7 most FAMOUS graduates of the Moscow State University
Famous writers, physicists, Nobel Prize winners, theater figures and politicians. For almost three centuries, some of the most prominent representatives of Russia’s elite have studied at the country's main university. And, sometimes, in quite unexpected faculties.
January 25, 1755, is considered to be the day of foundation of the Lomonosov Moscow State University.
It was on this day that Empress Elizaveta Petrovna signed a decree on the establishment of the first university in Russia (Sometimes, the University of St. Petersburg competes for this title, but the Moscow one is actually the oldest. We explain why here).
The first building of the Moscow university was located right next to the Kremlin and, in Soviet times, a Stalin high-rise and campus were purposefully built for the university at Vorobyovy Gory (Sparrow Hills).
Some modern Moscow institutions of higher education used to be faculties of Moscow University: For example, the diplomats' forge MGIMO (Moscow State Institute of International Relations) was the Faculty of International Relations, while the Sechenov Medical University, in turn, was the Faculty of Medicine.
Today, MSU has 41 faculties, many scientific centers, a botanical garden, several libraries and museums, as well as branches in other cities and even countries. Read more history and interesting facts about the university here.
Every year, more than 10,000 students graduate from MSU. And there have been some real stars of science, arts and politics among them over the last almost three centuries!
1. Anton Chekov
The author of short stories and great plays was a doctor by profession and never stopped practicing, despite his success in literature and theater.
Chekhov graduated from the medical faculty of Moscow University. He studied under the luminary of surgery Nikolai Sklifosovsky, who also graduated from this faculty.
It’s worth noting that such mastodons of Russian medicine as Ivan Pirogov and Ivan Sechenov also studied there.
2. Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko
One of the founders of the Moscow Art Theater entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics and then transferred to the Faculty of Law. However, he never managed to get a diploma.
By the way, Konstantin Stanislavsky, his colleague and associate, did not finish college, either (he studied at the Institute of Oriental Languages).
3. Wassily Kandinsky
One of the world's most famous Russian artists, the creator of abstractionism, graduated… from the Faculty of Law at Moscow State University. He even started writing his dissertation, intending to continue his life with science and law.
However, at the age of 30, he saw an Impressionist exhibition, which changed everything in his career.
4. Boris Pasternak
Pasternak was going to enter a conservatory and wanted to become a composer. But, at the last moment, he changed his mind and applied to the Law faculty of the university.
He graduated from the school with honors, so he was admitted to the university without exams. A year later, the future winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature transferred to the Faculty of History and Philology. Incidentally, he did not show up to receive his diploma, as he immediately left to continue his studies in Germany. In addition to him, Fyodor Tyutchev, Ivan Goncharov, Valery Bryusov and other famous writers studied at the Faculty of History and Philology.
5. Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Sakharov, one of the creators of the first Soviet hydrogen bomb, studied at the Physics Department of Moscow State University, graduating during World War II in the evacuation city of Ashgabat, which, at that time, was part of the Turkmen Soviet republic. His teacher and supervisor was Nobel laureate Igor Tamm (also an MSU graduate).
In addition to him, several other Nobel laureates graduated from the physics department, including Vitaly Ginzburg and Alexei Abrikosov.
Like many other intellectuals who came out of the university, Sakharov was a dissident and one of the most prominent leaders of the human rights movement in the country. Because of this, he was sent into exile to Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod). Mikhail Gorbachev later allowed the academician to return to Moscow during perestroika.
6. Mikhail Gorbachev
The first and only president of the USSR also graduated from the law faculty of the university. The rather simple man of worker and peasant origin from the southern Stavropol region was admitted to the capital's university without exams, as he had graduated from school with honors and was already a candidate for membership to the Communist Party.
7. Oleg Deripaska
One of the wealthiest men in Russia has made his fortune in aluminum production (Forbes estimated Deripaska's fortune at $2.8 billion in 2024). Yet, once upon a time, the current billionaire was a poor student, studying in the Physics faculty. For many years now, during the celebration of Physics Day, the ex-graduate has sponsored a large concert in front of the entrance to his home faculty, in which he invites the country's most famous rock singers to perform.
