Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

research university A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are "the key sites of Knowledge production modes, knowledge production", along with "intergenerational ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

, the university from the beginning has had a focus on fundamental research in science, engineering and humanities. During the

Soviet period The history of the Soviet Union (USSR) (1922–91) began with the ideals of the Russian Bolshevik Revolution and ended in dissolution amidst economic collapse and political disintegration. Established in 1922 following the Russian Civil War, ...

, it was known as Leningrad State University (). It was renamed after

Andrei Zhdanov Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov ( rus, Андрей Александрович Жданов, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪdʑ ˈʐdanəf, a=Ru-Андрей Жданов.ogg, links=yes; – 31 August 1948) was a Soviet politician. He was ...

in 1948 and was officially called "Leningrad State University, named after A. A. Zhdanov and decorated with the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

and the

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour () was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to the Soviet state and society in the fields of production, science, culture, literature, the arts, education, sports ...

." Zhdanov's was removed in 1989 and Leningrad in the name was officially replaced with Saint Petersburg in 1992. It is made up of 24 specialized faculties (departments) and institutes, the Academic Gymnasium, the Medical College, the College of Physical Culture and Sports, Economics and Technology. The university has two primary campuses: one on

Vasilievsky Island Vasilyevsky Island (, Vasilyevsky Ostrov, V.O.) is an island in St. Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva Rivers (in the delta of the Neva River) in the south and northeast, and by Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finl ...

and the other one in Peterhof.

Admissions

Admission to Saint Petersburg State University is extremely competitive. Undergraduate admissions for domestic state funded students are decided through the

Unified State Exam The Unified State Exam (, ''Yedinyy gosudarstvennyy ekzamen, YeGE'') is a series of mandatory, centralized examinations conducted across the Russian Federation in secondary educational institutions, such as schools, lyceums, and gymnasiums. It ...

. The average Unified State Examination score of applicants to the university in 2023 was around 90 points (out of a possible 100). In the 2023 admission campaign, over 106,000 domestic students applied to the university for bachelor's and specialist programs, with only 4,617 being accepted. The same year, over 21,000 international students from 100 different countries applied to the university for state-funded scholarship programs, with only 1,000 being accepted. This reflects an overall acceptance rate of around 4% for both domestic students and international students studying on scholarships.

Rankings

In international rankings, the university was ranked 35th by ''

The Three University Missions Ranking The Three University Missions Moscow International University Ranking (MosIUR, also referred to as the Moscow Ranking) is a global ranking of academic universities developed by the Russian Association of Rating Makers, with the participation of t ...

'' in 2022, 242nd by 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 ...

'' in 2022, 652nd by '' U.S. News & World Report'' in 2023, 601-800th by the ''

Times Higher Education World University Rankings The ''Times Higher Education World University Rankings'', often referred to as the THE Rankings, is the annual publication of university rankings by the ''Times Higher Education'' magazine. The publisher had collaborated with Quacquarelli Symon ...

'', and 301–400th by the ''

Academic Ranking of World Universities The ''Academic Ranking of World Universities'' (''ARWU''), also known as the Shanghai Ranking, is one of the annual publications of world university rankings. The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong Universi ...

'' in 2021.

History

1724–1821

It is disputed by the university administration whether Saint Petersburg State University or

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

is the oldest higher education institution in Russia. While the latter was established in 1755, the former, which has been in continuous operation since 1819, claims to be the successor of the university established along with the

Academic Gymnasium The Academic Gymnasium Danzig (, , Latin: ''Gymnasium Dantiscanum'') was a school founded in Gdańsk, Poland. It was founded in 1558 by Johann Hoppe (1512–1565), who had previously worked at schools in Kulm and Elbing until Catholic Prince-Bis ...

and the

Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

on 24 January 1724, by a decree of

. Between 1804 and 1819, Saint Petersburg University officially did not exist; the institution founded by Peter the Great, the Saint Petersburg Academy, had been disbanded, because the new 1803 charter of the Academy of Sciences stipulated that there should not be any educational institutions affiliated with it. The Petersburg Pedagogical Institute, renamed the Main Pedagogical Institute in 1814, was established in 1804 and occupied a part of the

Twelve Collegia The Twelve Collegia or Twelve Colleges () is the largest Petrine Baroque, edifice from the Petrine era remaining in Saint Petersburg. It was designed by Domenico Trezzini and Theodor Schwertfeger and built from 1722 to 1744.300 years of Saint Pe ...

building. On 8 February 1819 (O.S.),

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

reorganized the Main Pedagogical Institute into Saint Petersburg University, which at that time consisted of three faculties: Faculty of Philosophy and Law, Faculty of History and Philology and Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. The

Main Pedagogical Institute Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

(where

Dmitri Mendeleev Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev ( ; ) was a Russian chemist known for formulating the periodic law and creating a version of the periodic table of elements. He used the periodic law not only to correct the then-accepted properties of some known ele ...

studied) was restored in 1828 as an educational institution independent of Saint Petersburg University, and trained teachers until it was finally closed in 1859.

1821–1917

In 1821, the university was renamed Saint Petersburg Imperial University. In 1823, most of the university moved from the Twelve Collegia to the southern part of the city. In 1824, a modified version of the charter of

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

was adopted as the first charter of the Saint Petersburg Imperial University. In 1829, there were 19 full professors and 169 full-time and part-time students at the university. In 1830,

Tsar Nicholas Tsar Nicholas may refer to: * Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), Emperor of Russia from 1825 to 1855 * Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russi ...

returned the entire building of the Twelve Collegia to the university, and courses resumed there. In 1835, a new Charter of the Imperial Universities of Russia was approved. It provided for the establishment of the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of History and Philology, and the Faculties of Physics and Mathematics, which were merged into the Faculty of Philosophy as the 1st and 2nd Departments, respectively. In 1849, after the

Spring of Nations The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, the Senate of the Russian Empire decreed the Rector should be appointed by the Minister of National Enlightenment rather than elected by the Assembly of the university. However,

Pyotr Pletnyov Pyotr Alexandrovich Pletnyov (; , in Tebleshi, Tver Governorate – ) was a minor Russian poet and literary critic, who rose to become the dean of the Saint Petersburg University (1840–61) and academician of the Petersburg Academy of Scie ...

was reappointed Rector and ultimately became the longest-serving rector of Saint Petersburg University (1840–61). In 1855,

Oriental studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studie ...

were separated from the Faculty of History and Philology, and the fourth faculty, Faculty of Oriental Languages, was formally inaugurated on 27 August 1855. In 1859–61, female part-time students could attend lectures in the university. In 1861, there were 1,270 full-time and 167 part-time students in the university, of them 498 were in the Faculty of Law, the largest subdivision. But this subdivision had the

cameral Cameralism ( German: ''Kameralismus'') was a German school of public finance, administration and economic management in the 18th and early 19th centuries that aimed at strong management of a centralized economy for the benefit mainly of the st ...

studies department, where students learnt safety, occupational health and environmental engineering management and science, including chemistry, biology, agronomy along with law and philosophy. Many Russian, Georgian etc. managers, engineers and scientists studied at the Faculty of law therefore. During 1861–62, there was

student unrest Campus protest or student protest is a form of student activism that takes the form of protest at university campuses. Such protests encompass a wide range of activities that indicate student dissatisfaction with a given political or academi ...

in the university, and it was temporarily closed twice during the year. The students were denied freedom of assembly and placed under police surveillance, and public lectures were forbidden. Many students were expelled. After the unrest, in 1865 only 524 students remained. A decree of the Emperor

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Grand Du ...

adopted on 18 February 1863, restored the right of the university assembly to elect the rector. It also formed the new faculty of the theory and history of art as part of the faculty of history and philology. In March 1869, student unrest shook the university again, but on a smaller scale. By 1869, 2,588 students had graduated from the university. In 1880, the Ministry of National Enlightenment forbade students to marry and married persons could not be admitted. In 1882, another student unrest took place in the university. In 1884, a new Charter of the Imperial Russian Universities was adopted, which granted the right to appoint the rector to the Minister of National Enlightenment again. On 1 March 1887 (O.S.), a group of the university students was arrested while planning an attempt on the life of

Alexander III of Russia Alexander III (; 10 March 18451 November 1894) was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 13 March 1881 until his death in 1894. He was highly reactionary in domestic affairs and reversed some of the libera ...

. As a result, new admission rules to gymnasiums and universities were approved by the Minister of National Enlightenment

Ivan Delyanov Count Ivan Davidovich Delyanov () (December 12, 1818 in Moscow – January 10, 1898) was a Russian statesman of Armenian descent and a son of Delyanov David Artemyevich, a Major-General of the Russian Imperial Army. Biography Delyanov gra ...

in 1887, which barred persons of non-noble origin from admission to the university, unless they were extraordinarily talented. By 1894, 9,212 students had graduated from the university. Among the scholars of the second half of the 19th century, affiliated with the university were mathematician

Pafnuty Chebyshev Pafnuty Lvovich Chebyshev ( rus, Пафну́тий Льво́вич Чебышёв, p=pɐfˈnutʲɪj ˈlʲvovʲɪtɕ tɕɪbɨˈʂof) ( – ) was a Russian mathematician and considered to be the founding father of Russian mathematics. Chebysh ...

, physicist

Heinrich Lenz Heinrich Friedrich Emil Lenz (; also Emil Khristianovich Lenz; ; 12 February 1804 – 10 February 1865), usually cited as Emil Lenz or Heinrich Lenz in some countries, was an Estonian physicist who is most noted for formulating Lenz's law in el ...

, chemists

and

Aleksandr Butlerov Alexander Mikhaylovich Butlerov (; 15 September 1828 – 17 August 1886) was a Russian chemist, one of the principal creators of the theory of chemical structure (1857–1861), the first to incorporate double bonds into structural for ...

, embryologist

Alexander Kovalevsky Alexander Onufrievich Kovalevsky (; 7 November 1840 – 1901) was a Russian embryologist, who studied medicine at the University of Heidelberg and became professor at the University of St Petersburg. He was the brother of the paleontologist V ...

, physiologist

Ivan Sechenov Ivan Mikhaylovich Sechenov (; – ) is a world-renowned medical scientist, physiologist, psychologist, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and founder of Russian physiology and psychology, he is a pioneer in the field of central ner ...

and pedologist

Vasily Dokuchaev Vasily Vasilyevich Dokuchaev (; 1 March 1846 – 8 November 1903) was a Russian geologist and geographer who is credited with laying the foundations of soil science. The Ukrainian city of Dokuchaievsk is named after him. Overview V ...

. On 24 March 1896 (O.S.), on the campus of the university, Alexander Popov publicly demonstrated transmission of

radio waves Radio waves (formerly called Hertzian waves) are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the lowest frequencies and the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies below 300 gigahertz (GHz) and wavelengths ...

for the first time in history. As of 1 January 1900 (O.S.), there were 2,099 students enrolled in the Faculty of Law, 1,149 students in the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics, 212 students in the Faculty of Oriental Languages and 171 students in the Faculty of History and Philology. In 1902, the first student

dining hall A cafeteria, called canteen outside the U.S., is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether in a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a schoo ...

in Russia was opened in the university. Since about 1897, regular strikes and student unrest shook the university and spread to other institutions of higher education across Russia. During the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

of 1905, the charter of the Russian universities was amended once more; the autonomy of the universities was partially restored and the right to elect the rector was returned to the academic board for the first time since 1884. In 1905–06, the university was temporarily closed due to student unrest. Its autonomy was revoked again in 1911. In the same year, the university was once again temporarily closed. In 1914, with the start of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the university was renamed Petrograd Imperial University after its namesake city. During the War, the university was the center of mobilization of Russian intellectual resources and scholarship for the war effort. In 1915, a branch of the university was opened in

Perm Perm or PERM may refer to: Places * Perm, Russia, a city in Russia **Permsky District, the district **Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005 **Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005 ** Perm Governorate, an administr ...

, which later became

Perm State University Perm State University (now Perm State National Research University; , , romanised: , ) or PSU, PSNRU (, , romanised: , ), is located in the city of Perm, Perm Krai, Russia. Founded in 1916, it claims to be one of the oldest universities in ...

1918–1939

The Assembly of Petrograd Imperial University openly welcomed the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

of 1917, which put an end to the Russian monarchy, and the university came to be known as Petrograd University. However, after the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

of 1917, the university's staff and administration were initially vocally opposed to the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

takeover of power and reluctant to cooperate with the

Narkompros The People's Commissariat for Education (or Narkompros; , directly translated as the "People's Commissariat for Enlightenment") was the Soviet agency charged with the administration of public education and most other issues related to culture. In 1 ...

. Later in 1917–22, during the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

, some of the staff suspected of counter-revolutionary sympathies suffered imprisonment (e.g.,

Lev Shcherba Lev Vladimirovich Shcherba (commonly Scherba) (; ; – December 26, 1944) was a Russian and Soviet linguist and lexicographer specializing in phonetics and phonology. Early life and education Born in Igumen (Minsk Governorate, Russian Empire,In ...

in 1919), execution, or exile abroad on the so-called

Philosophers' ships The philosophers' ships or philosopher's steamers () were steamships that transported intellectuals expelled from Soviet Russia in 1922. The main load was handled by two German ships, the ''Oberbürgermeister Haken'' and the ''Preussen'', which ...

in 1922 (e.g.,

Nikolai Lossky Nikolay Onufriyevich Lossky (; – 24 January 1965), also known as N. O. Lossky, was a Russian philosopher, representative of Russian idealism, intuitionist epistemology, personalism, libertarianism, ethics and axiology (value theory). He gave h ...

). Furthermore, the entire staff suffered from hunger and extreme poverty during those years. In 1918, the university was renamed 1st Petrograd State University, and in 1919 the Narkompros merged it with the 2nd PSU (former Psychoneurological Institute) and 3rd PSU (former Bestuzhev Higher Courses for Women) into Petrograd State University. In 1919, the Faculty of Social Science was established by the Narkompros instead of the Faculty of History and Philology, Faculty of Oriental Languages and Faculty of Law.

Nicholas Marr Nikolai Yakovlevich Marr (, ''Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr''; , ''Nikoloz Iak'obis dze Mari''; — 20 December 1934) was a Georgian-born historian and linguist who gained a reputation as a scholar of the Caucasus during the 1910s before embarking o ...

became the first Dean of the new faculty. Chemist

Alexey Favorsky Alexey Yevgrafovich Favorsky (; – 8 August 1945), was a Russian and Soviet chemist and recipient of the Stalin Prize (1941) and the title Hero of Socialist Labour (1945). Life Favorsky studied chemistry at the imperial Saint Petersburg Stat ...

became the Dean of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics.

Rabfak Rabfak (from , a syllabic abbreviation of Рабочий факультет, ''Rabochiy fakul′tet'', "workers' faculty") was a type of educational institution in the Soviet Union which prepared Soviet workers and peasants to enter institutions of ...

s and free university courses were opened on the basis of the university to provide mass education. In the fall of 1920, as observed by freshman student Alice Rosenbaum (Ayn Rand), enrollment was open and the majority of the students were anti-communist including, until removed, a few vocal opponents of the regime. Seeing they were educating "class enemies", a purge was conducted in 1922 based on the class background of the students, and all students, other than seniors, with a

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

background were expelled. In 1924, the university was renamed Leningrad State University after its namesake city. In order to suppress intellectual opposition to Soviet power, a number of historians working in the university, including

Sergey Platonov Sergey Fyodorovich Platonov () (28 June Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="6 June Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 1860 – 10 January 1933) was a Russian historian who led the official St Petersburg school of imperial historio ...

Yevgeny Tarle Yevgeny Viktorovich Tarle (; – 6 January 1955) was a Soviet historian, Marxist scholar, and academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who studied and published on topics such as the Napoleonic invasion of Russia and the Crimean War. ...

, and

Boris Grekov Boris Dmitrievich Grekov (; – 9 September 1953) was a Russian Empire, Russian and Soviet Union, Soviet historian noted for his comprehensive studies of Kievan Rus and the Golden Horde. He was a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (19 ...

, were imprisoned in the so-called Academic Affair of 1929–30 on fabricated charges of participating in a counter-revolutionary conspiracy aimed at overthrowing the government. Some other members of the staff were repressed in 1937–38 during the

Great Purge The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...

1940–1999

During the 1941–44

Siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

in World War II, many students and staff died from starvation, in battles, or from repressions. The university evacuated to

Saratov Saratov ( , ; , ) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River. Saratov had a population of 901,361, making it the List of cities and tow ...

in 1942–44. A branch of the university was in

Yelabuga Yelabuga (also spelled ''Elabuga''; ; ) is a town in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the right bank of the Kama River and east from Kazan. Population: The evolution of name The name of the city of Yelabuga comes from the T ...

during the war. In 1944, the Presidium of the

Supreme Council of the Soviet Union The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (SSUSSR) was the highest body of state authority of the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1936 to 1991. Based on the principle of unified power, it was the only branch of government in the S ...

awarded the university the

. In 1948, the

Soviet Council of Ministers The Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Совет министров СССР, r=Sovet Ministrov SSSR, p=sɐˈvʲet mʲɪˈnʲistrəf ˌɛsˌɛsˌɛsˈɛr), sometimes abbreviated as Sovmin or referred to as the ...

named the university after

, a deceased Communist official. This decision was revoked in 1989 during

Perestroika ''Perestroika'' ( ; rus, перестройка, r=perestrojka, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg, links=no) was a political reform movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s, widely associ ...

. In 1949–50, several professors died in prison during the investigation of the

Leningrad Affair The Leningrad affair, or Leningrad case (, ''Leningradskoye delo''), was a series of criminal cases fabricated in the late 1940s–early 1950s by Joseph Stalin in order to accuse a number of prominent Leningrad based authority figures and membe ...

fabricated by the central Soviet leadership, and the Minister of Education of the

RSFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, former rector

Alexander Voznesensky Alexander Alexeyevich Voznesensky () (March 5, 1898 – October 28, 1950) was a Soviet statesman, economist and brother of Nikolai Voznesensky. Biography Born in the village of Golovkino in Novosilsky Uyezd of Tula Governorate (now i ...

, was executed. In 1966, the Council of Ministers decided to build a suburban campus in

Petrodvorets Petergof (), known as Petrodvorets () from 1944 to 1997, is a municipal town in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. The town hosts one of two campuses of Sai ...

for most of the mathematics and natural science faculties. The relocation of the faculties was completed by the 1990s. In 1969, the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Soviet Union awarded the university the

. In 1991, the university was renamed back to Saint Petersburg State University after its namesake city. The university educated Russian presidents

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

and

Dimitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Min ...

, both of whom studied law at the university.

2000–present

Rector Nikolay Kropachev has signed a

letter Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech or none in the case of a silent letter; any of the symbols of an alphabet * Letterform, the g ...

of support for the

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 ...

. In early 2022, the university expelled 13 students who had protested against 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 ...

. In response to the Russian invasion, in March 2022 the

Hamburg University of Applied Sciences The Hamburg University of Applied Sciences (German: Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Hamburg) is a higher education and applied research institution located in Hamburg, Germany. Formerly known as ''Fachhochschule Hamburg,'' the ''Hamburg ...

and

University of Bremen The University of Bremen () is a public university in Bremen, Germany, with approximately 18,400 students from 117 countries. Its 12 faculties offer more than 100 degree programs. The University of Bremen has been among the top 50 European rese ...

suspended their longstanding relationships with the university,

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

stopped running its Russian language study abroad program in the university, and

CEMS - The Global Alliance in Management Education CEMS – The Global Alliance in Management Education or CEMS (formerly the Community of European Management Schools and International Companies) is a cooperation of leading business schools and universities with multinational companies and NGOs. ...

suspended its partnership with the Graduate School of Management in St Petersburg. In addition, the European

Coimbra Group The Coimbra Group (CG) is an international association of 40 universities in Europe. It was established in 1985. It works for the benefit of its members by promoting "internationalization, academic collaboration, excellence in learning and rese ...

expelled the university, and 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 ...

suspended the school. The

Council on International Educational Exchange The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) is a non-profit organization promoting international education and exchange. It was founded in 1947 and is based in the United States. The organization is headquartered in Portland, Maine. ...

stopped its programs at the university, and relocated students to other non-Russian universities.

Organization

Governance

The university is a federal state institution of higher education managed by the

government of the Russian Federation The Russian Government () or fully titled the Government of the Russian Federation () is the highest federal executive governmental body of the Russian Federation. It is accountable to the president of the Russian Federation and controlled by ...

. It has 24 faculties and institutes which are further subdivided into departments, and other main structural subdivisions. The superior body of self-government of the university is its Assembly, which elects the rector and the Academic Board of the university for a five-year term. The Assembly consists of the members of the Academic Board of the university and the staff delegated by the general assemblies of the main structural subdivisions according to quotas set by the Academic Board of the university. The general administration of the university is vested in the Academic Board, which consists of the rector, who presides over it, as well as the president of the university, vice rectors and representatives of the main structural subdivisions. Likewise, the general administration of a faculty is vested in its respective academic board elected by the faculty assembly for five years. The procedure of election and department quotas are decided by the faculty-level academic board itself. The dean, who leads the faculty and presides over its academic board, is elected for five years by the faculty academic board.

Academic year

The

academic year An academic year, or school year, is a period that schools, colleges and university, universities use to measure the duration of studies for a given educational level. Academic years are often divided into academic terms. Students attend classe ...

in St. Petersburg State University according to the Routine Regulations normally starts on 1 September. One lesson normally lasts an hour and a half (two academic hours). The academic year is divided into two semesters. The first semester (term) ends by late December, the second starts in mid-February and lasts until late May. Each term is followed by a series of preliminary tests (in the last week of December/May) and exams (in January/June).

Campuses

The university has two main campuses: on Vasilievsky Island in the historic city center and in Peterhof (formerly Petrodvorets), a southwestern suburb, which can be reached by railway from the city's

Baltiysky Rail Terminal St. Petersburg–Baltiysky () is a railway station in St. Petersburg, one of the busiest railway stations in Russia by volume of suburban traffic. The station was modelled by architect Alexander Krakau after Gare de l'Est in Paris. Constructi ...

. The main building of the university, Twelve Collegia, is on Vasilievsky Island and includes the Library, the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Earth Sciences. The Faculty of Philology and the Faculty of Oriental Studies share the nearby 18th-century

Petrine Baroque Petrine Baroque (Russian: Петровское барокко) is a style of 17th and 18th century Baroque architecture and decoration favoured by Peter the Great and employed to design buildings in the newly founded Russian capital, Saint Peters ...

building on

Universitetskaya Embankment Universitetskaya Embankment () is a 1.2 km long embankment on the right bank of the Bolshaya Neva, on Vasilievsky Island in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Starting at the Spit of Vasilievsky Island, it spans between Palace Bridge and Blagovesh ...

of the

Bolshaya Neva The Great Neva or Bolshaya Neva () is the largest armlet of the river Neva. It starts near the Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange and Rostral Columns, Spit of Vasilievsky Island (easternmost tip of the island). The Great Neva is long; the width ...

, designed by

Domenico Trezzini Domenico Trezzini (; – 1734) was an Italian Swiss architect who elaborated the Petrine Baroque style of Russian architecture. Biography Domenico was born in Astano, Landvogtei of Lugano (at that time a condominium of the Old Swiss C ...

and originally built as the Palace of

Peter II of Russia Peter II Alexeyevich ( Russian: Пётр II Алексеевич; 23 October 1715 30 January 1730) was Emperor of Russia from 1727 until 1730, when he died at the age of 14. He was the only son of Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich and Charlotte Chris ...

. The New Gostiny Dvor designed by

Giacomo Quarenghi Giacomo Quarenghi (; , ; 20 or 21 September 1744) was an Italian architect who was the foremost and most prolific practitioner of neoclassical architecture in Imperial Russia, particularly in Saint Petersburg. He brought into vogue an original mo ...

and built in the 19th century in that part of the island is occupied by the Institute of History, Institute of Philosophy. The Faculty of Psychology is in front of it on Admiral Makarov Embankment of the

Malaya Neva The Little Neva or Malaya Neva () is the second largest distributary of the river Neva. The Neva splits into Great Neva (the southern armlet) and Little Neva (the northern armlet) near the Spit of Vasilievsky Island (easternmost tip of the is ...

. The Graduate School of Management, School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry and Medical Technologies, Faculty of Law and Faculty of Military Studies are on Vasilievsky Island, but farther to the west. Four other social science faculties are east of the city center on the southern bank of the

Neva The Neva ( , ; , ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it is the fourth- ...

: the Faculty of Economics is not far from the

Chernyshevskaya Chernyshevskaya () is a station on the Kirovsko-Vyborgskaya Line of Saint Petersburg Metro, opened on September 1, 1958. It is a deep underground pylon station at depth with a short central hall. The station is named after Chernyshevsky Prospek ...

metro station A metro station or subway station is a train station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase tickets, board trains, and evacuate the syste ...

, while the Faculty of Sociology, Faculty of Political Science and the School of International Relations occupy historical buildings of

Smolny Convent Smolny Convent or Smolny Convent of the Resurrection (''Voskresensky'', Russian language, Russian: Воскресенский новодевичий Смольный монастырь), located on Ploschad Rastrelli (Rastrelli Square), on the le ...

. The new suburban campus consists of the Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Control Processes, Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics, and Faculty of Physics, which are in modern buildings in Peterhof. Nearby the Peterhof campus there is a park area called Sergievka. In the Sergievka park there are buildings of the Faculty of Biology.

Faculties and Institutes

SPbSU is made up of 24 specialized faculties, which are: * Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Control Processes
*rus

*eng
* Faculty of Biology
*rus
*

Institute of Chemistry An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

* Faculty of

Dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the Human tooth, teeth, gums, and Human mouth, mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, dis ...

and

Medical Technology Health technology is defined by the World Health Organization as the "application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of liv ...

*rus
* Faculty of Economics
*rus
*

Institute of Earth Sciences An institute is an organizational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes ca ...

*rus
* Institute of History
*rus
*

School of International Relations The School of International Relations (or SIR) () is an institute of higher education in Iran. The school trains an international student body, and is run by the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the supervision of the Iranian Minist ...

*rus
*

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

* Faculty of Liberal Arts and Sciences
*rus

*eng
*

Saint Petersburg State University Mathematics and Mechanics Faculty The Saint Petersburg State University Mathematics and Mechanics Faculty is a research and education center in the fields of mathematics, mechanics, astronomy, and computer science. Early history In 1701 Tsar Peter the Great, Peter I issued a dec ...

*rus

*eng
*

Faculty of Medicine A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

*rus
*

Faculty of Oriental Studies The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (formerly the Faculty of Oriental Studies), is a subdivision of the University of Oxford. The faculty is engaged in a broad range of research and teaching on modern and historical Asian and Midd ...

*rus

*eng
*

Faculty of Arts A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

br>*rus

*eng
* Faculty of Philology
*rus

*eng
* Institute of Philosophy
*rus

*eng
* Faculty of Physics
*rus

*

Faculty of Political Science A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

( *rus)
*rus

*eng
* Faculty of Psychology
*rus

*eng
* Faculty of Sociology
*rus
* Graduate School of Management * Military Faculty
*rus
* School of Journalism and Mass Communications
*rus

*eng
** Faculty of Applied Communications ** Faculty of Journalism There is also a Department of Physical Culture and Sports.
*rus

International collaboration

The university is a member of the

University of the Arctic The University of the Arctic (UArctic) is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arcti ...

. UArctic is an international cooperative network based in the Circumpolar Arctic region, consisting of more than 200 universities, colleges, and other organizations with an interest in promoting education and research in the Arctic region. The collaboration has been paused after the beginning of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

in 2022.

Notable alumni and faculty

Politics

Saint Petersburg State University has a strong reputation in the field of politics, having educated: *

, 2nd and 4th

President of Russia The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...

(2000–2008, 2012-present), 5th and 9th

Prime Minister of Russia The prime minister of the Russian Federation, also domestically stylized as the chairman of the government of the Russian Federation and widely recognized as the prime minister, is the head of government of Russia and the second highest ranking ...

(1999–2000, 2008–2012) * Dalia Grybauskaite, 8th

President of Lithuania The president of the Republic of Lithuania () is the head of state of the Republic of Lithuania. The president directs and appoints the executive branch of the Government of Lithuania, represents the nation internationally and is the commande ...

(2009–2019) * Ion Inculeţ, 1st

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of the

Moldavian Democratic Republic The Moldavian Democratic Republic (MDR; , ), also known as the Moldavian Republic or Moldavian People's Republic, was a state proclaimed on by the ''Sfatul Țării'' (National Council) of Bessarabia, elected in October–November 1917 foll ...

(1917–1918) *

Levon Ter-Petrosyan Levon Hakobi Ter-Petrosyan (; born 9 January 1946), also known by his initials LTP, is an Armenian politician and historian who served as the first president of Armenia from 1991 until his resignation in 1998. A senior researcher at the Matena ...

, 1st

President of Armenia The president of Armenia () is the head of state and the guarantor of independence and territorial integrity of Armenia elected to a single seven-year term by the National Assembly of Armenia. Under Armenia's parliamentary system, the president ...

(1991–1998) *

Gabriel Narutowicz Gabriel Józef Narutowicz (; 29 March 1865 – 16 December 1922) was a Polish people, Polish professor of hydroelectric engineering and politician who served as the first president of Poland from 11 December 1922 until Assassination of Gabriel Na ...

, 1st

President of Poland The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executive ...

(1922) *

Antanas Smetona Antanas Smetona (; 10 August 1874 – 9 January 1944) was a Lithuanian intellectual, journalist and politician. He served as the first president of Lithuania from 1919 to 1920 and later as the authoritarian head of state from 1926 until the Occu ...

, 1st

(1919-1920, 1926-1940) *

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...

, 3rd

(2008–2012), 10th

(2012–2020) *

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 ...

, 1st leader of

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

(1917–1923) and the

Soviet Union 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 ...

(1923–1924) * Jazep Varonka, 1st

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of the

Belarusian National Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; , ), also known as the Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in its Second Constituent Charter on 9 March 1918 during World War I. The ...

(1918) *

Augustinas Voldemaras Augustinas Voldemaras (16 April 1883 – 16 May 1942) was a Lithuanian nationalist political figure. He briefly served as the country's first prime minister in 1918 and continued serving as the minister of foreign affairs until 1920, representing ...

, 1st and 12th

Prime Minister of Lithuania The prime minister of Lithuania (, , colloquially also referred to as the premier ) is the head of government of Lithuania. The prime minister is appointed by the President of Lithuania, president with the assent of the Lithuanian parliament, th ...

(1918, 1926–1929) * Boris Shturmer, 5th

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(1916) *

Pyotr Stolypin Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin ( rus, Пётр Аркадьевич Столыпин, p=pʲɵtr ɐrˈkadʲjɪvʲɪtɕ stɐˈlɨpʲɪn; – ) was a Russian statesman who served as the third Prime Minister of Russia, prime minister and the Ministry ...

, 3rd

of the

(1906–1911) *

Alexander Kerensky Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky ( – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months from late July to early November 1917 ( N.S.). After th ...

, 2nd Minister-Chairman of the

Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government was a provisional government of the Russian Empire and Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately after the abdication of Nicholas II on 2 March, O.S. New_Style.html" ;"title="5 ...

(1917) *

Liudmyla Denisova Liudmyla Leontiivna Denisova (born 6 July 1960) is a Ukrainian politician. After twice serving as Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, Denisova worked as Ombudsman for Human Rights in Ukraine from March 2018 to May 2022. Ukrayinska Pravd ...

, 3rd

Ombudsman in Ukraine Ombudsman in Ukraine () is an office of commissioned representative who performs functions of ombudsman. Besides the parliamentary ombudsman, there are several presidential commissioners. List of ombudsmen positions in Ukraine * Verkhovna Rada Hum ...

(2018–2022) *

Ben-Zion Dinur Ben-Zion Dinur (; January 1884 – 8 July 1973) was a Ukrainian-born Israeli historian, educator, and politician. He held the position of professor of Jewish history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and represented Mapai in the first ...

, 4th Minister of Education of Israel (1951–1955) *

Jean-Claude Gakosso Jean-Claude Gakosso (born 25 July 1957) is a Congolese politician who has served in the government of the Republic of the Congo as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2015. Previously, he was Minister of Culture and the Arts from 2002 to 2015. Pro ...

, 16th Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Congo (2015–present) * Lyudmila Narusova, Russian Federation Senator from

Tuva Tuva (; ) or Tyva (; ), officially the Republic of Tyva,; , is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. Tuva lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Federal subjects of Russia, federal sub ...

(2016–present) and from

Bryansk Oblast Bryansk Oblast (), also known as Bryanshchina (, ), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Bryansk. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 1,169,161. Geography Bryansk Oblast lies in weste ...

(2010–2012) *

Anatoly Sobchak Anatoly Aleksandrovich Sobchak ( rus, Анатолий Александрович Собчак, p=ɐnɐˈtolʲɪj ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ sɐpˈtɕak; 10 August 1937 – 19 February 2000) was a Russian politician and legal scholar, a co-autho ...

, 1st Mayor of Saint Petersburg (1991–1996) and a co-author of the

Constitution of Russia The Constitution of the Russian Federation () was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 and enacted on 25 December 1993. The latest significant reform occurred in 2020, marked by extensive amendments that altered various sections ...

Nobel laureates

Nine graduates of the university are

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

recipients: Leonid Kantorovich 1975

Science and mathematics

Literature and the arts

* Johann Admoni, composer, pianist, teacher, and public person *

Alexander Blok Alexander Alexandrovich Blok ( rus, Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Бло́к, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈblok, a=Ru-Alyeksandr Alyeksandrovich Blok.oga; 7 August 1921) was a Russian lyrical poet, writer, publ ...

, poet *

Ilia Chavchavadze Tavadi, Tavadi (Prince) Ilia Chavchavadze ( ka, ილია ჭავჭავაძე; 27 October 1837 – 12 September 1907) was a Georgians, Georgian journalist, publisher, writer and poet who spearheaded the revival of Georgian nationalism ...

, Georgian writer, politician and public benefactor *

Igor Chubais Igor Borisovich Chubais (; born 26 April 1947) is a Russian philosopher and sociologist, Doctor of Sciences, and the author of many scientific and journalistic works. He is an initiator of the introduction of the Russian education system a new ...

, philosopher, sociologist, and author * Solomon Dodashvili, Georgian philosopher, grammarian,

belletrist () is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pej ...

Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; , 1905March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher. She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system which s ...

, Russian-born American novelist *

Boris Grebenshchikov Boris Borisovich Grebenshchikov (; born ) is a prominent member of the generation which is widely considered to be the "founding fathers" of Russian rock music. He is the founder and lead singer of the band Aquarium which has been active since ...

, founder and lead singer of the band Aquarium * Yehuda L. Katzenelson, writer and doctor *

Alexander Kugel Alexander Rafailovich Kugel (, born Avraam Rafailovich Kugel; 1864, — 5 October 1928) was a Russian and Soviet theatre critic and editor, founder of the False Mirror (Krivoye Zerkalo), a popular theatre of parodies.

, theatre critic and editor * Julian Henry Lowenfeld, American-Russian poet, playwright, trial lawyer, Composer, and translator *

Salomon Mandelkern Salomon Mandelkern (; ; pseudonym ''Mindaloff'') was a Russian lexicographer, poet and author. Early life Mandelkern was born to a Russian Jewish family. He was educated as a Talmudist. After his father's death he went to Dubno (he was then fourt ...

, poet and author * Olga Ozarovskaya, folklorist, storyteller, performer, writer, and an archivist of fairy tales *

Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan Rahul Sankrityayan (born Kedarnath Pandey; 9 April 1893 – 14 April 1963) was an Indian author, essayist, playwright, historian, and scholar of Buddhism who wrote in Hindi and Bhojpuri. Known as the "father of Hindi travel literature", Sankrit ...

, Indian historian *

Nicholas Roerich Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh (), better known as Nicholas Roerich (; October 9, 1874 – December 13, 1947), was a Russian painter, writer, archaeologist, theosophist, philosopher, and public figure. In his youth he was influenced by Russ ...

, artist *

Lyubov Speranskaya Lyubov Lvovna Speranskaya (1918–2010; ) was a People's Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan, a member of the Russian Artist's Union, the first female scenographer in Tatarstan, a theatre artist, a portraitist, a graphic painter, a ceramist, an ...

, theater artist *

Maximilian Steinberg Maximilian Osseyevich Steinberg (; – 6 December 1946) was a Russian composer of classical music. Though once considered the hope of Russian music, Steinberg is far less well known today than his mentor (and father-in-law) Nikolai Rimsky-Korsa ...

, composer of classical music *

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

, composer *

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev ( ; rus, links=no, Иван Сергеевич ТургеневIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; – ) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poe ...

, writer Other notable alumni include:

Alexander Alekhine Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine. He disliked when Russians sometimes pronounced the of as , , which he regarded as a Yiddish distortion of his name, and insisted that the correct Russian pronunciation was . (March 24, 1946) was a Russian ...

, fourth World Chess Champion and

Grigory Levenfish Grigory Yakovlevich Levenfish (; – 9 February 1961) was a Soviet chess player who scored his peak competitive results in the 1920s and 1930s. He was twice Soviet champion, in 1934 (jointly with Ilya Rabinovich) and 1937. In 1937 he drew a m ...

, 2x Soviet chess champion, Gennadiy Shatkov, Olympic champion in boxing, and Eduard Vinokurov, Olympic and world champion sabre fencer. Joseph Shor, a student of the School of Mathematics and Mechanics, known as the main protege of

Ostap Bender Ostap Bender () is a fictional confidence trick, con man and the central antiheroic protagonist in the novels ''The Twelve Chairs'' (1928) and ''The Little Golden Calf'' (1931) written by Soviet authors Ilya Ilf Ilf and Petrov, and Yevgeny Petrov ...

. Igor Artimovich, known for creating Festi.

Yakov Rekhter Yakov Rekhter is a well-known network protocol designer and software programmer. He was heavily involved in internet protocol development, and its predecessors, from their early stages. Dr. Rekhter was one of the leading architects and a major ...

, known for creating

BGP Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) is a standardized exterior gateway protocol designed to exchange routing and reachability information among autonomous system (Internet), autonomous systems (AS) on the Internet. BGP is classified as a path-vect ...

Nikolai Kondratiev Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kondratiev (; also Kondratieff; Russian: Никола́й Дми́триевич Кондра́тьев; 4 March 1892 – 17 September 1938) was a Russian Soviet economist and proponent of the New Economic Policy (NEP) best ...

, Soviet economist, known for the

business cycle Business cycles are intervals of general expansion followed by recession in economic performance. The changes in economic activity that characterize business cycles have important implications for the welfare of the general population, governmen ...

theory known as

Kondratiev wave In economics, Kondratiev waves (also called supercycles, great surges, long waves, K-waves or the long economic cycle) are hypothesized cycle-like phenomena in the modern world economy. The phenomenon is closely connected with the technology l ...

Pavel Durov Pavel Valeryevich Durov (; born 10 October 1984) is a technology entrepreneur best known as the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Telegram (software), Telegram, a messaging platform launched in 2013. Durov was born in Russia, where h ...

, the Telegram founder, graduated from the department of philology while his brother,

Nikolai Durov Nikolai Valeryevich Durov (; born 21 November 1980) is a Russian programmer and mathematician. He is the elder brother of Pavel Durov, with whom he founded the social networking site VK and later Telegram Messenger. Early life and education ...

received his PhD from the department of mathematics. Kyrgyz sociologist Rakhat Achylova received her DPhil in 1988.

Rectors

:1819–1821 Mikhail Balugyansky :1821–1825 Yevdokim Zyablovskiy (acting) :1825–1836 Antoine Jeudy Dugour :1836–1840 Ivan Shulgin :1840–1861

:1861

Izmail Sreznevsky Izmail Ivanovich Sreznevsky (; 13 June 1812, Yaroslavl – 21 February 1880, St. Petersburg) was a Russian philologist, Slavist, historian, paleographer, folklorist and writer. Life His father, Ivan Sreznevsky, was a prolific translator of Latin ...

(acting) :1861–1863 Aleksandr Voskresensky (acting) :1863–1865

:1865–1867 Aleksandr Voskresensky :1867–1873

Karl Kessler Karl Fedorovich Kessler (; – ) was a Baltic German zoologist who worked as a professor of biology at Saint Petersburg Imperial University. Among his contributions was the idea that evolution at an infraspecific level involved mutual aid a ...

:1873–1876 Pyotr Redkin :1876–1883

Andrey Beketov Andrey Nikolayevich Beketov (, 8 December 1825 — 1 July 1902) was a Russian botanist, an Honourable member of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Beketov, the Meritorious Professor of Saint Petersburg University (which he was the head of ...

:1883 (1884)–1887 Ivan Andreevsky :1887–1890 Mikhail Vladislavlev :1890

Ivan Pomyalovsky Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the Bu ...

(acting) :1890–1897 Pyotr Nikitin :1897–1899 Vasily Sergeevich :1899–1903 Adolf Holmsten :1903–1905 Aleksandr Zhdanov :1905–1910 Ivan Borgman :1910–1911 David Grimm :1911–1918 Erwin Grimm :1918–1919 Alexander Ivanov :1919

Sergei Zhebelev Sergei Aleksandrovich Zhebelev (22 September 1867 – 28 December 1941) was a Russian historian and archaeologist who was recognised as an authority on ancient Greek history. Zhebelev graduated from Saint Petersburg University in 1890 and was a ...

(acting) :1919–1922 Vladimir Shimkevich :1922–1926 Nikolay Derzhavin :1926–1927 Vsevolod Tomashevsky :1927–1930 Mikhail Serebryakov :1930–1932 Yury Nikich-Krilichevsky (director) :1932–1933 Viktor Seryozhnikov (director) :1933–1937 Mikhail Lazurkin (director) :1937-1938 Boris Berezin (acting) :1938–1939 Konstantin Lukashev (director) :1939 Artemy Marchenko (acting) :1939–1941 Pyotr Zolotukhin (director) :1941–1948

:1948–1950 Nikita Domnin :1950 Mikhail Artamonov (acting) :1950–1952 Alexey Ilyushin :1952–1964 Aleksandr Aleksandrov :1964–1970

Kirill Kondratyev Kirill Yakovlevich Kondratyev (; 14 June 1920 – 1 May 2006) was a Soviet and Russian atmospheric physicist. Career Kondratyev was born in Rybinsk. He went to school in Leningrad and in 1938 entered the University of Leningrad to study physi ...

:1970–1975 Gleb Makarov :1975–1986 Valentin Aleskovsky :1986–1993 Stanislav Merkuriev :1993(1994)–2008 Lyudmila Verbitskaya :since 2008 Nikolay Kropachev File:Balugjanskij Mikhail A.jpg, Mikhail Balugyansky File:Дегуров Антон А., профессор (1765-1845), 2я четв.XIXв p296 e1t.jpg, Antoine Jeudy Dugour File:Шульгин Иван Петрович.jpg, Ivan Shulgin File:Pletnev.jpg,

File:Sreznevskiy II.jpg,

File:Voskresensky A.A.jpg, Aleksandr Voskresensky File:Emil Lenz (cropped).jpg,

File:Karl Kessler.jpg,

File:Редкин Пётр Григорьевич 2.jpg, Pyotr Redkin File:Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary B82 11-1.jpg,

File:Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary B82 01.jpg, Ivan Andreevsky File:Владиславлев Михаил Иванович.jpg, Mikhail Vladislavlev File:Помяловский-Иван-Васильевич (cropped).jpg, Ivan Pomyalovsky File:PV Nikitin.JPG, Pyotr Nikitin File:Sergeevich Vasily Ivanovich.jpg, Vasily Sergeevich File:Гольмстен Адольф Христианович.jpg, Adolf Holmsten File:Жданов Александр Маркеллович.gif, Aleksandr Zhdanov File:Боргман И.И..jpg, Ivan Borgman File:Grimm DD.jpg, David Grimm File:ED Grimm 1916.jpg, Erwin Grimm File:Жебелев Сергей Александрович.png,

File:Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary B82 58-4.jpg, Vladimir Shimkevich File:Mikhail Serebryakov.png, Mikhail Serebryakov File:Artamonov student.jpg, Mikhail Artamonov File:Aleksandr Danilovich Aleksandrov.jpg, Aleksandr Aleksandrov File:Lyudmila Verbitskaya, 2014.jpg, Lyudmila Verbitskaya File:Nikolay Kropachev 2019.jpg, Nikolay Kropachev

References

Bibliography

* — The history of the university, with a particular focus on the law faculty, from the 19th century to the perestroika period

External links

Saint Petersburg State University homepage

History of St Petersburg University
{{Authority control 1724 establishments in the Russian Empire 1819 establishments in the Russian Empire Educational institutions established in 1819 Universities and colleges in the Soviet Union Public universities and colleges in Russia Universities in Saint Petersburg

Admissions

Rankings

History

1724–1821

1821–1917

1918–1939

1940–1999

2000–present

Organization

Governance

Academic year

Campuses

Faculties and Institutes

International collaboration

Notable alumni and faculty

Politics

Nobel laureates

Science and mathematics

Literature and the arts

Rectors

See also

References

Bibliography

External links