The exhibition in the Moscow Kremlin Museums, dedicated to the 270th anniversary of the Moscow State University, tells about the early period of its history – from its foundation by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna till the end of the reign of Alexander I, who granted it with the first Statute in 1804 and assigned its privileges with the Confirmatory Charter.

The idea of organising a university under the Academy of Sciences in St Petersburg belonged to Peter the Great. This project was inseparable from Peter's vision of the development of science and the modernisation of all spheres of society, but it was not destined to be realised. The university was founded in Moscow on the initiative of M.V. Lomonosov and the best representatives of the Russian elite, who persuaded Peter's daughter, Empress Elizabeth I, to continue her father's great reforms. In 1754 chamberlain I.I. Shuvalov - the empress's adjutant general, patron and friend of M.V. Lomonosov - submitted a project to the Senate, and on 12 January 1755 Elizabeth Petrovna signed a decree on the establishment of a university in the ancient capital. In her words, the "welfare of the people" demanded that "useful knowledge should be increased" in the Russian Empire, for "every good comes from an enlightened mind".

The first decades of the Moscow University's activity were marked by the special attention of the enlightened Russian monarchs, which found expression in the institution of curators, who established a direct link between the university corporation and the court, between the "chair" and the "throne". In the symbolic space of Russian court culture of the 18th and 19th centuries, the new educational institution was represented as "Parnassus", "Athens", "Temple of Minerva" – the sanctuary of the Muses and the source of knowledge that would contribute to the education of a worthy citizen, the transformation of society and the benefit of the state.

The exhibition introduces public to notable historical figures who played an important role in the formation of the university: I.I. Shuvalov, M.V. Lomonosov, M.M. Kheraskov, N.N. Popovsky, A.A. Barsov, D.I. Fonvizin, N.I. Novikov. It allows us to judge the real public enthusiasm caused by its appearance and reflected in the activities of numerous benefactors (including august patrons), thanks to whom the university library, the first numismatic, natural science and art collections were created.

The display aims to highlight the enormous contribution of the Moscow University to the development of Russian science and education, as well as to various spheres of social and cultural life. It is associated with the appearance of the first Moscow newspaper – "Moscow Vedomosti" – and periodical magazines, the emergence of public theatre, the flowering of Russian literature, the birth of the first scientific and literary societies. Special attention is paid to the publishing activities of the university and its role in the study of the antiquities of Russian history and the publication of the most important historical sources.

The exhibition project emphasises the university's special relationship with the Kremlin as the centre of the ancient capital and the seat of power. The first building allocated to the university by Elizaveta Petrovna on Red Square near the Voskresensky Gate was prepared for handover by Prince D.V. Ukhtomsky, who was then in charge of the Kremlin Buildings Construction and Maintenance. Later, Catherine II ordered the construction of a university building on Mokhovaya Street, intending it to be part of a fundamentally new public space created according to her plans in the centre of Moscow. According to the empress's plans, it was to embody the unity of the legislative and educational functions of the state: the Senate in the Kremlin, built by the architect M.F. Kazakov, was meant to be the "Temple of Intellect", and the University the "Temple of Science".

The main theme of the exhibition is that of the university as a centre from which many cultural institutions and public museums later emerged – the Academy of Arts, the Zoological and Geological Museums, the Room of Fine Arts and Antiquities, which laid the foundations for Tsvetaeva's Museum, later to become the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.

The exhibition in the State Anteroom of the Armoury Chamber is open daily except Thursday from 10:00 to 18:00.

The price is included in the ticket to the Armoury Chamber.

• 1200 rubles - full price ticket
• 600 rubles - discount ticket for all under-16s
• free of charge for under 7-year-olds

Tickets can be purchased:

• online (only full price tickets)
• at the ticket office in the Alexander Garden on the day of the visit.