The history of Tomsk State University

Hello, everyone!

I’m a student of Tomsk State University, and I want to tell you, why you should enter this university or just to come and visit it.

Firstly, I want to tell you about the history of TSU. The university was opened in 1888. It was the result of many claims and donations, made by wealthy people all over the Western Siberia. At that times Tomsk used to be one of the biggest trading town in Siberia. No wonder, it was chosen to host the first university in Siberia.

At first, the First Siberian Imperial University in Tomsk had only the faculty of medicine, other faculties were founded later. The university had its own botanical garden, dormitory, water supply system, and (later) scientific library.

During the Civil War many professors from the universities of Kazan and Perm came to Tomsk. The university was growing bigger and bigger every day. The new faculties appeared: the faculty of Biology and Soil Science, of Geology and Geography, Chemistry, MilitaryEducation. In 1934 the university was renamed after its former student, a well-known revolutionary V.V. Kuybyshev.

During the Second World War the university was almost destroyed by government. Its main building was occupied by Krasnogorsk Mechanical Works, an evacuated optoelectronic factory. Only the courage of Tomsk scientists made the university to survive this: after three years of total standstill they wrote a letter to Joseph Stalin and asked him to move the factory away and restore TSU.

Also TSU gave birth to several Tomsk universities: Tomsk Polytechnic University, Siberian State Medical University and Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radio-electronics. They used to be the faculties of TSU, but decided to separate from their “Alma Mater”.

Now TSU has 23 faculties and institutes and about 23 000 students. The rector is Eduard V. Galazhinsky. It’s one of the best universities in Siberia and Russia.