KFU - Kazan Federal University. History of the formation and development of Kazan University Kazan Privolzhsky Federal University

Charter Kazan University Emperor Alexander I signed on November 5, 1804. Paragraph 1 defined the purpose of its foundation - “The Imperial Kazan University is the highest scientific class, established for the teaching of sciences. It prepares youth for entry into various ranks of public service.” Or, in the words of one of the first historians of the university, it was opened with the goal of “providing educated people in every kind of public service to the Fatherland, especially for the Siberian provinces.”

The choice of Kazan as a university center was determined by several circumstances. Firstly, Kazan was a large provincial city with a population of 30 thousand inhabitants. Secondly, it was the economic center through which trade was carried out with Siberia, Bukhara, and China. Thirdly, the founding of the university in Kazan was facilitated by the fact that there had been a gymnasium here since 1758, the third in the country after Moscow and St. Petersburg. Thus, there was a natural basis for the initial formation of the contingent of teachers and students of the university. Finally, the subjective factor cannot be discounted: the opening of the university was facilitated by the Kazan governor B. A. Mansurov, who was concerned about the establishment of educational institutions in the province.

1804-1814 were the time of the initial formation of the university. Teaching was carried out without division into faculties, was of an indefinite nature, “from a lecture where the stylistic beauties of Lomonosov’s ode were discussed, students went to listen to the theory of Galvinism, from Ovid’s explanations they moved on to trigonometric problems, from German law they went to botany.” Before 1814 there was a time when lectures were given to only one student, N.I.

The university was located in the gymnasium (now the eastern wing of the main building of KSU), its teachers became the first professors and adjuncts of the university, and the director of the gymnasium I.F. Yakovkin was appointed to the position of director of the university. The first students, 33 in number, were selected from high school students. The list was headed by S. T. Aksakov, the future outstanding Russian writer, author of the fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower”. He went down in the history of Kazan University as its first student. In 1822 the number of students increased to 91, in 1826 - to 115.

The teaching staff was gradually formed during these years. Due to the lack of domestic scientific personnel, the government invited foreign scientists, most often Germans, to teach at universities. In this regard, the medical faculty of Kazan University was especially “lucky”: by the time the “medical department” opened, all its departments were occupied by foreign professors. In total, at the university in 1809, 8 subjects were taught in Russian, 5 in Latin, 3 in French, 1 in German.

The full opening of the university with its division into faculties took place in June 1814.

The first elected rector was a physician, professor of the department of anatomy, physiology and forensic science, Ivan Osipovich Brown.

In the 20s Kazan University survived a severe shock - the Magnitsky era (1819-1826), caused by the political reaction that intensified after the end of World War II. The liberal reforms with which Alexander I began his reign disappeared, in the words of A.S. Pushkin, “like a dream, like morning fog.” The government switched to reaction in all spheres of public life, including in the field of education.

In March 1819, Alexander I ordered an audit of Kazan University. The Tsarist auditor M. L. Magnitsky was horrified by the “disastrous materialism” that, in his opinion, permeated all university teaching. In his report to the Tsar, he proposed to “publicly destroy” the university. However, Alexander wrote on the report: “Why destroy, you can fix it” and appointed Magnitsky as a trustee of the Kazan educational district.

Arakcheev's rules are being introduced at the university. For example, teachers could even get married only with the permission of the trustee. The students were placed in even greater barracks conditions. One of the professors at Kazan University wrote about the life of students: “...they don’t even set foot in their room, except after dinner at night, and then all day either in classes, or in so-called entertaining rooms, or in the garden. .. Everything is timed, even from the yard there is no other way to go than with a ticket. Everyone is required to wear a uniform."

The obscurantist trustee began his activities with the dismissal of professors recognized as unreliable. This brought the university to the brink of closure. Thus, in the 1819/20 academic year, teaching in all departments of the Faculty of Medicine was led by a single professor - K. F. Fuchs.

Magnitsky issues numerous instructions with which he ensures that in university teaching “the spirit of freedom neither openly nor covertly weakens the teachings of the church.”

Even in mathematics, “the highest truths of faith must be confirmed: without one there can be no number, and the world cannot exist without a single creator; the hypotenuse in a right triangle is nothing more than a symbolic union of the earthly with the divine.”

The medical faculty did not escape Magnitsky’s pious instructions either. “...Professors of this faculty must take all possible measures in order to ward off the blindness to which many of the most distinguished physicians were subjected to astonishment at the superiority of the organs and laws of our animal body, falling into disastrous materialism from what the wisdom of the creator reveals most. Students should be warned against this terrible error."2 In 1826, Magnitsky was dismissed from the post of trustee, but the spirit instilled by him continued to remain in the life of the university for many years.

In the late 20s - early 30s. a new page opens in the history of Kazan University. Its further development was essentially determined by two events: the election of N. I. Lobachevsky as rector in 1828 and the introduction of the university charter in 1835.

Kazan Imperial University 1804 1917 history and significance

Natalya-Christmas

Kazan Imperial University (1804-1917):

history and meaning.

Bibliographic review

based on the funds of the GPIB of Russia.

The Russian Empire had an amazing education system; enlightened Russia brought the light of knowledge to the outskirts of the empire. The first universities were the idea of ​​Peter the Great, but his initiatives were supported by all, any significant rulers of Russia.

This essay is dedicated to the oldest Russian university - the Kazan Imperial University. Why Russian? Because the bulk of the professorship was Russian, because teaching was conducted in Russian, because brilliant discoveries were made at this university by Russian-speaking scientists, and these scientists themselves were once students of this university. Thus, few people know that the non-Euclidean geometry of N.I. Lobachevsky was discovered within the walls of the Kazan Imperial University. It was the subsequent generations who could only know that V.I. Ulyanov-Lenin, after whose name the university was later named, took an external course here. But Lenin has nothing to do with the glory of this university, although he was a promising student.

Kazan Imperial University was opened through the efforts of Emperor Alexander I, the worthy grandson of Catherine II the Great. The GPIB collection preserved the publication of the ceremonial speech for the opening of this university shortly after the Patriotic War of 1812.

Gorodchaninov, Grigory Nikolaevich (1772-1852). An ode to universal peace in Europe, pronounced at the Grand Opening of the Imperial Kazan University on July 5, 1814, by the court adviser for eloquence, poetry and language of the Russian Federation, ordinary professor Grigory Gorodchaninov. - Kazan: University Printing House, 1814. - 12 p. ; 23 cm.

In 1902 in Imp. Kazan University published a major work on the history of the Kazan Kingdom, which outlined both the merits of the Russian princes and the genealogy of the Tatar and Mongol khans, who conquered vast territories with their large army, but, after joining the Moscow Kingdom, sometimes served faithfully to the Russian fatherland against other foreign invaders.

The legend of the conception of the Kingdom of Kazan and the victories of the great princes of Moscow... Slavic text, published from a manuscript belonging to F.T. Vasiliev, with an index and a brief genealogy of the Mongol and Tatar khans, N.F. Katanov. Ed. F.T. Vasilyeva. - Kazan: Type. Imp. University, 1902. - XV , 142 l., 3 l. table ; 25 cm.

The GPIB of Russia has preserved many publications that give an idea of ​​the Imp. Kazan University. Preserved are lists of students (including those on government pay) and free listeners, lists of teachers, rules for students, an overview of teaching in four departments of the university, a schedule of lectures in some faculties, a catalog of the university library, a description of celebrations on the occasion of significant state dates and anniversaries of famous compatriots. Apparently, with the assistance of Kazan University, the Kazan Family Pedagogical Circle operated in the capital of the Kazan Kingdom, the reports of which were also preserved in the Istorichka. Here are some such publications.

Extract from the Regulations about scholarships and awards, existing at the Imperial Kazan University (until September 1, 1899). - Kazan, 1899.

Historical notes about four branches Imperial Kazan University for 1814 - 1827. - Kazan, 1899. Multi-volume edition, ed. on years.

Zagoskin, Nikolai Pavlovich. History of the Imperial Kazan University during the first hundred years of its existence. T.1-4.- Kazan, 1902-1904.

Library catalog Imperial Kazan University. A-B. - Kazan, 1851-1857. A. Student library catalogue. 1851. B. Catalog of the Main Library. 1857. (Volume B. published in GPIB).

Teaching Review at the Imperial Kazan University. - Kazan, 1826-. Multi-volume edition.

Description of the Celebration former at the Imperial Kazan University on September 15, 1825 - Kazan: type. Univ.

Zalesky, Vladislav Frantsevich. Location summary table lectures at the Faculty of Law of the Imperial Kazan University during from February 14, 1805 to May 1, 1903.- Kazan: tipol. Imp. Univ., 1903. - 156 p. ; 25 cm. - [Appendix to the Scientific Notes of the Imperial Kazan University for 1903 Senate].

Rules for students and outside listeners Imperial Kazan University. - Kazan: Type. Imp. Kazan. University, 1882. - 188,IIIWith. ; 23 cm.

Mikhailovsky, Alexey Ivanovich. Teachers who studied and served at the Imperial Kazan University (1804-1904). Part 1. - Kazan, 1901-1908.

Fifty-year-old anniversary of N.I. Pirogov. Speeches... - Kazan, 1881.

(Soviet publication about the methodological work of the Imperial Kazan University)

Shurtakova, T.V. Management of [Imperial] Kazan University development primary and secondary education in the educational district in 1805-1836.- Kazan: Kaz. univ., 1959. - 69 p. ; 70 cm.

Information about the state of the Imperial Kazan University for 1893-1898. [In 5 T.] -[ Kazan] , 1894-1899; 23 cm -[ Extract from the Report...]

List of candidates and current students in the department of the Imperial Kazan University on government pay...for... a year. - Kazan, 1855-; 16 cm...for the academic year 1855-1856. - 1855. - 65 p.

List of honorary members and personnel Imperial Kazan University. - Kazan, 1891-1915; 24 cm. Multi-volume edition, by year.

List of students of the Imperial Kazan University for... years. - Kazan, 1862-; 16 cm. Multi-volume edition.

Students list Imperial Kazan University for... a year. - Kazan, 1883-1915. [Multi-volume edition]. Title: 1885.: List of students, outside listeners and students of the Midwifery Courses 1886.: List of students, outside listeners and female students Midwifery Institute.

Berezin, N. Numismatic cabinet Imperial Kazan University / Described. Prof. N. Berezin. - Kazan: Univ. Type. - 1855. - 18, 29, 8 p. ; 24 cm.

Report of the Society for the Welfare of Poor Students Imperial Kazan University... - Kazan, 1873-1911. Multi-volume edition.

Catalog of books printed in the printing house Imperial Kazan University from 1800 to 1896. - 2nd ed. - Kazan, 1896. - 416 p.

Alphabetical list of students Imperial Kazan University for the years. ... - Kazan, 1903-1911. Multi-volume edition.

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Biographical Dictionary of Professors and Teachers Imperial Kazan University (1804-1904) in 2 parts / Ed. N.P. Zagoskina. - Kazan: tipol. Imp. Univ., 1904. - 25 cm. - (over 100 years).

Extract from the Council file on the celebration of the upcoming centenary Imperial Kazan University (Case No. 63. 1894). - Kazan: tipol. Univ., 1897. - 22 cm.

Annual act at the Imperial Kazan University... . - Kazan, 1865-1910. - 24 cm. - Publishing house 1866: ed. "Izvestia and Scientific Notes of the Imperial Kazan University." In ed. included: speeches, pronounced at acts; Extracts from the Report Imperial Kazan University; Report and Status Imperial Kazan University; list of its honorary members and personnel.

Next, I would like to cite books published in Kazan (not only those published by the Imperial Kazan University). They give an idea of ​​the events that took place here, of the scientific societies that existed here. In general, Kazan at that time was a forge of remarkable cultural components of the Russian Empire.

Class report Congress of primary school teachers in Kazan from July 30 to August 15, 1882. - Kazan, 1882. - 155, , 193; 1 plan; 23 cm.

Report Family pedagogical circle in Kazan... - Kazan, 1900-1901. - 26 cm.

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Scribe book of Kazan district 1602-1603 gg. Publ. text. - Kazan: Kazan University Publishing House, 1978.

One hundred and twenty-five years of non-Euclidean geometry by Lobachevsky (1826-1951). Celebration by Kazan State University them. V.I. Ulyanov-Lenin and Kazan Physics and Mathematics Society 125th anniversary of the discovery of non-Euclidean geometry by N.I. Lobachevsky. - M.;L., 1952.

Bulletin of the Student Scientific Society. Vol. 1-4. - Kazan, 1959-1969.

I think from all of the above, we can draw a conclusion about the level of culture in the Kazan district of the Russian Empire, where the Imperial Kazan University was the very center of this culture. Now imagine what all of Russia would be like in its progressive development... without wars, revolutions and other disasters and upheavals. The level of culture then and now is not in our favor either. And the reason is the total destruction of that layer of culture. Only our awareness of the greatness of our past will help us never repeat the mistakes of lost civilizations - among them are our “great-grandmother” - Ancient Byzantium and the Russian Empire. The state is like a person; if a person does not respect himself, then it comes back to him like a boomerang, and one can even die from this.

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In 1804, Alexander I signed a decree, the purpose of which was to open a higher educational institution in Kazan. At that time, it was based in the building of the Kazan Imperial Gymnasium, but soon it became necessary to purchase several neighboring buildings to create a “student town.”

Every year the territory increased, the main building was erected, and they also began to build an anatomical theater, chemical laboratories, and dormitories. Quite quickly, the original architectural plans were violated, new specialties were opened and the territories on which the university was based expanded.

Initially there were departments of political and moral sciences, medical and verbal sciences, physical and mathematical sciences. Since 1825, when laboratories, clinics and libraries were completed, the university became a scientific center. Important scientific discoveries were made here: non-Euclidean geometry, the discovery of the chemical element ruthenium, and a theory of the chemical structure of organic substances was developed. Here, for the first time in the Russian Empire, a department for studying the Chinese language was opened.

After the revolution of 1918, many residents of Kazan, including some students and university teachers, were forced to leave the city. However, after the formation of the USSR, the position of the university improved, new specialties appeared, and additional funding from the government appeared. In 1925, educational

The institution was named “Ulyanov-Lenin University”.

During the Second World War, many students and teachers from Moscow and St. Petersburg were evacuated here. Their stay there allowed Kazan University to improve its scientific base and gain new experience. For its scientific activities during the Soviet Union, the university was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and the Order of Lenin.

University today

In 1996, Lenin University was included in the register of especially valuable historical objects of the Russian Federation. In 2009, they tried to rename the institution “Volga Federal University”, but ultimately settled on the name “Kazan Federal University”.

The land area of ​​the educational institution is 364.3 hectares. The student campus is located in the center of Kazan, and dormitories and faculties are also located throughout the city. A small hostel is also located in a village near the city. As of 2013, more than 36 thousand students from Russia, the CIS and many countries of the world are already studying at the university. KFU includes 17 institutes, many faculties and schools. Also, dozens of organizations of different directions and creative teams have been formed on the basis of the university. The educational institution owns eleven sports facilities, including three sports complexes, two of its own printed magazines, many libraries and laboratories in Kazan.

Students are taught by hundreds of specialists from various scientific fields, thanks to which today the university is the main center of science in the region. Also unique are the historical buildings of the university, the underground passages underneath them and many other buildings on the campus.

REPORT ON THE HISTORY OF TATARSTAN

"KAZAN UNIVERSITY"

10 "G" class. School 132

Completed by: Shigabutdinov Adel

KAZAN 2002

Kazan University.

In the first years of the 19th century, an event of enormous significance took place in the life of Kazan: on November 5, 1804, a decision was made to open a university in the city - the third in the country.

Among the numerous exhibits of the KSU museum there is a document of particular value - the Certificate of Confirmation of the Imperial Kazan University, signed by Alexander I on November 5, 1804. has truly become a university relic.

In a green velvet case, embroidered with gold thread, with a hanging State Seal, with the full imperial title, it opens the museum's exhibition. It has 9 pages, each of which is a genuine work of design art; The text itself, decorated with beautiful ornaments, and images of the double-headed eagle and the coats of arms of Russian cities were executed by an unknown artist with great taste and skill. But the significance of this document lies not only and not so much in its external form, but in its content. The charter includes 21 articles, which set out the tasks, rights and foundations of the university. It opens by indicating the purpose of founding the university in Kazan:

“Our August Great-Great-Grandmother, Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, of blessed memory, following the paths of the great Transformer of Russia, among other glorious deeds, deigned to found a Gymnasium in Kazan in 1758 and grant it some rights, which had recently been granted to Moscow University. Having assumed, in accordance with the enlightenment of the present times, in in this very place to establish a University in order to make the existence of this beneficial institution forever inviolable and to give it the opportunity to achieve the important purpose of educating useful citizens in the service of the Fatherland and disseminating the necessary knowledge in it.”

“The Imperial Kazan University will remain a class of learned men, which, under Our direct patronage, will be governed on the basis of the Charter, approved by Us to this day.”
“In it,” the next paragraph says, “sciences will be taught throughout the entire space, both general ones, necessary for every person, and special ones, serving to educate a citizen for various types of public service.”

In conclusion:

“Thus affirming with Our Imperial Charter and protecting the well-being of the Imperial Kazan University, we hope that the authorities and members of it, jealous of the fulfillment of Our intentions, will not lose sight of anything in order to give this Estate full and continuous action for the benefit of the District to which it is given as a center, and greatly for the benefit of our other dearest loyal subjects of all ranks. In this hope, We deigned to sign this Charter, as evidence of Our immutable will, with our own hands and commanded, having approved it with the State Seal, to give it to the University for eternal storage."

The document is signed by the Minister of Public Education, Count P. Zavadovsky. February 11, 1805 The diploma was delivered to Kazan by the trustee of the Kazan educational district, a famous astronomer, vice-president of the Imperial Academy of Sciences S.Ya. Rumovsky.

Three days later, on February 14, the first meeting of the Council was held in the gymnasium hall, which was attended by teachers of the gymnasium, appointed by the trustee as professors and adjuncts at the opening university. S.Ya. Rumovsky made a short speech, congratulating those present on the greatest event - the opening of the university, and then, having personally read the Certificate of Approval, presented it to the Council.

Every year, on November 4, during public meetings on the occasion of the birthday of Kazan University, the Approval Letter, together with the Charter, was taken to the assembly hall, installed on the table in front of the portrait of Alexander I, commissioned by S.Ya. Rumovsky by the artist Racetu in 1806. The founder of the university was depicted in full height at the moment of signing the Affirmative Letter and Charter. For more than a century, the emperor's portrait adorned the assembly hall. If the very opening of the university in February 1805. passed in a very modest atmosphere, then 10 years later - July 5, 1814. - the act of complete opening of the university was celebrated widely and solemnly.

The charter provided for the creation of four departments (faculties) at the university: moral and political sciences, physical and mathematical, medical or medical, verbal sciences with the department of oriental languages; 28 professors, 12 adjuncts, 3 lecturers and 3 teachers of the “pleasant arts”. But in fact, no faculties or departments existed at the beginning. And the first 33 students had to listen to lectures on Russian literature and trigonometry, Roman law and botany, medicine and philosophy. They studied with great enthusiasm, inspired by the belief that the Russian land could give birth to its own “Platons and quick-witted Newtons.”

And it became a reality. Already the first students of the university were future major representatives of science and culture of Russia: writer S. T. Aksakov, brothers academicians D. M. and V. M. Perevoshchikov, professors P. S. Kondyrev (political economist), A. V. Kaisarov (physicist ), V.I. Timyansky (natural scientist). In subsequent years, among the university’s graduates were the great Russian mathematician N. I. Lobachevsky, the famous astronomer and traveler I. M. Simonov and many other scientists who won fame for Russian science and brought world fame to the university.

Difficult times came for the university when in 1819, first the auditor and then the trustee of the Kazan educational district, the extreme reactionary and obscurantist M. L. Magnitsky was appointed. As a result of the audit, he proposed to “publicly destroy” the university altogether. “Why destroy, we can fix it,” Alexander I wrote his “merciful” resolution on the obscurantist’s report.

And the era of “correction” begins. Nine professors were fired due to “unreliability,” and all subjects (even mathematics) began to be taught according to the basics of “piety,” with the exposure of the “false mind.” Official instructions demanded “that the spirit of liberty neither openly nor covertly weaken the teachings of the church in the teaching of the philosophical and historical sciences.” An atmosphere of general surveillance begins to reign at the university - both professors and students, works by Voltaire and Diderot are confiscated from the library.

Beginning in 1826, after the dismissal of Magnitsky, the university began to recover from the ills of a terrible time. This was connected, first of all, with the activities of Professor N.I. Lobachevsky, who was elected rector in 1827. He held this post until 1846. But even later he was involved in university life, being an assistant trustee of the Kazan educational district in 1846-1855. He was destined to become a true builder of the university, its talented leader.

Under the leadership of N.I. Lobachevsky, the construction of the entire complex of university buildings was completed, equipping them with the necessary equipment for scientific and educational work. He established the activities of the university printing house, organized the first scientific periodical, “Scientific Notes of Kazan University,” which began publication in 1834 and soon became one of the best scientific journals in Russia.

The materialist philosopher N.I. Lobachevsky adhered to advanced pedagogical views. He outlined them in the famous assembly speech “On the Most Important Subjects of Education,” delivered at a ceremonial meeting on July 5, 1828. The ideas of advanced materialist philosophers are clearly felt in it. “We already live in times when barely the shadow of ancient scholasticism wanders through universities,” the scientist proclaimed. “Here, having entered this institution, youth will not hear empty words without any thought, just sounds without any meaning. Here they teach what actually exists, and not what is known to idle minds."

In the era of Nikolai “Palkin,” in the era when Griboyedov’s Skalozub threatened every university to “give a sergeant-major to Voltaire,” N. I. Lobachevsky prophetically, proudly and boldly spoke about the triumph of the human mind. “Man was born to be the master, the ruler, the king of nature,” he asserted. “But the wisdom with which he must rule from his hereditary throne is not given to him from birth: it is acquired by teaching.” Not nobility, not royal service, not blind obedience, not money - the main thing in life. The main thing is in learning, in understanding and obeying the laws of nature.

Pedagogical thoughts about educating citizens who are useful to the fatherland, scientists who are transforming science, were actively used in educational work. To how many inquisitive minds N.I. Lobachevsky became a “godfather” on the path to science! He encouraged A. M. Butlerov and N. I. Zinin during their first scientific steps, predicting a great future for them. In the bookstore clerk N.A. Bolzani, who had not even graduated from high school, he saw a future professor of physics at the university. And there are many such examples.

N.I. Lobachevsky deeply understood the need for the all-round development of science and sought to create the necessary conditions for this. Scientific schools begin to form at the university, discoveries are made there that will forever be written in golden letters in the annals of world science. The great mathematician was the first to set an example of how to abandon outdated views and truly solve the most complex scientific problems in a revolutionary way.

On February 11, 1826, at the university, N. I. Lobachevsky publicly read his note “A Concise Exposition of the Principles of Geometry on Parallel Lines,” which marked the birth of a new, non-Euclidean geometry. For more than two millennia, the reigning thought about the only correct geometry - the geometry of Euclid - was refuted.

Subsequently, N.I. Lobachevsky developed his geometry in detail in a number of published works. The first of them, “On the Principles of Geometry,” was published in 1829–1830 in the Kazansky Vestnik. Later, he continued to develop various aspects of his theory, which resulted in his fundamental monographs “Imaginary Geometry”, “New Principles of Geometry with a Complete Theory of Parallel”, “Pangeometry”.

The ideas of the great mathematician, which were far ahead of the science of that time, were not understood by his contemporaries. Only university professor P.I. Kotelnikov noted in his assembly speech in 1842 that the “amazing work” of the innovating mathematician would sooner or later find its connoisseurs. General recognition came to N.I. Lobachevsky after his death. His discovery led to important results not only in the development of mathematics, but also a number of other sciences, putting his name on a par with such geniuses as Archimedes, Newton, Copernicus, Lomonosov.

The astronomer I.M. Simonov brought great fame to the university. He was the only scientist among the participants in the round-the-world expedition of F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev in 1819-1821, which discovered Antarctica. According to him The works “A Word about the Successes of the Voyage of the Sloops “Vostok” and “Mirny” Around the World”, “On the Temperature Difference in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres” and others, the scientific world became acquainted with the results of important observations made during the expedition. Scientific research brought I. M. Simonov worldwide fame. He was elected a corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, an honorary member of many Russian and foreign scientific institutions.

The Kazan school of chemists played an outstanding role in the development of domestic science. Its first success is associated with the name of N. N. Zinin, who in 1842 obtained aniline from nitrobenzene. This discovery soon became known throughout Europe; it was of great importance for the development of the aniline dye and pharmaceutical industries. “Russian chemistry owes its entry into independent life to Zinin,” wrote A.M. Butlerov. “...His works for the first time forced scientists to give Russian chemistry a place of honor.”

Two years later, chemists from many countries again uttered the word “Kazan”: Professor K. K. Klaus discovered a new chemical element here - ruthenium. "Ruthenium" means "Russian" in Latin. K. K. Klaus said that he named the new element in honor of his fatherland.

The discoveries of N. N. Zinin’s student, A. M. Butlerov, confirmed that the university’s chemical laboratory had become the center of the country’s chemical thought. A. M. Butlerov has the honor of creating the theory of the chemical structure of organic substances. This theory was destined to play the same role in organic chemistry that D.I. Mendeleev’s periodic system played in inorganic chemistry. A. M. Butlerov's research opened the way for the synthesis of new organic substances and laid the foundation of modern organic chemistry.

The glorious traditions of Kazan chemists V.V. Markovnikov, A.M. Zaitsev, F.M. Flavitsky continued with success. Astronomer M. A. Kovalsky, mathematicians V. G. Imshenetsky, A. P. Kotelnikov, F. M. Suvorov, P. S. Poretsky, mechanic I. S. Gromeka and others worked fruitfully.

The Kazan medical school became famous for its brilliant successes. Back in the 50s, E.F. Aristov conducted a number of original studies, trying to unravel the structure of the brain. The school itself is formed by the works of the therapist - clinician N. A. Vinogradov, histologist K. A. Arnstein, physiologist N. O. Kovalevsky. In the 80s, the name of Professor E.V. Adamyuk even became a household name: people affectionately called all ophthalmologists in the city “Adamyuks.” “Kazan,” wrote the Volzhsky Courier newspaper, “has become a place of pilgrimage for thousands of patients, and it seems that there was no more famous name among doctors among the population of eastern Russia than the name of Adamyuk.” The fundamental works of Professor E.V. Adamyuk essentially created Russian ophthalmology.

The founder of experimental psychology in Russia was V. M. Bekhterev, who organized a psychophysiological laboratory at the university. His observations are summarized in the fundamental work “Fundamentals of the Study of Brain Functions.” Outstanding research in the field of physiology was done by Professor N. A. Mislavsky, in the field of electrophysiology - by Professor A. F. Samoilov, who widely used the electrophysiological method in studying the heart and central nervous system.

Professor-geologist N.A. Golovkinsky was the first to intensively study the geology of the Volga-Kama region; he was the founder of the doctrine of facies, developing the problems of the relationship between layers of different geological horizons. In the 70s, the Kazan school of geologists was formed, represented by such prominent scientists as A. A. Shtukenberg, P. I. Krotov, M. E. Noinsky, M. E. Yaneshevsky. The founders of the geobotanical school were S.I. Korzhinsky and A.Ya. Gordyagin.

The works of oriental scientists also received worldwide recognition: Arabist Kh. D. Frena, Turkologists and Iranianists A. K. Kazembek, I. I. Khalfin, I. N. Berezin, N. F. Katanov, sinologist V. P. Vasilyev , Mongolists O. M. Kovalevsky and A. V. Popov. The research of I. A. Baudouin de Courtenay, as well as V. A. Bogoroditsky, the founder of experimental phonetics, brought fame to Kazan linguists.

Kazan University played a huge role in the cultural development of the region and many other regions of the country. It should be said here that the Kazan educational district initially included the entire Volga region, the Urals, Siberia, the Caucasus, Penza and Tambov provinces. Only after 1825 its territory shrank somewhat.

The university library played an important role in the development of culture and education. Already in the 20s it became public, accessible to everyone. Soon a special “room for reading” periodicals was organized there. The university subscribed to about 50 Russian, French, German, and English newspapers and magazines.

In 1806, a society of lovers of Russian literature was organized in Kazan. At first, it included only teachers and students of the university, but soon literature lovers from Nizhny Novgorod, Perm, Astrakhan and other cities of the Volga region and the Urals became its members. The company successfully developed its activities. In 1817, the first volume of his works was published - an almanac, in which the works of about twenty authors were published.

In 1811, the university's publishing committee began publishing Kazan News, the first provincial newspaper in Russia. It was published once a week, publishing reports about international and domestic life, scientific articles, historical and ethnographic materials, and literary works. The first literary magazine in the Volga region, “The Volga Ant,” was also published in 1832-1834 by university staff.

Since 1821, instead of Kazan News, the university began to publish the Kazan Bulletin magazine and, as a supplement to it, the weekly newspaper Additions to the Kazan Bulletin. Thanks to the well-equipped university printing house, Kazan has become one of the country's major book publishing centers.

The university has trained many talented teachers. Among them was V.I. Lenin’s father, I.N. Ulyanov, who brilliantly graduated from the university in 1854 and devoted his entire life to educating the working people.

The tsarist government, opening a university in Kazan, set as its goal to turn it into a stronghold of Russification and Christianization, into a center for training dedicated personnel. Advanced humanist scientists saw their task differently. They believed that the university should be a center for the development of science, education and enlightenment of peoples of various nationalities, the study of their history, language and literature. The Eastern category played a major role in its becoming such a center, where departments of Arabic and Persian, Mongolian, Armenian, Sanskrit, Manchu languages, as well as a Turkish-Tatar department were created.

Although the tsarist government in every possible way limited the admission of people of other nationalities to the university, contemptuously treating them as “foreigners,” Tatars, Bashkirs, Kazakhs, Kalmyks, Buryats, and Mongols still got into it. Of course, these were only a few, but they were the first representatives of their peoples to receive higher education. One of the remarkable students of the Eastern category was Dorji Banzarov, the first Buryat scientist, a famous democratic educator.

University professor K.F. Fuchs was called one of the first people who united “the Russian and Tatar people with close ties of commonwealth.” And there is no exaggeration in this: K. F. Fuchs was the first researcher of the life of the Kazan Tatars, he introduced the Russian reader to Tatar folk poetry.

The university has done a lot to strengthen the friendship of the two fraternal peoples. The prominent Tatar scientist and educator I. Khalfin, who was the first Tatar to be awarded the title of adjutant, worked fruitfully there. He was the author of many works and publications of great scientific value. With the help of N.I. Lobachevsky, the Tatar peasant M.G. Makhmudov also became a university teacher.

Unselfish generous help and support to the outstanding Tatar democrat educator K. Nasyri. He was a friend of many of them, and actively participated in the activities of the Society of Archaeology, History and Ethnography. The same can be said about such outstanding representatives of the Tatar people as G. Ilyasi, Sh. Mardzhani, Kh. Faezkhanov. The university's printing house published dozens of historical and literary monuments, textbooks for Tatar schools, philosophical and other scientific works. The first books printed in it were F. Volkov’s brochure “On the vaccination of cowpox,” published in the Tatar language, and “The ABC and Grammar of the Tatar Language.”

Kazan University played an important role in the development of the revolutionary liberation movement in Russia. The revolutionary spirit among his students was especially strong. Already in the forties, a secret political circle operated here. The famous revolutionary V.V. Bervi-Flerovsky, recalling his student years in Kazan, spoke about the arrival in the city of three envoys from the St. Petersburg circle of M.V. Butashevich-Petrashevsky and about their influence on the students. These memories are echoed by the inspector’s denunciations about “secret gatherings” of students.

Advanced scientists had a great influence on the formation of revolutionary ideology among students. Among them was the outstanding democratic teacher D.I. Meyer, who worked at the department of civil law. In his lectures, he angrily denounced serfdom and inequality of classes. One of the students wrote about his lectures: “Meyer’s memories of the Baltic region and the irritation with which he spoke about the pitiful situation of the peasants were etched in my memory... Such a sincere, truthful protest, encountered for the first time, opened my eyes to many things that had not been noticed until that time.” .

In April 1849, in his final lecture, D.I. Meyer made a fiery appeal to his students: “Premonition does not deceive me - I believe in the imminence of a revolution in the internal life of our fatherland. Everyone who has a human heart involuntarily recognizes the absurdity of serfdom... I do not even allow the thought that you, students of the university, will ever find yourself accomplices in the shameful trade in justice... It is not enough to be passive in relation to evil, you are obliged to fight it on every step, at every moment of his life, without stopping at any difficulties or sacrifices.”

The words of D.I. Meyer left few people indifferent. It was under his influence that university student Leo Tolstoy developed a sharply negative attitude towards serfdom. Under the guidance of a democratic professor, the future great writer wrote his course work.

Students begin to participate in open political protests against the tsarist authorities. One of the first such speeches was their petition demanding the resignation of professor of physiology V. F. Bervi, who in his lectures advocated against the invasion of materialism into the “sanctuary of science.” The students achieved their goal: the hapless professor had to resign.

The idol of the students was history professor, staunch democrat A.P. Shchapov. He taught at the university for less than a year, but his memory remained in the hearts of students for a long time. Already his first lecture, dedicated to the history of the Russian people, evoked thunderous applause. It sounded like the apotheosis of the Decembrists’ activities. G.V. Plekhanov rightly called this lecture “almost the only phenomenon of this kind in the history of our universities” in that era.

Lectures by A.P. Shchapov called students to serve the people, to fight for their rights, and his words did not diverge from deeds. This was clearly proven in 1861, when the tsarist authorities carried out a bloody massacre of unarmed peasants in the village of Bezdna, which outraged all of advanced Russia. This event also excited Kazan students. At a numerous memorial service in memory of the victims who fell at the hands of the tsar’s punitive forces, the fiery words of A.P. Shchapov were heard. “And you, friends, were the first...,” he said, “to fall as atoning victims of despotism for the freedom long awaited by all the people. You were the first to disturb our sleep, to destroy with your initiative our unfair doubt that our people are not capable of the initiative of political movements... The land that you cultivated, the fruits of which you fed us, which you now wanted to acquire as property and which accepted you as martyrs into its bosom - this land will call the people to revolt and to freedom.”

The words of A.P. Shchapov spread throughout Russia. No wonder A. I. Herzen wrote in “Kolokol” in 1861: “As soon as you smell fresh air, healthy, promising spring, it is probably from the Urals or from Kazan, from Kiev or from Kharkov...”. Shchapov was taken away from Kazan under the supervision of gendarmes.

The “Kazan conspiracy” of 1863 showed how strong Shchapov’s traditions were at the university, when students took part in preparing an armed peasant uprising against tsarism. “The moral charm of Shchapov’s personality, his fiery speech to students about the need to study the Russian peasant, his needs, his mental enlightenment, made them true democrats, fighters for the rights of the oppressed and humiliated,” wrote one of the participants in the student liberation movement, I. M. Krasnoperov.

About ten years passed - and again Kazan University attracted the attention of all of Russia. This time it was connected with the Lesgaft case.

P. F. Lesgaft was elected to the department of anatomy in 1868. From the very first steps of his activity, he showed himself to be a consistent democratic scientist, an opponent of the reactionary policy of tsarism in the field of education.

In January 1871, a royal decree was issued on “preventing females from listening to lectures together with students.” However, in the classrooms where the outstanding scientist taught, more and more girls began to appear who decided to devote themselves to medicine. Among them was Vra Figner, the future famous revolutionary.

A democrat by conviction, P.F. Lesgaft could not put up with the policy of tsarism, which sought to turn the university into an institution for training officials loyal to it. He publicly opposed this in the Petersburg Gazette, exposing the arbitrariness perpetrated at Kazan University by trustee Shestakov. Then he published another article sharply criticizing the order at the university. The authorities could no longer tolerate this: P. F. Lesgaft was removed from teaching and dismissed from the university. As a sign of solidarity with him, professors N.A. Golovkinsky, A.Ya. Danilevsky, V.G. Imshenetsky, V.V. Markovnikov, A.I. Yakobiy, A.E. Golubev and P.I. Levitsky resigned.

Thus, year after year, the reputation of Kazan University as “unreliable” was strengthened. The revolutionary spirit in him is especially strengthened in an era when the proletariat enters the arena of class struggle. Progressive students are trying to help him. The time has come to study Marxism.

On August 13, 1887, Vladimir Ulyanov was enrolled as a first-year student at the university's Faculty of Law. On this day, a new page in the history of the university opened. After all, it was here that the great leader of the proletariat embarked on the path of direct revolutionary struggle, took the first step into the revolution.

On December 4, 1887, the famous student gathering took place at Kazan University, the echo of which sounded throughout Russia and beyond its borders. Among the most active participants and leaders of the gathering was Vladimir Ulyanov.

The poet called the university the pride of Kazan. And rightfully so: already in the pre-revolutionary period, he gained the city fame for his scientific discoveries and rich traditions of the liberation struggle. The university significantly increased this fame in subsequent years.

But both are mature creative works that grace the city. These are indisputable monuments of architecture and urban planning. Temple of Science in Saratov: from Mufke to Burmistrov A wonderful New Year's gift for the staff of Saratov State University - one of the oldest universities in the country, which celebrated its 90th anniversary this past year, was the completion of construction...

Passage tower of the Kremlin walls. The beginning of its construction dates back to 1556, when Pskov masons with masters Postnik Yakovlev, nicknamed Barma, and Ivan Shiryai, began to build the white stone Kazan Kremlin. Initially, the tower, named Spasskaya after the stone Church of the Savior located on the north side, had a square (23x23 m) at the base and 2.25 m thick walls made of...

January 12 (25 according to the new style) “After considering the project, Elizaveta Petrovna signed on January 12 (St. Tatiana’s Day according to the Orthodox church calendar) 1755 a decree on the founding of Moscow University. The opening ceremony of classes at the university took place on the day of the anniversary of the coronation of Elizabeth Petrovna on April 26 (May 7), 1755. Since then, these days have traditionally...

Imperial Kazan University

November 5 (November 17, New Style) 1804 Alexander I signed the Certificate of Affirmation on the founding of the Kazan Imperial University and its Charter. This date became the birthday of one of the oldest universities in Russia, which was destined to play an outstanding role in the development of national science, education and culture.

At that time, Universities, creating a cultural field around themselves, with their multifaceted activities contributed to the formation of an enlightened, creative personality, as well as the formation of a social structure that met the needs of a developing society and the tasks of Europeanization of the country. This happened with Kazan. The city and its appearance began to change under the active influence of the university.

Initially, the university was located in the building of the Kazan Imperial Gymnasium, built in 1796; later, three neighboring houses were acquired for the needs of the institution, which made it possible to consider this quarter as the territory of the university campus. In the 20s of the 19th century, the architect Pyotr Gavrilovich Pyatnitsky erected the main building, the classical facade of which with three porticoes has survived to this day. In the next decade, when he became the rector of the university Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky , under the guidance of an architect Mikhail Petrovich Korinfsky an architectural ensemble was created. The architect placed the anatomical theater strictly along the axis of the main building, making it the southern dominant of the entire ensemble. The buildings of a chemical laboratory and a library stood symmetrically with it, and an astronomical observatory and a clinic were built during the same period.

The university campus turned into a kind of showcase of Kazan: hotels, shops, the same bookstores, pharmacies appeared - everything that was needed to serve the university public. Over the course of two centuries, this town, the harmonious core of which was a beautiful architectural ensemble in the style of Russian classicism of the 19th century, acquired new, expressive features; the complex of buildings of the country astronomical observatory is also an architectural monument.

The very location of Kazan University, its roots in the city, which is a kind of “crossroads” of the West and the East, predetermined its main cultural and social tasks. Initially, our university was a scientific, cultural and social center, focused primarily on the study and education of the eastern regions of the country, including them in the cultural space of the entire Russian society.

The first students of the university were the best graduates of the Kazan gymnasium. Initially, it consisted of four departments: moral and political sciences, physical and mathematical sciences, medical sciences and verbal sciences.

The first crisis moment in the life of the university was the audit Mikhail Magnitsky , who considered that there is too much “freethinking and godlessness” in Kazan. Although the auditor demanded in his report the “public destruction” of the university, Alexander the First imposed a resolution on the report. Then the Imperial Kazan University entered an era later called the “Era of Magnitsky.” During this period of time, many professors were fired, and a strict barracks regime was established for students.

The main building, which is today the hallmark of Kazan University, was built in 1825, five years later the construction of a library building, a chemical laboratory, an anatomical theater, an astronomical observatory, and a clinic was completed.. In those years, Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky became the rector of the Imperial Kazan University.

During this period, a number of scientific directions were finally formed at the university: mathematical, chemical, medical, geological, geobotanical.. In 1834, the university began publishing Scientific Notes of Kazan University, and in 1835 the philosophical, legal and medical faculties were established. Thirty years later, the departments were renamed into historical-philological, physics-mathematical, law and medical faculties. By 1883, the Kazan Linguistic School was formed at the university.

The subject of special pride of the university from the moment of signing its Certificate of Confirmation and Charter until 1917 is its outstanding scientific achievements: the creation of non-Euclidean geometry Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky ; discovery of the chemical element ruthenium - named after Russia Karl Karlovich Klaus ; production of aniline, which laid the foundation for the aniline dye industry Nikolai Nikolaevich Zinin ; Creation Alexander Mikhailovich Butlerov theory of the chemical structure of organic substances, which played the same role in organic chemistry as the periodic table of elements in inorganic chemistry. In addition, within the walls of Kazan University Alexander Filippovich Samoilov , the founder of the electrophysical school, recorded an electrocardiogram for the first time in Russia. The names of two chemist scientists - father and son - are associated with the university Arbuzovs , who created a new direction in science - the chemistry of organophosphorus compounds.

Butlerov, being a student of Zinin, continued to develop the chemistry school of his native university. It is thanks to him that many today call Kazan the cradle of Russian chemistry. Butlerov’s theory of chemical structure arose at Kazan University not by chance. It appeared in conditions marked by intense creative searches at the Kazan chemical school, which was then leading in Russia. At the same time, Butlerov became an outstanding scientist not only because of his deep commitment to chemistry, but also because of the high intellectual and spiritual atmosphere that generally reigned at Kazan University in the mid-19th century. Different sciences and forms of creativity were then in a state of mutual influence and synthesis. From this new things were born.

Among the names that glorified the university, one must name the astronomer Ivan Mikhailovich Simonov , the only scientist who participated in the expedition Bellingshausen And Lazarev . Simonov's research conducted during the expedition marked the beginning of the scientific study of Antarctica. And the successes of the linguistic school Ivan Alexandrovich Baudouin de Courtenay brought Kazan University into the ranks of the most authoritative centers of philological science.

AND ABOUT. Brown, G.I. Solntsev, G.B. Nikolsky, K.F. Fuks, N.I. Lobachevsky, I.M. Simonov, O.M. Kovalevsky, A.M. Butlerov, E.G. Osokin, N.A. Kremlev, N.O. Kovalevsky, N.N. Bulich, K.V. Voroshilov, D.I. Dubyago, N.P. Zagoskin, G.F. Dormidontov.

The interaction of different sciences is a distinctive feature of Kazan University as one of the leading classical universities in Russia. The geometer Lobachevsky, the chemist Butlerov, the orientalist Fresne, the astronomer Simonov, the linguist Baudouin de Courtenay and others were representatives of one university science of this period.

Nikolai Ivanovich Lobachevsky, who headed Kazan University from 1827 to 1846, formulated a whole program for the activities and development of the university as a center of science, pedagogical thought and culture. It is contained in his famous speech at the solemn act on July 5, 1828. The scientist put forward the idea of ​​personality development, innovative for Russia of his time, as a decisive condition for the social process: only a sovereign personality is capable of achieving the “highest degree of education.”

Until 1878, Kazan University was the easternmost university of the Russian Empire: its district included the Volga region, the Kama region, the Urals, Siberia and the Caucasus. With the emergence of their own universities in Siberia and the Far East, the educational mission of Kazan University was not curtailed. His scientific schools, which gained worldwide fame, continued to have a beneficial influence on domestic science and education. The prediction of a famous writer and social thinker came true A.I. Herzen that Kazan University will connect the West and the East, world cultures and languages.

During the rectorship of Lobachevsky, the famous Eastern rank of Kazan University was formed. Its basis was the departments of Arabic-Persian and Turkish-Tatar, Mongolian, Chinese-Manchurian literature, Sanskrit and Armenian. On his long journeys Alexander Kasimovich Kazem-Bek , Osip Mikhailovich Kovalevsky , Ilya Nikolaevich Berezin , Vasily Pavlovich Vasiliev , Ibrahim Iskhakovich Khalfin and others collected significant regional studies material and formed a solid fund of oriental manuscripts. They also created numerous anthologies and dictionaries, translations of Eastern authors. Archaeological, ethnographic, and cultural studies were also carried out.

However, then, in the middle of the 19th century, the rise of Kazan Orientalism was interrupted artificially: in 1854, the Eastern category was transferred to St. Petersburg University, along with collections of material monuments and more than two thousand Oriental books and manuscripts, professors.

Lobachevsky's legacy seriously laid the foundation for those traditions that invariably developed at Kazan University and were understood by successive generations of university people precisely as a continuation of his work.

We can identify several main factors that had a decisive influence on the formation of the image and traditions of the university during the era of the Russian Empire: the ethics of Orthodoxy, updated in the form of the idea of ​​serving the Fatherland and the Tsar (the latter idea was increasingly eroded under the influence of modernization processes and the establishment of new, democratic values); rationalism and positivism - ideas of the New Age that stimulated the search for objective truth and the introduction of strict empirical methods; the formation of scientific schools, understood as a historically established form of development of science and the implementation of its academic function associated with the education of scientific succession, maintaining the research tradition.

This is what a generalized statistical “portrait” of a university looks like. From 1805 to 1917, more than 13 thousand people graduated from it. Writers studied here Sergei Timofeevich Aksakov , Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy , poet Velimir Khlebnikov , composer Miliy Alekseevich Balakirev , artist Valery Ivanovich Jacobi and others. Among the students were famous statesmen - Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov-Lenin , Alexey Ivanovich Rykov , creator of the world's first video recorder Alexander Matveevich Ponyatov .

Graduates and professors of Kazan University played a significant role in the formation of new universities in the country. Medical professor Vasily Markovich Florinsky , appointed in 1885 as a trustee of the West Siberian educational district, opened Tomsk University in 1878 and supervised its initial activities. Medical professor Vasily Ivanovich Razumovsky was the first rector of Saratov (1909) and Tiflis (1918) universities, and in 1919 participated in the creation of Baku University. Medical professor Nikolai Dmitrievich Bushmakin took part in the organization of Irkutsk University in 1919.

At different stages of history, graduates of Kazan University headed the oldest Russian educational institutions: an astronomer and a mathematician Dmitry Matveevich Perevoshchikov in 1848-1883 - Moscow University, an outstanding botanist Andrey Nikolaevich Beketov in 1876-1883 - St. Petersburg University, philologist Karl Karlovich Voigt in 1852 he was appointed rector of Kharkov University, and then headed the Kharkov educational district, geologist Nikolai Alekseevich Golovkinsky headed the Novorossiysk University from 1877 to 1881.

The imperial period of Kazan University was ended by the February Revolution and Civil War, which caused serious damage to its activities. Since the summer of 1918, most of the residents, including students and university teachers, left Kazan.

Kazan State University named after. IN AND. Ulyanov-Lenin

In 1918, the Imperial Kazan University was transformed into the Kazan State University, and after the death of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, by decree of the USSR Central Executive Committee of January 26, 1924, our university was named in his honor - “KSU named after V.I. Ulyanov-Lenin”. This name was officially approved by the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on June 29, 1925.

There were other names in the life of our university. After being awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, KSU named after. IN AND. Ulyanov-Lenin in 1955 was renamed “Kazan Order of the Red Banner of Labor State University named after V.I. Ulyanov-Lenin”. Two decades later, in 1979, the university began to bear the name “Kazan State University named after V. I. Ulyanov-Lenin of the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.” But since the 1990s, the university was returned to its former post-revolutionary name.

Changes in social conditions in Russia after the events of 1917, of course, significantly affected all aspects of the university’s activities, and university culture underwent changes. At the same time, one of the main traditions associated with fundamental education and science continued to develop.

What happened to the university in the post-revolutionary days? Since the fall of 1918, academic degrees were abolished at the university, and teachers - private assistant professors - were transferred to professorships, which allowed the university to resume work after the loss of many scientists. Since 1919, a workers' department was opened at KSU.

In the Soviet era, Kazan University served as the base on which large industrial universities were created in Kazan: medical, chemical-technological, aviation, financial-economic, forestry (later Mari Polytechnic). In their structure, the main core was the corresponding faculties and departments of KSU, which spun off from it. If we take the entire Volga region as a whole, then Kazan University and its faculties became the basis for the opening and establishment of more than ten universities in the Volga region.

Kazan University of this period was headed at different times by D . A. Goldgammer, E.A. Bolotov, A.A. Ovchinnikov, M.N. Cheboksarov, V.V. Chirkovsky, A.I. Lunyak, P.N. Galanza, M.A. Segal, B.G. Bogautdinov, N.Z. Wekslin, G.H. Kamay, K.P. Sitnikov, D.Ya. Martynov, M.T. Nuzhin, A.I. Konovalov, Yu.G. Konoplev, M.Kh. Salakhov.

Talented scientists and brilliant organizers of science headed the most authoritative scientific institutions of the “big” Academy of our country. Academicians began their journey in science at Kazan University Mikhail Alekseevich Lavrentiev (mathematician), Militsa Vasilievna Nechkina (historian), Vasily Vasilievich Parin (medical physiologist), Alexander Alexandrovich Baev (biologist, physician), Kamil Akhmetovich Valiev (physicist) and others.

An interesting fact of this period of time is that during the Great Patriotic War, in 1941-1943, our university housed the institutions of the USSR Academy of Sciences evacuated from Moscow and Leningrad. The main building housed the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences, as well as several academic institutes: FIAN, Institute of Physical Problems and Physics and Technology.

Kazan State University was not only one of the leaders of education in the Volga region and the country as a whole, but also a large scientific center with a modern base for conducting fundamental research, both in the field of natural sciences and the humanities. KSU went down in history as a university of outstanding scientific schools. The most famous in our country and abroad were the school of organic chemists and organic phosphorus chemists; School of Radio Spectroscopy; school of mathematicians and mechanics; astronomy school; school of physiologists on water metabolism in plants, philological school, and a number of others.

University period from 1917 to 2010 glorified names Evgeniy Konstantinovich Zavoisky , who discovered electron paramagnetic resonance, Semyon Aleksandrovich Altshuller , who discovered acoustic paramagnetic resonance.

Nobel laureates worked at the university during this period N. Semenov , P. Cherenkov , I. Frank , I.Tamm , L. Landau , P. Kapitsa , V. Ginzburg, A. Abrikosov .

By decree of the President of the Russian Federation dated July 30, 1996, Kazan University was included in the state list of especially valuable objects of cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation. It is significant that the large-scale modernization of the university in connection with its 200th anniversary was carried out within the framework of the Federal program of preparation for the celebration of the millennium of the founding of the city of Kazan, which took place in August 2005.

August 12, 2003 Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin issued a decree “On the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the founding of Kazan State University.” The anniversary celebrations were given national significance. In pursuance of this order, a corresponding decree of the Russian Government was promulgated on November 5, 2003, which approved the program for preparing and holding anniversary events, as well as the composition of the Organizing Committee. It was headed by the Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation A.A. Fursenko .

Kazan University celebrated its 200th anniversary in November 2004. Particular attention was paid to the modernization of the material and technical base, since the university faced in its development an acute contradiction between the growing scientific and educational potential, on the one hand, and the clearly insufficient level of material, technical and technological working conditions, on the other.

During the renovation of the university campus, special attention was paid to the reconstruction of the eastern wing of the main building.

Let's see how the overall appearance of Kazan University changed until 2010? In the 20th century, the expansion of university buildings beyond the boundaries of the original historical quarter became inevitable. The building of the former theological seminary, an architectural monument of the 18th century, housed the Faculty of Geology, on the other side of Astronomicheskaya Street a chemical building was built in the 50s, and from the late 60s, in about ten years, two high-rise educational and laboratory buildings were built - north and west of the main building. In 1989, the UNICS cultural and sports complex came into operation, and the sports facilities were supplemented by the Bustan complex, which was inaugurated in May 2010 with the participation of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The construction of the eastern wing of the main building in 2003, during the preparation for the 200th anniversary of Kazan University, gave it completeness in accordance with the architect’s design Müfke dating back to the beginning of the twentieth century.

Kazan Federal University

Pursuant to the Decree of the President of Russia Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev “On the creation of federal universities in the Northwestern, Volga, Ural and Far Eastern federal districts” On October 21, 2009, by order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated April 2, 2010, the federal state autonomous educational institution of higher professional education “Kazan (Volga) Federal University” was created by changing type of the existing state educational institution of higher professional education “Kazan State University named after. IN AND. Ulyanov-Lenin".

One week later, April 9, 2010 , by order of the Government of the Russian Federation, professor, doctor of economic sciences Ilshat Rafkatovich Gafurov , whose practical implementation of the dissertation was the successful Special Economic Zone of Industrial Type "Alabuga", was appointed rector of the Kazan Federal University for a period of 5 years.

February 2, 2011 In 2009, an order was signed by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation on the merger of the Tatar State Humanitarian and Pedagogical University, the Kazan State Financial and Economic Institute and the Yelabuga State Pedagogical University into the KFU. The number of KFU branches has also increased. The Zelenodolsk and Naberezhnye Chelny branches were added to the Zelenodolsk and Naberezhnye Chelny branches formed at KSU.

In April 2012

In April 2012 The Kama State Engineering and Economic Academy (INEKA) became part of KFU, becoming part of the Naberezhnye Chelny branch of KFU.

Today Kazan University is included in the list of the best universities in the world according to Times Higher Education 600 Best World Universities.

Currently, KFU is implementing the concept of a new generation University, which means combining efforts around three components: education, science and technology transfer. For this purpose, Kazan University, from the moment of its organization as a federal one, selected priority areas of development, and in 2016, interdisciplinary associations were formed on their basis.

These associations are new structural units for the university, formed in four breakthrough areas of development of education, science and innovation, corresponding to the needs of the regional economy. At KFU today there are four such areas: “Translational 7P-medicine”, “Ekoneft”, “Astrochallenge”, “Teacher of the 21st century”.

Medicine, oil refining, astronomy and education were chosen as priorities, since these areas meet today's international and global challenges, and the great involvement of university teachers and students in achieving goals in these areas gives confidence in success.

The main objective of these projects is to bridge the existing gap between education, science and our consumers - industry and business.

In priority areas of scientific research, KFU operates 246 modern laboratories and 42 research and educational centers. A significant part of the equipment is unique and has no analogues, which creates great potential for the development of fundamental science and innovative developments on the basis of the Federal Center for Collective Use of Physicochemical Research of Substances and Materials, the Interdisciplinary Center for Analytical Microscopy, the Interdisciplinary Center for Proteomic Research and other departments created at KFU. The Chemical Institute of KFU has a 400 MHz NMR spectrometer Avance 400 NanoBay, which allows recording NMR spectra of almost all elements of Mendeleev’s periodic table of chemical elements. MDC "Analytical Microscopy" is an active partner of Hitachi High Technologies. A unique Hitachi HT7700 Exalens atomic resolution transmission electron microscope is installed here, which has opened up limitless possibilities for scientists not only in Kazan, but throughout the Volga Federal District. MDC AM participates in the implementation of scientific projects within the priority areas “Ekoneft”, “Translational 7P-Medicine” and other departments of KFU.

Training seminars on working with Japanese equipment are regularly held at the Center, and MDC employees undergo internships in Hitachi divisions around the world. The Institute of Physics of Kazan Federal University has installed a unique, unparalleled in the world in terms of its set of characteristics, wide-angle monitoring system of the celestial sphere, designed to search and study fast-moving phenomena in near and deep space. The Institute of Basic Medicine and Biology has an analytical complex for proteomic research, which allows solving a wide range of both fundamental and applied problems. The new direction “Translational 7P Medicine” is successfully developing on the basis of the Medical Center “University Clinic of KFU”. KFU scientists, together with colleagues from the USA, have developed a method for restoring independent walking function in a patient with lower limb paralysis. The scientific work, carried out at the American medical research center Mayo Clinic, involved employees of the Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology of Kazan Federal University and the Institute of Physiology named after. Pavlova RAS - Igor Lavrov and Yuri Gerasimenko.

Following the development strategy until 2020, the university has been systematically improving its material and technical base, research and educational infrastructure over the past 6 years, annually equipping on average more than 100 educational and about 30 research laboratories with equipment at the level of the best world standards.

Kazan Federal University has opened 251 departments, where 501 doctors and 2020 candidates of science work, a significant part of which are nationally and internationally famous. The share of KFU faculty under 35 years of age is over 32%. Today, the university has more than 46,000 students from all over the world, while the education offered is available to people of all ages: pre-university preparation (Children’s University, Small University, Educational and Methodological Center for Testing and Preparation for the Unified State Exam and State Examination), higher education (85 areas in undergraduate programs, 65 directions for master's programs, 15 specialties, 23 directions for postgraduate programs).

We have 1,200 graduate students, 27 specialized scientific councils, in which more than 150 candidate and doctoral dissertations are defended per year.

Kazan Federal University cooperates with most large enterprises in Tatarstan, as well as with manufacturing and engineering companies in a number of countries in Europe and Asia. The cooperation program includes the creation of a system for training specialists for enterprises, conducting research and development work and other forms of interaction, including network and “dual” training programs.

An innovative infrastructure has been created at KFU, which includes about 300 research laboratories and scientific and educational centers, 4 centers for collective use, 3 engineering centers (KFU engineering center (branch in Naberezhnye Chelny), regional engineering center in the field of chemical technologies, regional engineering center for medical simulators “Center for Medical Science”), patent and licensing department and technology park. In addition, KFU is a co-founder of 37 small innovative enterprises. KFU is an active member of the Association “Non-Profit Partnership “Kama Innovative Territorial-Production Cluster” (Association “NP “KITPC”). On December 14, 2017, KFU became one of the winners of the competitive selection of university centers for innovative, technological and social development of regions within the framework of the priority project of the Government of the Russian Federation “Universities as centers of space for creating innovation.” In 2018, the Department of Innovative Development of KFU, together with the Russian Venture Company (RVC JSC), is launching an educational course for students “Innovative Economics and Technological Entrepreneurship”.

Currently, Kazan Federal University is a powerful modern complex of 614 objects located in Tatarstan, regions of Russia and abroad. KFU has partnerships with 361 universities and other organizations from 61 countries. The university has more than 7,000 foreign students from 98 countries, and is taught by 235 foreign specialists.

The university has a number of international centers, including the German and Spanish Centers for Education and Culture, the UNESCO Chair in Eurasian Studies, the Jean Monnet Center of Excellence in European Studies, the Confucius Institute, the Center for Korean Studies, the Center for Iranian Studies, official language testing centers: DELE (Spanish language), TOEFL iBT and Cambridge ESOL (English), TestDaf (German) and TORFL (Russian as a foreign language).

Our university plans to widely celebrate its 215th anniversary as a symbol of historical continuity in its activities.