The Belgorod State University, Russia

The National Research University “Belgorod State University” (BelSU) is one of the oldest universities in Belgorod, Russia.

On September 26, 1876 in the district town of Belgorod, the Teacher’s Training Institute – the ninth of that kind in Russia – was founded by the order of the Russian Ministry of Public Education.

On June 4, 1919 Belgorod Teacher’s Training Institute was reorganized into Belgorod Pedagogical Institute by the order of the People’s Commissariat for Education of the RSFSR, and in 1920 it was reorganized into Belgorod Institute of Public Education.

In 1922 Belgorod Institute of Public Education was reorganized into Belgorod Practical Institute of Public Education, which was reordered into the Pedagogical Secondary School in September, 1923.

In 1939 it became the Teacher’s Training Institute again.

The University had to temporarily suspend its operation in 1941 due to the outbreak of World War II and resumed its work only when the area had been completely liberated from fascists – in 1944, but in a new place – the town of Stary Oskol (Belgorod region) because Belgorod came out of war almost totally destroyed.

Since 1957, the University has been located in Belgorod. Nowadays the University has several campuses in and out of the city.

In the early 2000s, the University complex began to develop and expand fast due to new buildings with modern equipment. The number of students over the last 7 years has grown more than three times.

Belgorod State University consists of several campuses. The central campus includes 8 academic buildings, a research library, a publishing house, a museum of BelSU history, a University newspaper editorial office, a Career Counseling Center, Youth Cultural Center, a dormitory, an apartment block for University faculty, St.Gabriel’s University Church and an administrative building. This campus provides facilities for professional training of future lawyers, philologists, translators, biologists, chemists, doctors, pharmacists, journalists, geologists, geographers, managers, economists, and programmers.

All the buildings of the central campus were built at the beginning of the 20th century.

The campus of the Faculty of Theology and Social Sciences is located in the renovated building of the former His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh’s men’s classical school. The building is an original monument of eclectic architecture and is under protection of the state. The apartment block for faculty, put in operation in 2010, is located nearby. Yet another University campus houses classrooms, research laboratories, Distance Learning Center, 5 dormitories, Burevestnik (shearwater) Sport Complex, Center of Preclinical and Clinical study, and BelSU Clinic. Academic facilities on this campus are mostly used by future school teachers of Russian and Foreign languages, Physics and Mathematics, History, Primary school and Fine arts, Physical culture, as well as speech therapists and psychologists.

he Youth Cultural Center at BelSU houses 16 amateur art groups for students. The University library system includes 11 reading rooms (including three rooms with open access to the Library collection), 9 lending libraries, and over 1.2 million items in the Library collection. The University has 9 museums: Museum of BelSU History; Museum of Forensic Science, Museum of Zoology, Museum of Forensic Medical Examination, Museum of the Faculty of History and Philology, Museum of the Department of Mining and Natural Resources Management, Museum of the Institute of Pedagogy, Museum of the International Office, and N. Strakhov Library and Museum. Besides, the University has the University Clinic, the Equestrian School, the Botanical Garden and Nezhegol Recreational Complex.

The University has a Youth Media Holding, which includes an Editorial office of a youth supplement to the News of BelSU newspaper – “Nota Bene”, BelSU’s (White Goose) Radio, TUT TV and the site of the Youth Editorial Office