The Bestuzhev Courses (russian: Бестужевские курсы) in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

were the largest and most prominent women's higher education institution in

Imperial Russia The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

. The institute opened its doors in 1878. It was named after

Konstantin Bestuzhev-Ryumin Konstantin Nikolayevich Bestuzhev-Ryumin (russian: Константин Николаевич Бестужев-Рюмин; 1829 in Kudryoshki, Nizhny Novgorod Governorate – 1897) was one of the most popular Russian Imperial historians of the 19t ...

, the first director. Other professors included

Baudouin de Courtenay Jan Niecisław Ignacy Baudouin de Courtenay (13 March 1845 – 3 November 1929) was a Polish linguist and Slavist, best known for his theory of the phoneme and phonetic alternations. For most of his life Baudouin de Courtenay worked at Imperi ...

, Alexander Borodin, Faddei Zielinski,

Dmitry Mendeleyev Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (sometimes transliterated as Mendeleyev or Mendeleef) ( ; russian: links=no, Дмитрий Иванович Менделеев, tr. , ; 8 February Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._27_January.html" ;"title="O ...

Ivan Sechenov Doctor Ivan Mikhaylovich Sechenov (russian: Ива́н Миха́йлович Се́ченов; , Tyoply Stan (now Sechenovo) near Simbirsk, Russia – , Moscow), was a Russian psychologist, physiologist, and medical scientist. The very fa ...

, and

Sergey Platonov Sergey Fyodorovich Platonov (russian: Серге́й Фёдорович Плато́нов) (28 June 6 June Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. 1860 – 10 January 1933) was a Russian historian who led the official St Petersburg school of ...

. An assistant professor there was Vera Bogdanovskaya, the first female chemist to die as a result of her own research. Nadezhda Krupskaya and

Maria Piłsudska Maria Piłsudska (née Koplewska; 1865 – 17 August 1921), was the first wife of Poland's Marshal Józef Piłsudski and ostensibly the first lady of Poland during most of his service as Poland's Chief of State. Life She was born in 1865 in ...

were among the graduates. The courses occupied a purpose-built edifice on

Vasilievsky Island Vasilyevsky Island (russian: Васи́льевский о́стров, Vasilyevsky Ostrov, V.O.) is an island in St. Petersburg, Russia, bordered by the Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva Rivers (in the delta of the Neva River) in the south ...

. After the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

, they were reorganized as the Third University of Petrograd, which was merged into the

Petrograd University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the G ...

in September 1919.The encyclopaedia of St. Petersburg

References

External links

"Women’s higher education institution (Bestuzhev Courses) opened in St. Petersburg 135 years ago"
- Yeltzin Presidential Library * Education in Russia Former women's universities and colleges Universities in Saint Petersburg 1878 establishments in the Russian Empire 1918 disestablishments in Russia {{Russia-university-stub

See also

References

External links