The G. V. Plekhanov Saint Petersburg State Mining Institute and Technical University is
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's oldest higher education institute devoted to engineering. Located in
Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd and Leningrad...
, the institute is one of the oldest mining schools in Europe, and home to one of the world's finest and most exclusive collections of minerals, gem samples and mining equipment miniatures used for teaching purposes.
The Institute was founded on October 21 OS/ November 1 NS 1773 by order of Empress Catherine II.
The G. V. Plekhanov Saint Petersburg State Mining Institute and Technical University is
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's oldest higher education institute devoted to engineering. Located in
Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd and Leningrad...
, the institute is one of the oldest mining schools in Europe, and home to one of the world's finest and most exclusive collections of minerals, gem samples and mining equipment miniatures used for teaching purposes.
The Institute was founded on October 21 OS/ November 1 NS 1773 by order of Empress Catherine II. It was known as the Mining School (Горное училище) until 1804 when it became the Mining Cadet's Corps (Горный кадетский корпус); in 1833, it became the Institute of the Corps of Mining Engineers (Институт корпуса горных инженеров). Since 1866, it has been known as the Mining Institute (Горный институт).
During the Soviet period, it was renamed after
Georgi PlekhanovGeorgi Valentinovich Plekhanov was a Russian revolutionary and a Marxist theoretician. He was a founder of the Social-Democratic movement in Russia and was the first Russian Marxist...
, who attended the institute in the 1870s, and became known as "the
G. V. PlekhanovGeorgi Valentinovich Plekhanov was a Russian revolutionary and a Marxist theoretician. He was a founder of the Social-Democratic movement in Russia and was the first Russian Marxist...
Leningrad State Mining Institute and Technical University." In 1958-1960 a branch of the institute was opened in Vorkuta and night schools at
SlantsySlantsy is a town in the western part of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, the administrative center of Slantsevsky District. It is situated on the Plyussa River, 192 km west of St. Petersburg. Population: 36,400 ; 37,371 ; 43,087 . Officially founded in 1934; town status was granted in 1949.The...
, Monchegorsk, and Kirovsk. The current (as of August 2005) Rector of the Saint Petersburg Mining Institute (SPMI)is Prof. of Mining Engineering Vladimir Stepanovich Litvinenko.
Since 1869 the institute is the headquarter of the
Russian Mineralogical SocietyThe Russian Mineralogical Society is a public scientific organization uniting specialists and scientific groups working in the field of mineralogy and adjacent sciences. RMS was founded in 1817 Saint Petersburg, Russia, and is the world oldest mineralogical society among present...
.
Building
The institute is housed in an Empire style building on the 21st line and the Neva River embankment on the south shore of
Vasilievsky IslandVasilievsky Island is an island in Saint Petersburg, bordered by the rivers Bolshaya Neva and Malaya Neva from South and Northeast, and by the Gulf of Finland from the West. Vasilievsky Island is separated from Dekabristov Island by the Smolenka River...
. It was built in 1806-1811 to a design by the serf-architect
Andrey VoronikhinAndrey Nikoforovich Voronikhin was a Russian architect and painter. As a representative of classicism he was also one of the founders of the monumental Russian Empire style...
, who also designed the Kazan Cathedral on Nevsky Prospekt and buildings on Paul I's estate at
PavlovskPavlovsk is a town situated in Russia, from and under the jurisdiction of Saint Petersburg, just to the south of Tsarskoye Selo. Population: 14,960 ....
south of the city. The statues flanking the entrance were sculpted by Stepan Pimenov; the reliefs were done by Vasily Demuth-Malinovsky. The Column Hall and the Caryatid Hall were decorated by Michael Scotti.
External links