Education and Culture

Moscow State University (founded in 1755), the largest and most important educational institution in Russia, is one of more than 75 institutions of higher education in Moscow.

The Russian Academy of Sciences and its affiliated research institutions have headquarters in the city.

The Russian State Library has one of the largest collections in the world.

Moscow has several world-renowned cultural institutions.

The Bolshoi Theater, built in 1825, is home to one of Russia’s oldest ballet companies, the Bolshoi Ballet.

Russia’s finest art collections outside of the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg are housed in Moscow’s Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and State Tretyakov Gallery.

As the seat of the patriarchate (jurisdiction of the patriarch) of the Russian Orthodox Church since 1589, Moscow holds great importance for believers.

The city contains several monasteries, including the Danilov Monastery (founded in 1282), where the Moscow branch of the Russian Orthodox patriarchate has its offices.