St. Petersburg State Mining University occupies a special place in the structure of education in Russia. This is the first domestic technical university, formed in the distant 1773 by order of Catherine II. The educational institution plays a leading role in the most important areas of mineral resources management: exploration, development and processing of all types of minerals.
Creature
The Tsar reformer Peter I saw Russia as a great power, but he inherited a vast, but technically undeveloped, agrarian country, the main source of export income for which was the sale of furs. There was not enough metal even for casting guns and small arms.
On behalf of the tsar, in the Urals and in other regions, mining and ironworks began to be built, for the work of which required trained workers. Several mountain schools were created to prepare them, however, they graduated mainly mid-level specialists. Engineers, geologists and mechanics had to be discharged from abroad.
After the death of Perth I, his work was continued by Empress Catherine II. Being a German-born, she did a lot for the development of the country. In particular, at the request of Mikhail Lomonosov and the Bashkir ore industrialist Ismail Tasimov, the Higher Mining School (the progenitor of the Mining University in St. Petersburg) was established, where they began training top-level specialists.
Development
The opening of the school took place on July 9, 1774. At 3-3.5-year courses, the most talented people of different classes could study. However, in 1804, dramatic changes took place in the history of the Mountain National Mineral Resources University - the school was reorganized into a cadet corps, where only military and noble children began to be accepted. Thus, the main principle of equality laid down by Catherine II at its creation was violated. However, this did not prevent the institution from graduating talented engineers and scientists.
In 1833, the institution became the Institute of Mining Engineers Corps . Since 1866, it was known as the Mining Institute. In the 1870s, the philosopher George Plekhanov, one of the theorists of socialism (along with Marx, Engels, Lenin) studied in its walls. In the Soviet period, the name of the scientist was assigned to the Mountain National Mineral Resources University.
Time for a change
With the advent of Soviet power, the work of Gorny (so briefly called the educational institution since its inception) continued. In the Great Patriotic War, ammunition was manufactured on the territory of the university, and most students and teachers defended Leningrad at the forefront.
After the war, the field of activity of the Mining National Mineral Resources University expanded significantly. A branch was opened in Vorkuta, regional evening schools were created in Kirovsk, Monchegorsk, Slantsy. In the USSR period, a strong school was formed here - one of the best in the world - a scientific and educational school in the field of mineral resources. Today it continues to improve, new areas of research are developing.
In 2011, the university received its current name - St. Petersburg State Mining University. However, due to leapfrog with renaming in the information space, it is known under different names: mining institute, mineral resources university, national university of mineral resources. But everyone knows that this is the same "Mountain".
Today
The Mining University in St. Petersburg today has more than 10,000 students, over 240,000 square meters of educational and research facilities, a network of specialized laboratories equipped with modern Russian and foreign instruments and tools. According to a centuries-old tradition, applicants wear a special uniform, which emphasizes the special status of the institution.
The university prepares graduates in undergraduate, graduate and specialist programs in more than 35 technical (engineering) specialties. About 49 professors, doctors of sciences, 600 associate professors, candidates of sciences work at 49 departments and departments of the institution. Among them - 120 academicians.
Mining University: Faculties
The university is training technical specialists at 8 faculties:
- construction;
- fundamental and humanitarian;
- mineral raw materials;
- economic;
- mountain;
- oil and gas;
- exploration;
- electromechanical.
The university also has a college of cartography and geodesy.
Scientific activity
The university carries out intensive research in the main areas of development of the national raw material base, effective management of natural resources, progressive methods of energy conservation in the extraction and processing of minerals. The scientific programs of students, graduate students and young researchers are being implemented.
Mountain National Mineral Resources University has a unique research and development base. He participates in various international and federal intersectoral scientific and technical programs in the field of geology, mining, economics, metallurgy and ecology. By the way, the university has the highest level of computerization of the educational process and research activities - more than 2,000 computers are combined into a single system connected to the Internet.
Over the past 5 years alone, the university has received more than 400 positive decisions on patents for inventions from the Patent Commission of the Russian Federation. 3 scientific discoveries were registered and several state awards were received.
The institution hosts large-scale international forums on the effective management of natural resources. The forum of young researchers has become traditional, where students from more than 40 countries of the world present their know-how. The university has numerous scientific and business ties with major Russian and foreign industrial enterprises, such as PhosAgro, Gazprom, Alrosa, Norilsk Nickel, Surgutneftegaz, Novatek, Total, De Beers , "Karl Zeiss", "Phoenix Geophysics."
Antarctica Research
One of the key achievements of the university’s scientists was the invention of methods for drilling Antarctic ice in order to get to the subglacial Lake Vostok, located under a 3-km ice cap. The technical work was carried out by Professor Nikolai Vasiliev, head of the university’s drilling department.
Scientific studies of the ice layers that cover the lake are carried out to identify new forms of microbial life in the lake and other areas of the ice continent. The study of Lake Vostok is one of the most famous scientific projects in the world, and the professionalism and experience of Russian drillers under the guidance of Professor Vasiliev is appreciated by colleagues.
The appearance of the "Mountain"
St. Petersburg is not for nothing considered Northern Palmyra. In his appearance there is a spirit of antiquity, the invisible presence of the gods of Olympus is felt. Mining University is no exception. It is located in a large 12-column educational building with gilding, proudly looking at the Gulf of Finland from the southern coast of Vasilievsky Island. By the way, this is the first building that can be seen on ships bound for the city. It is a striking example of the monumental style of neoclassicism, which was popular in Imperial Russia in the early 1800s.
Architect Andrei Voronikhin completed the construction of the building in 1811. The design of the university building reflects the idea that mining is a harsh and difficult job, and also symbolizes the entrance to the underworld of Pluto through a portico decorated with 12 columns of the Doric order.