Moscow State University
From Moscowiki
Moscow State University was founded by Mikhail Vasilevich Lomonosov in 1755, and its first building was situated on the Red Square, right in the place of contemporary State Historical Museum. During the Moscow fire of 1812 that building (along with University library with its priceless collections) was completely destroyed, and professors with their students moved to Mokhovaya, to the new building designed by Domenico Gilardi (No.11). In 1832 one more building, the Pashkov family mansion (No.9), was bought for the University by Nikolay I; since that Mokhovaya ulitsa became a University campus.
University fast outgrew its first residence; in 1950s the main part of the MSU moved to the new campus on Vorobyovy gory, and the buildings on Mokhovaya now house the Institute of Asia and Africa (it is also one of the MSU faculties) and the faculty of journalism, respectively. Due to unstable soils they dug huge bunkers, filled them with liquid nitrogen to freeze the soil, covered all this with concrete and erected one of seven Moscow sky-scrapers – the main building of the University (1949-1955, architects Lev Rudnev, Sergey Chernyshev). In this giant there are several faculties, libraries, museums, administration, professors’ apartments, student’s rooms, clubs, a swimming-pool, shops and cafeterias. The University skyscraper is decorated with statues of diligent students; in front of it the founder of the university, Mikhail Lomonosov, is immortalized in bronze. World biggest clock, barometer, hygrometer and thermometer (all 9 meters in diameter) are seen on four towers of the main university building.
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