Voronezh State University (Russian: Воро́нежский госуда́рственный университе́т, ВГУ; VSU) is one of the main universities in Central Russia, located in the city of Voronezh. The university was established in 1918 by professors evacuated from the University of Tartu in Estonia. The university has 18 faculties and an enrollment of 22,000 students from Russia, Europe, Africa, the Americas and Asia. Besides, the university has 6 research institutes and 16 research laboratories administered by the Russian Academy of Science. The university is composed of 10 buildings and 7 resident halls situated throughout the city. For over 90 years the University has trained more than 100,000 professionals.
In 1802 following a decree of Russian Emperor Alexander I the University of Tartu in Estonia was re-established. As a result of the German occupation of Estonia during World War I in March 1918, Russian students and professors had to leave the Estonian territory for their own safety. It was decided that a new university would be established in central Russia. In July and September 1918 from Dorpat (now Tartu), 39 professors, 45 lecturers, 43 staff and about 800 students arrived in Voronezh. The first rector of the university was Basil E. Regel.
On 12 November 1918 four faculties started working, namely the faculty of Medicine, the faculty of Physics and Mathematics, the faculty of History and Philology and the Law faculty. In the beginning of 1919, the University had an enrollment of 10,000 students. Anyone could study there, only 4 years later in 1923 that entrance exams were introduced. In 1920, after the Treaty of Tartu, the properties of the University of Tartu (libraries, archives, manuals, documents and other objects) were returned to Estonia. However, most of the teachers who have left due to the onset of the army of Imperial Germany and the occupation of Estonia, did not return to Estonia.
In the early 1920s, Voronezh Institute of Education was added to the university, which marked the beginning of pedagogical faculties, departments that prepares teachers of mathematics, physics, chemistry, natural science, Russian language and literature, social and economic disciplines for schools. In 1930, the Medical Faculty was transformed into an independent institute. During World War II the university was relocated in Yelabuga in the Republic of Tatarstan for a period of two years from 1941 to 1943.
