220th anniversary celebratory concert held at Musa Jalil Opera and Ballet Theater

A ceremonial public meeting dedicated to the 220th anniversary of Kazan University was held at the Musa Jalil Tatar Academic State Opera and Ballet Theater. Distinguished guests, employees, scientists and teachers, and outstanding graduates of the university joined the celebration of this significant date in the history of the university.

The anniversary event began with the national anthems of Russia and Tatarstan performed by the Leonid Ustsov Choir of Kazan Federal University and the State Chamber Choir of the Republic of Tatarstan, with People’s Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan Elmira Kalimullina as the soloist.

The celebration was attended by high-ranking guests, including Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Valery Falkov, and Rais (Governor) of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, who presented the staff of Kazan University with state awards of Russia and Tatarstan, as well as departmental awards of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. The welcoming speech was also given by the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Science and Higher Education Sergey Kabyshev and the Rector of KFU Lenar Safin.

Vice-Premier Chernyshenko read out a congratulatory message from the President of Russia Vladimir Putin:

“I congratulate you on the 220th anniversary of Kazan University, one of the oldest in Russia. Behind this impressive date is a long, eventful path, full of bright achievements, a whole constellation of outstanding scientists, professors and teachers, world-famous research schools. And, of course, the special pride of your famous university is the brilliant cohort of talented graduates who have made a huge contribution to the development of the national economy and medicine, education and science, literature and culture, have found their recognition in pedagogy, public affairs, in the state and military service,” the head of state said in his address.

Today, KFU is among the leading educational centers of the country, and an atmosphere of bold scientific research and strong student brotherhood still reigns here.

“It is gratifying that, while maintaining established traditions, you are open to everything new. Experienced teachers and mentors, the most modern educational technologies, a serious research base allow you to confidently look to the future, to unite gifted, proactive, purposeful youth in the main university of the Volga region,” Vladimir Putin noted in his congratulations.

Warm words were also heard personally from Dmitry Chernyshenko.

“It is very joyful and proud that in the constellation of Russian universities there is Kazan Federal University, which has been shining in the sky for three centuries and holds the bar very high as an advanced scientific and educational center of our country,” the Deputy Chairman of the Government addressed the university community. “A huge thank you to the teachers and staff. My congratulations to all the students who are studying now, and those who studied in the previous 220 years!”

The head of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia Valery Falkov congratulated the teachers, students and graduates, partners of Kazan University, and residents of the Republic on the significant anniversary.

“Your history is an integral part of the history of the country. The opening of the university was preceded by a major educational reform, reflecting the spirit of its time. In 1803, by the decree of the emperor, the entire territory of Russia was divided into six educational districts, the center of each of which was a new university. By creating a kind of cultural field around themselves, they contributed to comprehensive education. This is what happened in Kazan,” the minister noted.

Kazan University became a real forge of the country’s intellectual elite. From 1804 to 1917, the university graduated more than 13 thousand young professionals. Falkov emphasized, it was here that the first department of the Chinese language in Russia appeared, the Mongolian language began to be taught for the first time, and the world’s first dictionary of the Tatar language was published. The development of natural sciences is associated with the name of the outstanding mathematician, Rector of the university Nikolai Lobachevsky (1827-1846). In the 20th century, world-renowned geniuses worked here – Lev Landau, Pyotr Kapitsa, Nikolay Semenov and others.

“Based on the richest heritage and creatively developing it, KFU today occupies a strong place among leading universities and makes a significant contribution to ensuring the technological sovereignty of the country. More than 50 thousand students study here, and a fifth of them are foreign students from more than 100 countries of the world,” said the head of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

It is symbolic that Kazan University celebrates its 220th anniversary in the Year of Scientific and Technological Development in the Republic of Tatarstan, noted Governor Minnikhanov.

“Today’s meeting is, first of all, a tribute to the scientists and teachers who have forever inscribed Kazan University in the glorious annals of world science. Discoveries of a truly world-class level have been made within its walls,” said the Rais. “The current generation of scientists and teachers at the university worthily continues the work of their great predecessors: Lobachevsky, Butlerov, Zinin, Zavoisky, the Arbuzov dynasty, Kamay, Valiev and many others.”

According to the Governor, today Kazan University is the undisputed flagship of the scientific and educational complex of the region and the country, a powerful driver of the socio-economic development of Tatarstan and the entire Volga Federal District.

“It is difficult to overestimate the contribution of Kazan University to the implementation of strategic initiatives for the development of the domestic system of higher education and science. Within the framework of the national project Science and Universities, one of ten world-class scientific centers in Russia is successfully operating in the Republic. The results of its activities are actively used in our country and abroad in the development of hard-to-recover oil reserves. The specialized educational and scientific center for gifted children operating within the university structure trains the future intellectual elite from school age in the interests of innovative sectors of the domestic economy. And the advanced engineering school of the university contributes to the qualitative strengthening of the human resources potential of a critically important sector of the national economy – the mechanical engineering complex,” noted the Rais.

KFU is the leader in the number of winning projects of the Student Startup competition. The University carries out a great deal of work to preserve the languages ​​and rich cultural and historical heritage of the peoples of the Republic of Tatarstan. Rustam Minnikhanov emphasized that it is the University scientists who have played a decisive role in the scientific backbone of events aimed at the revival of the Great Bolgar and the island-city of Sviyazhsk, the Kazan Kremlin, the Engelhardt Astronomical Observatory – all these objects are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

In conclusion, Rais wished the KFU staff stability, prosperity, inexhaustible energy, as well as new outstanding achievements in education and science.

The University received a congratulatory telegram from the State Counsellor of the Republic of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiev.

“I am glad that the University staff strives to become a competitive University on an international scale. You have unique potential for this. I am convinced that you can do it, and I wish you new achievements in your work, the desire for constant improvement,” it says.

The concert program was dedicated to the dynamic development of the university throughout its 220 years. World-famous scientists became part of the great history of Kazan University.

The first act of the evening, Imperial University, became a story about the establishment of the university, its first century. The guests of the evening were told about the great scientific schools, discoveries and scientists of Kazan University, student life, famous ball evenings. A real decoration was the Pink Waltz from the ballet Sleeping Beauty – the number was performed by the ballet troupe of the Opera and Ballet Theater.

The surprise of the evening was the performance of the opera singer, soloist of the Mariinsky Theater, People’s Artist of the Russian Federation Vasily Gerello.

The second act, State University, reflected the formation of the Soviet higher educational institution, its structural transformations, as well as the creation of a workers’ faculty on its basis. Revolutionary scientific discoveries and achievements of the university’s scientists of the Soviet era were noted, and, of course, the contribution of Kazan University to the victory in the Great Patriotic War. By the way, the musical number of the Professor Show club, a famous local music club comprising current and former academics, caused genuine emotions among all those present and a storm of applause.

Today, KFU is a powerful cluster that carries out both educational and scientific tasks. The final part of the celebration, Federal University, was held under this leitmotif. The video sequence voiced the strategic directions of the university, work in terms of international cooperation, flagship projects. The guests were shown what the modern Kazan University breathes and lives by.

The honorary title of the Honored Worker of Higher Education of the Russian Federation was awarded to Vasil Garifullin, Chair of the Department of National and Global Media of the Institute of Social and Philosophical Sciences and Mass Communications, by the Decree of the President of Russia.

“My entire life, one might say, has been spent within the walls of Kazan University – almost half a century. During this time, our education system has undergone many reforms, and the university has changed, but it has always remained true to the traditions of humanism, universal values, fundamentality, academic education, the relationship between education, science and practice. Today, responding to the challenges of the time, the university is developing dynamically. I am very glad that I am a part of our alma mater, and I am happy about today’s holiday,” Garifullin shared in an interview.

For many years of fruitful scientific and pedagogical activity and a great contribution to the training of specialists, the Director of the Institute of Philology and Intercultural Communication Radif Zamaletdinov was awarded the Order of the Republic of Tatarstan for Valiant Labor.

“I really hope that the university will continue to develop and achieve success in the future. We will do everything for this, we will make all the necessary efforts,” Zamaletdinov said in an interview with journalists.

It should be noted that the Kazan Chamber Orchestra La Primavera was responsible for the musical accompaniment of the evening. It is gratifying that the event on the occasion of the 220th anniversary of the university united students and their teachers, entire generations of graduates and employees of the alma mater.