BEIJING, July 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — You’ve heard of “Swan Lake,” “Katyusha,” Pushkin, and Tolstoy. But on your journey through Russia, there’s another name you shouldn’t miss – a genius whose legacy still shapes the nation today.
Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-65) is a name known to every Russian. An airport in southeastern Moscow is named after him, and Russia’s top university bears his full title: Lomonosov Moscow State University. A scientist, linguist, and poet of the 18th century, he’s often called “Peter the Great of Russian science.” His legacy offers a window into the heart of Russia’s history and culture.
In the autumn of 1711, Lomonosov was born into a fisherman’s family on the shores of the White Sea. A precocious child, he read nearly every book he could find in his village. At 19, he set off for Moscow to pursue an education. He claimed noble origins and enrolled in a religious academy, as most schools in the city admitted only children of nobility. He studied diligently, and his academic excellence earned him a place at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Later, he was sent to Germany to study mining. In 1745, at just 34 years old, Lomonosov became the first Russian to be named a professor of chemistry at the Academy.
Lomonosov was driven by a deep desire to dedicate his hard-earned knowledge to his country and its people. In 1748, he built the first Russian chemical laboratory – a project he had long envisioned. He hoped the lab would bring practical benefits to his country, such as the mass production of colored glass. At the time, the foreign experts who possessed the technique to make colored glass refused to share their secrets. Undeterred, Lomonosov conducted nearly 4,000 experiments before succeeding. A variety of shades – grass green, salmon pink, translucent tones, and more – soon emerged from his lab.
At the time, scientists still did not fully understand the nature of fire or the process of combustion. The dominant theory was the “phlogiston” hypothesis, which claimed that a fire-like element was released during burning. In the 17th century, British chemist Robert Boyle observed that metals gained weight after being calcined and concluded that phlogiston played a role in the reaction. In 1756, Lomonosov placed metal in a sealed container and heated it. Without allowing any air to enter, he weighed the metal before and after burning – and found no change in mass. This led him to observe the principle of mass conservation. Later, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier repeated similar experiments and formally established the law of conservation of mass.
Lomonosov also flourished in the realm of literature. He believed that “Russian poetry must be written in accordance with the natural qualities of our language.” Under his advocacy, a new system of versification emerged – one that allowed Russian to be as light and fluid as French, yet as forceful as German. Through his efforts to purify the Russian language, expand its vocabulary, and bring literary style closer to everyday speech, he earned the title “Father of the Modern Russian Language.”
Lomonosov also looked to the future – education. He hoped that Russia would one day produce its own Platos and Newtons. In letters to Count Shuvalov, a close confidant of the Empress, he repeatedly proposed founding a university in Moscow. The Empress accepted his proposal, and in 1755, Moscow University was established. Since its inception, the university had embraced inclusivity: Students from all social classes, except serfs, were allowed to enroll. By the second half of the 18th century, only three of the university’s 26 Russian professors came from noble families.
In the 19th century, a legendary figure emerged from Moscow University. Alexander Herzen, descended from nobility, preferred social engagement over scientific study. Advocating dialectics and materialism, he became a leading voice of progressive thought in Russia. Anton Chekhov, the son of a serf, began writing plays while studying medicine, and went on to become a literary giant known for his sharp realism. Wassily Kandinsky, born to an intellectual family, studied law and economics before turning to art at age 30. His iconic geometric works of dots, lines, and planes earned him recognition as a pioneer of abstract art.
In the 20th century, the light of modern science began to shine from Moscow University. At 17, Andrei Sakharov enrolled in the Department of Physics, quickly demonstrating brilliance in theoretical physics. Beginning in 1948, he played a key role in developing the Soviet hydrogen bomb, proposing the “layer-cake” design that proved essential to its success. Nikolay Semyonov, head of the university’s chemical kinetics division, developed the theory of chain branching reactions, which offered crucial insights into combustion and explosion mechanisms. In 1956, he became the first Soviet scientist to receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Sergei Novikov entered the Department of Mathematics and Mechanics in 1955, specializing in algebraic topology. In 1970, he became the first Soviet mathematician to be awarded the Fields Medal, the highest honor in mathematics.
In 1952, as the university’s grand auditorium neared completion, the Soviet Union reached out to the newly founded People’s Republic of China, requesting portraits of ancient Chinese scientists – notably Zu Chongzhi of the Northern and Southern Dynasties (386-589), and Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) physician Li Shizhen – to be included in the auditorium’s design.
The task of creating the portraits was entrusted to the renowned Chinese painter Jiang Zhaohe. While reading the preface of the Compendium of Materia Medica, he came across a description of Li Shizhen: a lean figure, thoughtful in speech, and a man of exceptional character. This reminded Jiang of his father-in-law, Xiao Longyou – a revered master of traditional Chinese medicine and one of the “Four Great Physicians of Beijing.” Jiang thus used Xiao Longyou as the model for Li Shizhen. For the portrait of Zu Chongzhi, he drew inspiration from the appearance of renowned meteorologist and geographer Zhu Kezhen.
Today, more than 70 years later, their marble mosaic portraits can still be seen above the entrance hall ceiling, alongside those of Newton, Copernicus, Madame Curie, and other great figures of world science.
In the early 1960s, Li Bingzong graduated from the Department of Physics at Moscow State University. Now at 89 years old, he recalls those formative years: Professors at MSU never handed out lecture notes or used fixed textbooks – students had to rely entirely on taking notes during class and studying reference books on their own afterward. From 1951 to 1965, MSU trained thousands of Chinese students, like Li Bingzong. Most of them pursued cutting-edge disciplines such as mathematics, physics, chemistry, geology, and biology. After completing their studies, they returned to China and devoted themselves to nation-building, leaving an indelible mark on the milestones of scientific and technological development in the newly founded People’s Republic of China.
Today, a full-length statue of Lomonosov still stands on the university campus. With a gentle smile and sharp gaze, he seems to be welcoming generations of students coming and going. As time flows on and leaves drift down before him, a new era of scholars continues to write their own chapters – in the very classrooms that once nurtured legends.
Xiao Xinxin, Liu Shuyang, Xu Ye, Wang Zhening, Gao Yuan, Niu Zhiyuan, and Dong Shuo contributed to this article. This story was originally published in Chinese in the People’s Daily on June 20.
