The history of Russian education and science dates back to 1724, when Emperor Peter the Great with his Imperial order established the Russian Academy of Sciences and opened the first secular higher educational institution of Russia – the Academic University.
Such famous scientists as D. Bernoulli, L. Euler, B.S. von Jacobi, A.B. Nobel, M.V. Lomonosov, D.I. Mendeleev, I.P. Pavlov, A.S. Popov, K.E. Tsiolkovsky, A.F. Ioffe, Z.I. Alferov, and many others had lived and worked in Saint Petersburg at different times.
combining the best traditions of Russian and world culture.
Saint Petersburg is an open-air museum included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. In total, the UNESCO World Heritage list includes about 4,000 outstanding landmarks of architecture, history and culture of Saint Petersburg.
Saint Petersburg has over 200 operating museums, including the State Hermitage Museum and the Russian Museum.
The cultural wealth of Saint Petersburg is comprised not only of the city but also of its suburbs: Peterhof, Tsarskoye Selo, Pavlovsk, and Gatchina.
The city has more than 70 theatres including Mariinsky, Alexandrinsky, and Mikhailovsky theatres.
Saint Petersburg is the northernmost of the world’s largest cities and the largest of the northern cities.
The city stands on more than 40 islands, which are washed by 94 rivers, watercourses, and channels crossed by over 342 bridges. This is why the city is rightfully called “The Venice of the North”.
Due to the unique location of the city, in the summer one can observe such an unusual phenomenon as “white nights”. The official white nights period lasts from June 11 to July 2.
Saint Petersburg is a modern center of creativity and art with rich traditions. Such outstanding composers as P.I. Tchaikovsky, N.A.Rimsky-Korsakov, M.P.Mussorgsky, A.P.Borodin, and S.A.Rachmaninoff had lived and worked in Saint Petersburg; A.S.Pushkin, F.M.Dostoevsky, A.A.Akhmatova, A.A.Blok, and I.A.Brodsky had worked here; R.K.Nureyev and M.N.Baryshnikov had performed on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, while A.Yu.Netrebko, V.A.Gergiev, and many others are shining on stage today.
Saint Petersburg is a city with a population of over 5 million people among which are representatives of more than 200 nationalities and ethnicities. In 2009, the Government of Saint Petersburg was awarded an Honorary Diploma of the UNESCO Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence.
Saint Petersburg is Russia’s gateway to Europe, its strategic center directly bordering the countries of the European Union.
Saint Petersburg is also the 4th largest city in Europe after Istanbul, Moscow, and London, as well as the largest transport hub in the North-West of Russia and the second largest in the country after Moscow. The city is the converging point of a number of important railway and highway arteries with large sea and river ports, as well as Pulkovo Airport.
The city has a developed transport network, the pearl of which is the most beautiful and deep-seated metro system in the world.
In 2018, for the third time in a row, Saint Petersburg received the prestigious WTA Award, which is considered the Oscar in the field of tourism, in the World's Leading Cultural City Destination category. In addition, in 2018, Saint Petersburg became one of the host cities of the FIFA World Cup. In 2020, Saint Petersburg will become one of the cities of the UEFA European Football Championship.
The city annually hosts a number of major international and all-Russian level congress events, including the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Saint Petersburg International Innovation Forum, the Week of Science and Professional Education of Saint Petersburg, and others.
Saint Petersburg ranks 66th in the rating of the best student cities according to the QS Best Student Cities international rating. More than 35 thousand foreign students and graduate students from 147 foreign countries study in the city. The studies in Saint Petersburg universities are conducted in Russian, English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, and other foreign languages.
The universities of Saint Petersburg provide the opportunity to receive high-level education at an affordable cost. According to the study “Accessibility of Higher Education in the Regions of Russia” conducted by NRU Higher School of Economics, the Saint Petersburg region took the 1st place in the ranked list of regional higher education systems in the provision of high-quality positions and the level of financial accessibility of higher education. According to the QS Best Student Cities international rating, Saint Petersburg holds the 4th position in the financial accessibility of higher education.
Saint Petersburg has about 120 cinemas, more than 1,500 shopping malls and recreation centres, and over 7,500 cafes and restaurants. Thanks to wide range of cultural and recreation facilities, Saint Petersburg provides ample opportunities for outdoor activities. The universities of the city allow active students to develop their scientific, educational, creative, and sports potential.