Among the subjects of pride are the creation of non-Euclidean geometry by
Nikolai Lobachevsky, the discovery of the chemical element
Ruthenium by
Karl Ernst Claus, the theory of chemical structure of organic compounds by
Aleksandr Butlerov, the discovery of electron paramagnetic resonance by
Yevgeny Zavoisky and acoustic paramagnetic resonance by
Semen Altshuler, the development of organophosphorus chemical compounds by
Alexander and Boris Arbuzovs. Among the university students and alumni there are the founder of the Soviet Union
Vladimir Lenin, writers
Sergei Aksakov,
Leo Tolstoy,
Pavel Melnikov-Pechersky,
Velimir Khlebnikov, composer
Mily Balakirev, and painter
Valery Yakobi.
Imperial period is credited with the university's foundation. Kazan University was founded on November 17, 1804, when Emperor
Alexander I signed the Affirmative Letter and the Charter about the creation of the Kazan Imperial University. The first students, enrolled in 1805, were graduates of the First Kazan Gymnasium – an autonomous affiliate of
Moscow State University, under whose auspices Kazan University first operated. It was not until 1814 that the university underwent its full opening. It was restructured as a classical university comprising four departments: moral and political sciences, physical and mathematical sciences, medical sciences and philology. Before Tomsk University was founded, the University of Kazan used to be the easternmost university in the Russian Empire, it was thus serving for Volga, Kama, and Ural regions, Siberia and the Caucasus. In 1819,
M. L. Magnitsky conducted a review of the university, in which he reported on 'the spirit of dissent and irreligion' that he had observed at the university. In his report to the Emperor, he spoke of the "public destruction" of the university and demanded it be closed, but
Alexander I put the resolved 'why destroy what can be corrected'. Magnitsky was consequently appointed trustee of the Kazan school district, an action that negatively affected the university, with many professors being dismissed and 'harmful' books withdrawn from the library's collection. In addition, a strict barrack domestic regime was introduced for students of the university. In 1819–1821 an alumnus and scholar of Kazan University Ivan Simonov participated in the discovery of Antarctica during the first round-the-world expedition and pioneered Antarctic studies. In 1825, the Main Building of the university was built and, in 1830, the Main Campus was completed. This included the Library Building, Chemical Laboratory, dissection facilities, astronomical observatory, and clinics. It was the scientific faculties that were, at this time, organised into a number of research schools: mathematical, chemical, medical, geological. In 1834, the journal
Proceedings of Kazan University began to be published by academicians of the university and in 1835 Nicholas I ordered to establish three faculties: Philosophical (which was further subdivided into verbal and physical-mathematical departments), Faculty of Law and Faculty of Medicine. In 1844,
Karl Klaus, a professor at the university, discovered, and named in honour of Russia,
Ruthenium, the only chemical element discovered in Tsarist Russia. Six years thereafter St. Petersburg University opened the Institute of Oriental Studies and all training materials and collections of Kazan University in this field were transferred to the capital of Imperial Russia. Shortly after that, there was a further reform of the university's structure, when in 1863, by the order of
Alexander II, the university was reorganised into four departments: History and Philology, Physics and Mathematics, Law, and Medicine. A linguistic school was forming at the university during 1875–1883. as he appeared in 1887. Around that time
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (
Lenin), a future leader of the
Soviet Union, studied law at the university from August 1887 until his expulsion due to 'student disturbances' in December 1887. The university faced one of its greatest challenges during the
Russian Civil War, when in August–September 1918 the siege and ultimate capture of Kazan by the Red Army and Czechoslovak Corps led to a large exodus of students and faculty members from the city. Subsequently, many of them were enrolled in state universities in Siberia and help they provided proved instrumental in the foundation of universities in
Tomsk and
Irkutsk.
Kazan Higher Women's Courses Though approval was given in the Imperial period for Women to audit university lectures from 1859, the Higher Courses were not state funded and required local support, carrying high tuition fees. When petitioned by the university to create courses for women,
Dmitry Tolstoy suggested that a curriculum modeled on the
Guerrier Courses might be acceptable, though he continuously blocked their implementation in Kazan. In 1876, the imperial government, hoping to secure more qualified teachers, authorized creation of Higher Women's Courses in all cities in the empire which had a university. From October 1876, female applicants who had completed a girls'
gymnasium; or passed an entrance examination could enroll in evening classes at Kazan University. Those who did not meet those requirements could attend as external auditors, but were excluded from course examinations. Students took six mandatory courses in art history, physics, Russian history and literature, and world history and literature. Optional courses included hygiene, languages, and mathematics.
Soviet period In accordance with a directive from the
Council of People's Commissars issued on October 9, 1918, the system of academic ranks was abolished and all university-level lecturers with at least three years of teaching experience were qualifying for the title of professor. This allowed the University of Kazan, which had lost the vast majority of its academic staff during the turmoil of the civil war, to restart proper education and research. The university opened a 'workers' faculty (fifth in the
RSFSR), which aimed to provide the education for peasants. On 1 November 1919 peasant workers started their first classes without the requirement to pass an entrance exam. In 1922 the university's Faculty of Forestry merged with the Faculty of Agriculture of Kazan Polytechnic university to form Kazan Institute of Agriculture and Forestry. In 1925 by the decision of
All-Russian Central Executive Committee Kazan State University was renamed to the V. I. Ulyanov-Lenin Kazan State University. This was done in order to recognise the period of time
Vladimir Lenin spent as a student at the University of Kazan. In the 1930s the university continued to evolve with a number of its faculties being separated from it in order to become independent institutions of higher education. Some of them continue their existence, for instance
Kazan State Medical University. Moreover, during the World War II years (1941–43) a number of members of the
Soviet Academy of Sciences were evacuated from Moscow and Leningrad and housed under the premises of the university; this, in turn, led to the foundation of Kazan Department of the academy in 1945. In the post-war years the University of Kazan underwent a period of expansion and development of its academic base. To recognize the work in providing education to the peoples of the Soviet Union Kazan State University was awarded the
Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1953 and later, in 1979, the
Order of Lenin. In the 1970s the university's two high-rise academic buildings were built – the Department of Physics in 1973 and Faculty of Mathematics in 1978. The final major Soviet-era change to the university came with the opening of UNICS Sports Center and Concert Hall in 1989.
21st century On October 21, 2009, Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev signed a
presidential decree that established a new
Volga Federal University on the basis of Kazan State University. The federal university project is realized on the basis of Kazan State University, with the accession of the
Tatar State University of Humanities and Education (TGGPU),
Kazan State Finance and Economics Institute (KGFEI), Elabuga State Pedagogical University and Naberezhnye Chelny Academy of Engineering and Economy. The university's first rector is Ilshat Gafurov, formerly the mayor of
Elabuga. The current president is Myakzyum Salakhov. In 2013 Kazan Federal University launched the Programme for enhancing its competitive ranking among leading world centres of higher education and research (2013–20) in the framework of implementation of the
Government Resolution No. 211 «On measures of federal support for the leading universities of the Russian Federation in order to enhance their competitiveness among the leading world scientific and educational centers» (signed on 16 March 2013). Dmitry Albertovich Tayursky,
Rector of the university, was suspended by the
European University Association (EUA) following support for the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Union of Rectors (RUR) in March 2022, for being "diametrically opposed to the
European values that they committed to when joining EUA". ==Rankings and reputation==