The first higher education institution of Russia - Slav-Greek - Latin Academy was founded in 1687 on the territory of a monastery in Kitay-Gorod. With the establishment of Moscow University the academy became a higher theological school and in 1814 was transformed into Moscow Spiritual Academy. The Moscow State University was established according to the project of Lomonosov M. V. by the order of empress Yelizaveta Petrovna. Peter the Great introduced the system of specialized state education - secondary, technical, military, medical schools. By the end of the XIX century Moscow was the center of one fifth of educational institutions in Russia. The largest center of education and scientific life was Moscow University with its four faculties: Physics & Mathematics, Medical, History & Philology and Law. Today alongside with state educational institutions there has been organized a network of private high schools. Many of them are authorized to hand out state diplomas.

Moscow is a leading educational and research center with dozens of major universities, technical educational institutes, major research institutions and leading medical research centers. Here we list major educa-tional institutes in Moscow called VUZ in Russian, standing for Vysshee Uchebnoe Zavedenie (Highest Educational Establishment), including technical institutes, conservatories and leading art academies. The research institutes and the academies of sciences are listed under INSTITUTES AND ACADEMIES, SCIENTIFIC AND RESEARCH .

Private Schools: There are now also non-state higher education institutions. These are generally small private education institutions in which education lasts 18 months to four years. Cost depends on the qualifications of the instructors and ranges from $800 to $3,000 per year. Some "state" facilities now have a tuition-paying department or "option for non-residents ". Often the requirements for admission are different. Private institutions have formed an association to monitor the quality of private education.

MGU. The leading educational institution in Moscow is Moscow State University, known as MGU. The primary center is at the new campus on Vorobevy Gory (Sparrow Hills) overlooking the Moskva River, about 10 km southwest of central Moscow. The faculties of Journalism, African Studies, and Psychology are still in the old university buildings in central Moscow at Mokhovaya ul., 19.
FSP = telephone for Foreign Student Program.