Petrozavodsk, University of

(full name O. V. Kuusinen University of Petrozavodsk). The university was founded in 1940 as the Karelo-Finnish University, replacing the Karelian Pedagogical Institute. At that time, it had departments of history and philology, physics and mathematics, biology, and geography and hydrology. From 1941 to 1944 it was relocated in the city of Syktyvkar, Komi ASSR. The university was destroyed by Finnish forces during the occupation of Petrozavodsk and rebuilt in the early 1950’s. Beginning in 1956 it was called the University of Petrozavodsk, and beginning in 1964 the name of O. V. Kuusinen was conferred upon it.

In 1974 the university had departments of history and philology (Russian language and literature, Finnish language and literature, and history), physics and mathematics, biology, medicine, agriculture, civil engineering, lumber technology, and general technology. It had evening, correspondence, and preparatory divisions (the last preparing students to enter the university), a graduate school, residency facilities, 48 subdepart-ments, a computer laboratory, research section, three museums, a botonical garden, vivarium, biological station, and several clinics. The library has more than 500,000 books.

In the 1973-74 academic year, 6,500 students were enrolled and the faculty, including research workers, numbered about 600. There were 32 professors and doctors of sciences and 220 docents and candidates of sciences. Scholars and scientists associated with the university have included V. G. Bazanov, D. V. Bubrikh, F. D. Klement, I. F. Pravdin, A. B. Tikhomirov, S. V. Gerd, P. A. Borisov, and G. N. Sorokhtin. The university has published a Finnish-language textbook and a Veps dictionary and since 1948 has been issuing anthologies of scientific and scholarly works. Since its founding it has trained 10,500 specialists.