivated expulsions from the Belarusian State University continued also after the EU lifted most of its sanctions against Belarus in 2014. According to reports by media and human rights organizations, many students of the Belarusian State University are being forced to vote early at elections and referendums, which is considered an essential part of centralized
electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...
in Belarus. No election or referendum in Belarus has been recognized by the United States, the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, or the
OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the pr ...
as free and fair since the mid-1990s. In 2020–21, several university teachers were fired for political reasons. A number of students who participated in the protests or openly expressed their civil position were expelled. Professor Svetlana Volchek was arrested for writing to the university leadership expressing concern about police violence during the protests, and found guilty of spreading information about a planned protest. In 2021, four previously expelled BSU students were sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for protesting in the university and "disruption of the educational process". All of them were recognized as political prisoners. Several BSU employees were witnesses. Aliaksandr Danilevich, a university professor and a member of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, was arrested by Belarusian police on May 20, 2022. In February 2022 he had signed a petition calling for an end to the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
. After he signed the petition the university told him they would not extend his contract; the day before his arrest he had asked for a written explanation to why his contract was ended.


Ranking

In 2023, the university was ranked 387th in the world in the
QS World University Rankings The ''QS World University Rankings'' is a portfolio of comparative college and university rankings compiled by Quacquarelli Symonds, a higher education analytics firm. Its first and earliest edition was published in collaboration with '' Times ...
.


Campus

The Belarusian State University owns buildings at various locations within the city of Minsk. The main campus is located in the city center. It also offers accommodations in the on the southwestern outskirts of Minsk. Each of the university study buildings are equipped with classrooms, seminar rooms and reading lounges. There are 70 computer laboratories and 4 media classrooms. The BSU is a complex of academic, research, production, social and cultural, administrative, auxiliary and other units. There are 16 Faculties within the university structure. BSU has 4 Educational Institutes that provide training on undergraduate and post-graduate levels of education. There are a number of Institutes that conduct retraining and advanced training of both youths and adults. The BSU has 11 student dormitories. About 65% of housing provided by the university consists of rooms shared by 3-4 persons with a common kitchen and sanitary arrangements. The BSU has created sports and recreation facilities for its students and staff. Training and health-improving complexes are available.


Military faculty

The Military Faculty of the Belarusian State University was established on 4 November 1926, by order of the Soviet Revolutionary Military Council. In 1941, at the outset of the Second World War, military training classes were interrupted only to be resumed in 1943. In the post-war years, the military department continued to train reserve officers in accounting specialties. In 2003, the military department was reorganized into the modern military faculty of BSU.


Scientific research institutes

* Research Institute of Nuclear Problems * Research Institute of physics-chemistry problems * Research Institute of applied physics problems * Research Institute of applied problems of Mathematics and informatics


National research centers

* National Research Center of Ozonosphere monitoring * National Scientific and Educational Center of Particles and High-Energy Physics Republican Research Centers * Republican Center for Human Studies


Inter-departmental centers

* Inter-departmental Center of national parks and preserves * Inter-departmental Center research center ''Life Safety''


Centers of sharing use of unique research equipment

* Belarusian inter-university center of research facilities * Center of sharing use of devices and equipment of faculty of biology * Laboratory of physical-and-chemical methods of research RI PCP * Center of nanotechnologies and physical electronics


BSU research centers

* Center of Applied Problems of Mathematics and Informatics * Education Development Center * Center for youth studies * Center of Sociological and Political studies * Center for international studies * Center for international technologies * Center of informational resources and communications * Center of IT security * Childhood development Center * Center for Olympic training Research activity is conducted on the basis of 25 research centers and 115 scientific laboratories. On top of that, the university has four research institutes: * Research Institute of Applied Physical Problems named after A.N. Sieŭčanka * Research Institute for Nuclear Problems of Belarusian State University * Research Institute Of Physical And Chemical Problems * Research Institute of Applied Mathematics and Informatics The BSU complex also includes 12 unitary scientific-productional enterprises, among them are the following: * Unitehprom BSU (Small-scale chemical and equipment production of various purpose); * Unihimprom BSU (Development of the technology of diesel biofuel production from vegetable oils and other accompanying products); * Unidragmet BSU (treatment of man-caused waste containing precious and non-ferrous metals treatment); * Adamas BSU (Production of diamond monocrystals and instruments made of them); * Engineering department of BSU (Production of computers, traffic controllers and systems of traffic control, software&hardware for medical experts); * Active BSU (production of training devices for physical experiment, vacuum engineering and forage additives; * Sand BSU (production of tests systems for drug detection).


Academic community

The core of the BSU is made of the academic community of teachers, researches, students and postgraduate students. In 2009 approximately 60% of the secondary school graduates from the country's regions were accepted for the full-time budget form of education. On the selection tours of the World Programming Championship BSU team always reaches the finals and gets into the top-20 teams of world.


Programs

The BSU offers a variety of educational programs. The Higher Education Program is organized at the BSU major Faculties and Educational Institutes through 56 specialities and more than 250 specialisations. Training along the Magister's Degree Program is conducted through 48 specialities.


International cooperation

In late 1950s BSU became an international university with hundreds of international students. More than 4,000 students from over 102 countries of the world have studied at the BSU during Soviet times until the late 1990s. The Belarusian State University takes active part in international university networks and associations. It is an individual full member of the
European University Association The European University Association (EUA) represents more than 800 institutions of higher education in 48 countries, providing them with a forum for cooperation and the exchange of information on higher education and research policies. Members of ...
.


Library

The BSU Fundamental Library's (BSU FL) has 820 readers’ places, 140 workers, 9 home loan departments, 17 departmental and specialised reading rooms. The following digital recourses are available for students and faculty: * The Open Public Access Catalog (OPAC) of the Belarusian State University Fundamental Library. * Electronic Document Delivery Service - Gives opportunity to search, order and delivery of electronic copies of documents that are contained in the funds of BSU FL and its partners-libraries. * Databases. Access to the network (local and utter by licenses) databases. * Digitized collections. Educational and research information materials, publications and BSU conferences’ proceedings. Documents are put on the network in accordance with the
copyright law A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, e ...
acting on the territory of the Republic of Belarus. * Virtual exhibitions.


Notable alumni

* Alena Aladava (1907-1986) - Director of the Belarusian National Arts Museum *
Lev Artsimovich Lev Andreyevich Artsimovich ( Russian: Лев Андреевич Арцимович, February 25, 1909 – March 1, 1973), also transliterated Arzimowitsch, was a Soviet physicist known for his contributions to the Tokamak— a device that produ ...
(1909–1973) - physicist, academician of the
Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...
, member of the Presidium of the
Soviet Academy of Sciences The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991. It united the country's leading scientists and was subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (un ...
, and
Hero of Socialist Labour The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an Title of honor, honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievem ...
*
Fiodar Fiodaraŭ Fiodar Fiodaraŭ (, , , Fedor Ivanovich Fedorov), June 19, 1911–October 13, 1994, was a Soviet and Belarusian physicist whose scientific interests ranged from optics and spectroscopy to the theory of elementary particles. Biography He was bo ...
(1911-1994) - physicist, predicted Imbert–Fiodaraŭ effect * Ivan Mielež (1921-1976) - writer of fiction and drama * Aleś Adamovič (1927-1994) - writer and critic * Efraim Sevela ("Efim Drabkin," 1928–2010) - Soviet-Israeli writer, screenwriter, director, and producer * Anatol Hryckievič (1929-2015) - historian * Maria Itkina (1932–2020) - runner, set multiple world records in various sprint events, competed at the 1956, 1960, and 1964
Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...
and finished four times in fourth place. * Zinaida Mozheiko (1933–2014) - ethnomusicologist of Belarusian folk music * Stanisłaŭ Šuškievič (1934–2022) - politician and scientist, the first leader and head of state of independent Belarus after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formally dissolved as a sovereign state and subject of international law on 26 December 1991 by Declaration No. 142-N of the Soviet of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. Declaration No. 142-Н of ...
* Ivan Chigrinov (1934-1996) - writer * Hienadź Buraŭkin (1936-2016) - diplomat and poet * Miečysłaŭ Hryb (born 1938) - politician, Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of Belarus *
Svetlana Alexievich Svetlana Alexandrovna Alexievich (born 31 May 1948) is a Belarusian investigative journalist, essayist and oral historian who writes in Russian. She was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to s ...
(born 1948) - journalist and author, winner of
Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...
2015 * Boris Mordukhovich (born 1948) - mathematician, professor at Wayne State University * Uładzimier Arłoŭ (born 1953) - historian, writer, politician, and poet * Barys Tasman (born 1954) - journalist, sports writer * Elena Korosteleva (born 1972) - political scientist and Director of the Institute for Global Sustainable Development at the
University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of ...
* Iryna Chalip (born 1967) - journalist * Sunday Adelaja (born 1967) - Nigerian journalist, pastor * Volha Čuprys (born 1969) - academic, first female vice rector of this university * Natalla Piatkievič (born 1972) - politician and stateswoman * Yury Ambrazevich (born 1975) - politician and diplomat * Ilya Nemenman (born 1975) - Belarusian-American theoretical physicist at
Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...
, where he is a Winship Distinguished Research Professor of Physics and Biology * Pavał Sieviaryniec (born 1976) - politician * Dzianis Liseichykau (born 1979) - historian and archivist * Filip Anadyrov (born 1963) - politician and notable ally of Alexander Lukashenko * Artur Granz (born 1971) - businessman * Slavamir Adamovich (born 1962) - Belarusian poet, publicist, and translator of Norwegian literature


Rectors

* Uładzimier Pičeta (1921–1929) * Jazep Karanieŭski (1929–1931) * Ivan Jermakoŭ (1931–1934) * Anani Dziakaŭ (1934–1935) * Alaksiej Kučynski (1936–1937) * Ničypar Bładyka (1937) * Uładzimier Babraŭnicki (1938) * Parfion Savicki (1938–1944) * Uładzimier Tamaševič (1946–1949) * Ivan Čymburh (1949–1952) * Kanstancin Łukašoŭ (1952–1957) * Anton Sieŭčanka (1957–1972) * Usievaład Sikorski (1972–1978) * Uładzimier Bieły (1978–1983) * Leanid Kisialeŭski (1983–1989) * Fiodar Kapucki (1990–1995) * Alaksandar Kazulin (1996–2003) * Vasil Stražaŭ (2003–2008) * Siarhiej Abłamiejka (2008-2017) * Andrei Korol (from 2017)


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control 1921 establishments in Belarus Universities and colleges established in 1921 Universities and institutes established in the Soviet Union Universities in Minsk