Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Moscow Government – Moscow Government –
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On December 3, the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Agricultural Academy (MSAA) named after K.A. Timiryazev celebrated its 160th anniversary. It is included in the State Register of Particularly Valuable Cultural Heritage Sites of the Peoples of the Russian Federation.
To mark this memorable date, the Moscow Main Archives Department opened a new online exhibition. "Science and Education Center. For the 160th Anniversary of the Russian State Agrarian University"You can explore it in the virtual museum "Moscow – Caring for History" in the "Media Library" section, under "Exhibitions."
The new exhibition features photographs by such masters of Russian photography as Boris Ignatovich, Nikolai Kuleshov, Boris Trepetov, Viktor Shandrin, and Vyacheslav Sharovsky. These images offer a glimpse into the history of the university's development from the 1930s to the 1980s. Students and faculty are captured in the photographs conducting practical experiments, studying outdoors, or in classrooms and laboratories during lectures on botany.
On December 3, 1865, by decree of Emperor Alexander II, the oldest higher agricultural educational institution in Russia—the Petrovskaya Agricultural and Forestry Academy—was founded on the grounds of the Petrovskoye-Razumovskoye estate near Moscow. Its charter was adopted on October 27 of that year. Nikolai Zheleznov, the future first director of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, and Professor Pavel Ilyenkov, head of the Department of Organic and Agronomic Chemistry, participated in the development of the institution.
Speaking at the opening, Nikolai Zheleznov said: "The Academy should not consist of superiors and subordinates, but of members of one family striving to achieve a common goal." The first lectures were given here on January 25, 1866.
It was a unique open educational institution, initially admitting students and trainees from all walks of life. Entrance exams did not exist until 1872; only final exams were taken. In June 1894, the Moscow Agricultural Institute was established to "provide students with higher education in agriculture and agricultural engineering."
After 1917, the educational institution was renamed the Petrovskaya Agricultural Academy. Its charter was amended, and new curricula were created. As early as December 1923, members of the Council of People's Commissars decided to rename the institution the Kliment Timiryazev Agricultural Academy. During the Great Patriotic War, a significant portion of the Timiryazev Academy was evacuated to Uzbekistan. Many of the university's staff and students went to help collective farms or served at the front. A large triage and evacuation hospital, No. 2386, was established in the academy's dormitories. Classes in Moscow only resumed in 1943.
On June 20, 2005, the academy was renamed the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy. On November 14, 2025, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the staff of this key institution of higher education for the country's agriculture was awarded the Order "For Valiant Labor" for their significant contribution to the training of highly qualified specialists for Russia's agro-industrial complex and for their achievements in research and teaching.
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