St. Petersburg State University (SPSU; the University) was founded in 1724 by a Direction of Peter I establishing St. Petersburg University as pan of the Academy of Sciences. The university later flourished under Mikhail Lomonosov's tenure as rector, 1758-1765. In second half of XVIII the University almost stopped to exist and was restored in 1819. Then it consisted of 3 schools: Philosophic-Legal (later - Legal), History and Philology, Physics and Mathematics.

The University, a leading Russian center of education, science and culture, is a state higher educational vocational institute of federal subjection, - conducting teaching and scientific-research activity.

The main legal documents governing SPSU are: the Russian Federation Constitution from 12.12.93 and the Federal Laws of Russian Federation (RF) from 13.01.96 FZ No. 12 "On Education" (in a version of the Federal Law from 13.01.96 FZ No. 12; with the amendments introduced by the Federal Laws from 16.11.97 FZ No.144, from 20.07.00 FZ No. 102 and from 7.08.00 FZ No. 122, from 22.08.96 FZ No. 125 "On Higher and Postgraduate Vocational Education" (with the amendments introduced by the Federal Laws from 10.07.00 FZ No. 92 and from 7.09.00 FZ No. 122) from 23.08.96 FZ No. 127 "On Science and State Science and Technology Policy" (with the amendments introduced by the Federal Laws from 19.07.98 FZ No. 111, from 17.12.98 FZ No. 189, from 3.01.00 FZ No. 41 and from 29.12.00 FZ No. 168) as well as "The Model Regulation on Educational Organizations of Higher Vocational Education (Higher Educational Institutions)", introduced by the RF Government Provision from 5.04.01 No. 264 and the Charter of SPSU from 9.08.01.

RF Presidential decrees: from 18.12.91 No. 299 "On Particularly Valuable Objects of Russian National Heritage" and from 30.11.92, No. 487 "On Particularly Valuable Objects of Cultural Heritage of Russian Federation Peoples" as well as the RF Government Provision from 30.11.92 No. 919 "On Particularly Valuable Objects of Cultural Heritage of Russian Federation Peoples" have declared the University a particularly valuable object of cultural heritage of Russian Federation peoples, acknowledged it as an institution of high category of consideration and protection and given it the status of an independent (autonomous) Russian Federation higher educational institute exercising special forms of state support.

The University is subordinated to the Ministry of General and Vocational Education of Russian Federation (further - Russian Ministry of Education) which oversees implementation by the University of the legislation in the field of education, state educational standards, budget and financing discipline as well as determines the volume of budget financing for training and retraining of specialists and conducting scientific activity. An agreement concluded between the Russian Ministry of Education and the University defines their relationships.

The University is a creative community of professors, lecturers, students, scientists and engineers, the activities of which is aimed at acquiring truth knowledge, establishing principles of humanism and justice.

The corner stone of the University’s principles is the educational and research freedom declared by the Great Charter of the European universities.

The University as an autonomous higher educational institution independently establishes the contents of its educational program and plans, defines the fields of specialization for training and retraining of specialists, directions of scientific research, forms its own structure including giving to its subdivisions power of legal entity according to rector's power of attorney, establishes new legal entities and conducts numerous other activities common to most higher educational establishments.

St. Petersburg State University is a classic research university, conducting fundamental and applied research in various subjects and in many areas of natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities and possessing a considerable intellectual potential.

The University is a significant world-class scientific center. It boasts major scientific achievements from such well-known scientists as D.I. Mendeleev, E.Kh. Lents, I.I. Mechnikov, A.M. Butlerov, I.M. Sechenov, A.E. Favorskiy, A.E. Fersman, V.I. Vemadskiy, K.A. Timiryazev, V.I. Fok, S.E. Frish and many others.

Numerous scientific schools historically formed in the University are traditionally the basis for many scientific discoveries, science-consuming inventions and know-how.

The University has large potential capabilities on working out and delivering to a domestic or external market new technologies and technics objects, in the first place in the area of chemistry, biology, physics, device-making, geology, programming. High level of research creates favorable conditions for realization of services like engineering.

The source of the University intellectual property are usually 11 scientific-research institutes and 10 schools in natural sciences which have a contingent of high-qualified employees among which are 1289 candidates of sciences and 406 doctors.

Adoption of legislation oriented to market economy conditions opens for the University new opportunities of technology transfer.

The University maintains a portfolio of licensable items and promotes and commercializes them both domestically and abroad. It has concluded 13 licensing agreements and engineering contracts for inventions, trade marks and know-how (Russia, Germany, USA, India, Hungary, Czech Republic, Switzerland etc.).

Current development in this area is being hampered by a lack of staff of Intellectual Property & Technology Transfer Department and a lack of necessary conditions for developing laboratory models so that they meet industrial requirements, and for developing technical and technological documentation, as well as inability to pay of Russian industrial enterprises - potential licensees.

The University is a single academic-research-industrial complex, i.e. educational institution incorporating structure subdivisions as well as established by the University-founder concerns, institutions and organizations, including those having a status of legal entity. All the University's structure subdivisions are established by a decision of University Scientific Board and conduct their affairs in accordance with regulations which are approved by the rector.

The University comprises schools, R&D institutes, university-wide chairs, other structural divisions performing educational activities in the sphere of secondary, higher, supplementary and post-university education, as well as divisions of pre-university training, educational and scientific centers, scientific & production and service divisions including the scientific library and publishing house, museums and social services.

The school of the University conducts teaching and scientific research work and consists of chairs as well as laboratories and other teaching, scientific and auxiliary subdivisions. The school unites teachers, postdoctoral students, postgraduate students, students and employees for providing academic process, organizing and conducting fundamental, applied scientific and academic-methodical research, releasing specialists, preparing scientific works and other publications.

The University comprises 20 schools: 9 schools in the natural sciences (Earth and Biology, Geography and Geoecology, Geology, Mathematics and Mechanics, Medicine, Psychology, Applied Mathematics and System Analysis, Physics and Chemistry) and 11 in the humanities and social sciences (Oriental, Journalism, History, International Relations, Sociology, Philology, Philosophy, Management School, Economy, Legal, Military Learning).

The Departments include 261 Chairs which train specialists in 74 specialties (training schools), with the total list of training schools containing 285 specialties and programs of supplementary education.

The scientific research institute (NIl) is an organization that conducts scientific research and, together with SPSU's schools, is involved in teaching of students and postgraduate students. NII consists of departments, laboratories, sectors which are structure subdivisions of the institute as well as of some other auxiliary subdivisions.

The scientific research institute unites researchers and other employees for conducting fundamental and applied scientific research, serves as a base for training of specialists and retraining of scientific and pedagogical personnel.

SPSU comprises 10 scientific research institutes: astronomy, biology, computational mathematics and system analysis, geography and geoecology, Earth core research, complex social research, mathematics and mechanics, radiophysics, physics, physiology and chemistry.

Scientific Maxim Gorky Library which is also part of the University structure, is a scientific-information center providing educational and research processes. Library stock numbering 6.5 millions of volumes is a national treasure and the largest memory of Russian university education: it includes manuscripts, rare books, personal libraries received as gift or purchased, a collection of dissertations defended in the University and University's publications as well as a collection of special literature and fiction.

Among main structure subdivisions there is also a publishing office which has its own printing-office. Their activity is concentrated on distribution of scientific knowledge, publishing manuals and training aids, journals, monographs, digests of scientific works as well as works devoted to arts and culture.

Museums:

• The University History Museum;
• Museum - Archive of Dmitry Mendeleev;
• Mineralogy Chair Museum;
• Historical Geology Chair Museum.

SPSU has the following other types of subordinate organizations:

• Educational-Scientific Centers (UNTs). These organizations are a particular organizational form that combines academic, research and auxiliary processes providing more effective control of such large university as SPSU which is located at two campuses: Saint Petersburg and its suburb Stary Peterhof. The UNTs combine faculties, research institutes, educational, scientific-educational and scientific centers, reserves, pilot productions and service divisions. The general management of the UNTs is carried out by the Academic Council consisting of representatives of the UNTs’ divisions. The UNTs are headed by deans of profile faculties. So, the Physical UNTs works on the basis of the Faculty of Physics, Research Institute of Physics and other divisions; the Chemical UNTs functions on the basis of the Chemical Faculty and Research Institute of Chemistry; the Philological and Art UNTs carries out its work on the basis of the Philological Faculty.

• Schools of retraining of specialists and special schools. These are academic subdivisions which realize pay forms of education and tuition for postgraduate (supplemental) vocational training in the area of management, law, psychology, mathematics and computer science, international relations, sociology, philology, economics and other subject areas. The University has 66 special schools.

• Other teaching subdivisions. The Republican Academic-Scientific Humanitarian Institute, the School of Teachers Retraining, Preparatory Department, Humanitarian Academy, French and Canadian Colleges, Law College, foreign language courses, an academic gymnasium, etc.

• Educational and scientific centers part of which received an authority from the University by rector's power of attorney. All of them are subordinated to the roles of the University charter and to decisions made by the SPSU Scientific Board as the University's structure subdivisions. They include: Center of Russian Language and Literature, Interdisciplinary Center of Auxiliary Vocational Education; Center of Retraining in the Area of Biotechnology; Educational-Methodical Center for Auditors Training and Retraining; Russian Center of Laser Physics; Centers of Chinese and Korean Language etc.

• Educational and scientific bases. The Marine Biology Station at the White Sea; Crimean, Sablinskaya, Starorusskaya, Svirskaya, Karelian scientific and educational bases, Ladozhskaya geograhpical and educational base etc.

• University-wide schools: the School of Physical Culture and Sports; the School of Medical and Special Knowledge Basis.

The major administrative instances are: the Scientific Board, Senate, rector and provosts.

The Scientific Board - a selected representative organ - implements general management of the University.

The rector implements direct management of the University, is selected by competition and being approved in the post by RF Government upon the recommendation of Russian Ministry of Education. Different directions of the University activity are managed by provosts and rector's office, which includes the following administrations and departments: academic; research development; intellectual property, patents and licenses; foreign student affairs, international contacts; accounting and finance control; planned-financial; security; personnel; material and technical basis; capital construction; legal; documentation provision and informational.

Scientific Board and accordingly dean and rector are the main organs of the school management.

The single Intellectual Property & Technology Transfer Department of the University manages activities connected with legal protection and commercial realization of intellectual property objects made at schools and at the University scientific research institutes.

The University receives financing from several sources.

Teaching is financed by the State Budget. The finance amount is subject to correction depending on an inflation level.

The scientific research which produces most of the intellectual property is financed from the state budget (66 percent) and from non-budgetary sources (34 per cent). In 2002 The University has carried out 1365 R&D of the total cost of 156.9 millions of rubles.

The structure of the state budget funding is as follows: unified state-order (ЕЗН) of the RF Ministry of Education (11%), scientific and technical programs and grants of the RF Ministry of Education (11%), grants of the Russian Fund for Basic Research and of Russian Humanitarian Scientific Fund (27%), scientific and technical programs of the RF Ministry of Science, and federal programs (17%). The volume of funding is gradually rises. This funding is administrated for concrete research projects that the SPSU considers important. The finance amount is subject to correction depending on an inflation level.

The extrabudget funds included the following sources: economic contracts with the enterprises and organizations for concrete R&D (25%); international projects, grants, contracts (9%).

SPSU is autonomous and not subordinate to any local administrative structures and receives no funding from the city. Nevertheless, being one of the centers of academic and scientific excellence, it participates in different city objective programs that are strategically important (development of the scientific-technical potential, ecology, sociology, etc.), lends its expertise to various programs, and prepares highly qualified professionals for the city.