First period (1872–1888) At the beginning of 1871, the supernumerary professor of general history of Moscow University, V.I. Guerrier, sent a note to the trustee of the Moscow educational district, Prince A.P. Shirinsky-Shikhmatov, about the advisability of opening higher women's courses in Moscow, to which he added the draft "Regulations on Higher Women's Courses", in which he outlined the purpose and program of the created courses. Guerrier persuaded the Minister of Public Education Count
Dmitry A. Tolstoy to sanction a higher school for women in Moscow. In May 1872, the Minister of Public Education, Count D. A. Tolstoy, agreed to the opening of higher women's courses in Moscow as a private educational institution and approved the "Regulations on Higher Women's Courses". In 1872–1873, the courses were located on Volkhonka in downtown Moscow, in 1873–1876 – in the premises of the Museum of Applied Knowledge on Prechistenka 32, and in 1877–1888 – in a building specially built for the
Polytechnic Museum. Regular students had to provide a certificate of secondary education upon entry or pass entrance exams in Russian and general history, Russian and general literature. The listeners also submitted an autobiography, a certificate of moral conduct and political integrity from the governor general, two photographs and, without fail, permission from the eldest man in the family or spouse. The number of students in the courses at that time was quite high: in the first year after the opening of the courses, it reached 70 (most of the students moved from the Lubensky courses), then until 1878 it fluctuated between 103–107, and from 1879 the number of students gradually increased, reaching 256 in the 1884/85 academic year. In 1881, a new humanitarian discipline was introduced in the courses – the history of philosophy. Lectures at the courses were given by well-known professors of Moscow University (it was specifically stipulated in the Charter that mainly university professors would be invited as teachers). Among the first teachers were: Professor
Fyodor A. Bredikhin (physics, astronomy), Professor
Alexander N. Veselovsky (Russian literature), Professor
Pavel G. Vinogradov (History of the Middle Ages), Professor
Vasily O. Klyuchevsky (Russian history), Rector of Moscow University, Professor
Vladimir S. Solovyov (history of philosophy), L. M. Lopatin (history of philosophy),
Vladimir I. Guerrier (history), Professor
Nikolay I. Storozhenko (general literature), Professor N. S. Tikhonravov (ancient Russian literature),
Fyodor I. Buslayev (art history). Since 1877, the history of the Russian language and ancient Russian literature was taught by V. F. Miller . Later,
Aleksandr I. Chuprov (political economy),
Aleksandr G. Stoletov (physics), and Professor A. A. Shakhov (history of foreign literature). The work of the courses was supervised by the Pedagogical Council, headed by Professor
Sergey M. Solovyov. The trustee committee of the courses included E. K. Stankevich (nee - Bodisko (1824–1904), wife of A. V. Stankevich ),
Kozma T. Soldatyonkov, E. I. Guerrier. For 16 years, the courses issued 41 diplomas, which gave the right to teach in the senior classes of women's gymnasiums, in addition, 322 students passed the final exams, which gave them the right to teach in the junior classes of gymnasiums. In the 1906–1907 academic year, the subject cycle system of teaching was introduced in the courses instead of the course system with specialization in the senior year. New curricula were also approved at all faculties. 15 hours a week were allotted for the study of compulsory subjects. Until 1905, V. I. Guerrier was again the director of the courses. In 1905, in the absence of V. I. Guerrier, who was abroad,
Vladimir I. Vernadsky was elected director. However, due to the fact that Vernadsky was simultaneously elected assistant rector of the Imperial Moscow University, he never took up his duties in the Courses. In the same year,
Sergey A. Chaplygin was elected director of courses. The courses were taught by such outstanding scientists as
Vladimir I. Vernadsky (with his student V. V. Karandeev ),
Sergey A. Chaplygin,
Sergey S. Nametkin,
Nikolay D. Zelinsky,
Alexander A. Eichenwald,
Boleslav K. Mlodzeevskii, Aleksandr N. Reformatsky,
Ivan A. Ilyin, Alexander V. Zinger,
Bogdan A. Kistyakovski and others. One of the first women professors was
Olga N. Tsuberbiller, a graduate of courses, the author of the textbook on Analytic Geometry, "Problems and Exercises in Analytic Geometry", which was reprinted many times. Since 1910, Professor N. D. Vinogradov began to read a course in the history of pedagogical teachings . In 1905, the Moscow City Council decided to provide courses free of charge with a land plot on
Devichye Pole . On June 3, 1907, the laying of educational buildings took place (architect S. U. Solovyov ) on a land plot along Malaya Tsaritsynskaya Street (now Malaya Pirogovskaya street). In 1908, the buildings of the Faculty of Physics and Chemistry ( now part of
Moscow State University of Fine Chemical Technologies) and the Anatomical Theater (architect A. N. Sokolov) (nowadays part of
Russian National Research Medical University ) were opened on Trubetskoy Lane (now Kholzunova Lane ), and in 1913, the Auditorium Building of the Courses (now the main building of
the Moscow Pedagogical State University, it is depicted on the current emblem of the Moscow State Pedagogical University.). 1911 became a milestone in the life of the Moscow Higher Women's Courses. In connection with the outbreak of a conflict between the
Imperial Moscow University and the Minister of Public Education
Lev A. Kasso (named Kasso Case ), a large group of professors and teachers left the university, most of whom began to work at the Courses. By 1912, 227 professors, teachers, lecturers and assistants were involved in the courses, more than a third of whom had doctoral or master's degrees; among them: former rector of Moscow University
Alexander A. Manuilov, astronomer
Pavel K. Shternberg, mathematician Nikolay A. Izvolsky, biologists
Mikhail A. Menzbier and
Nikolai K. Koltsov, physiologists Mikhail N. Shaternikov and
Lazar S. Minor, philosophers
Leo M. Lopatin,
Pavel I. Novgorodtsev, historians
Matvei K. Lyubavsky, Yury V. Gotye,
Ivan V. Tsvetaev. Alexandre A. Kiesewetter, sociologist Veniamin M. Khvostov, biologist Lev A.Tarassevitch, historian of philosophy Alexander V. Kubitsky. There were also women among the staff of the courses: Maria Egorovna Becker, assistant to the course inspector; Olga Aleksandrovna Alferova, librarian; Nina Evgenievna Vedeneeva, assistant of the Department of Inorganic Chemistry (1914) and the Department of Physics (1916). In 1911, women were finally accepted at the Russian universities. In 1912, Courses graduates for the first time received the right to take exams at the Imperial Moscow University. On November 17, 1912, the Council of Courses approved the “Regulations on leaving students at the Moscow Higher Women's Courses”, which allows leaving graduates at the faculty to prepare them for teaching on the proposal of a professor (professors) for 2 years. In 1913,
Aleksandr F. Kots ' zoological collection was acquired for Courses, which laid the foundation for
the Darwin Museum. In the 1915–1916 academic year, the Moscow Higher Women's Courses were granted the right to conduct final exams and issue diplomas of higher education. By 1918, the courses numbered 8.3 thousand students, second only to
Moscow State University . On the initiative of former students, the "Society for the Delivery of Funds to Moscow Higher Women's Courses" was established. During 1900–1913 the number of female students increased from 223 to 7155. However, the annual graduation was no more than 30% of the number of applicants, which was due to the inability of the students to withstand heavy teaching loads and most of the time to study on their own. Courses became one of the largest universities in
the Russian Empire. According to the protocol of the commission of
the People's Commissariat of Education of the
RSFSR dated October 16, 1918, the Moscow Higher Women's Courses was transformed into the 2nd Moscow State University (later split into several institutions, including the
Moscow State Pedagogical University). == Famous graduates ==