Academy University

the first secular institution of higher learning in Russia.

It was founded in St. Petersburg along with the Academy of Sciences in 1725. Studies, which began in 1726, were irregular. At first there were few students, but later the best students from the Academy Gymnasium and the Slavonic Greek-Latin Academy and other schools, primarily parochial schools, were transferred to the Academy University. There were no departments or subdepartments in the university; instruction was geared to the specialties of the academicians giving the courses. After 1747, when the new charter of the Academy of Sciences incorporated the Academy University, its importance grew and its work became more organized. Students took courses in ancient and modern languages, literature, mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography, and history. M. V. Lomonsov directed the university from 1758 to 65 and devoted much energy to making it a genuine institution of higher learning for “natural Russians.” A number of prominent Russian scholars studied at the university, among them I. I. Lepekhin, A. A. Barsov, N. N. Popovskii, and N. I: Popov. The Academy University in effect ceased to exist in 1766.