Оur founders

June 3 – The University Founders' Day

The celebration of the University Founders' Day on June 3 at North-Western State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov is one of the oldest traditions of our University.

The tradition dates back to the opening of the Clinical Institute which took place on May 21 (June 3, according to the new style) 1885, the day of Saint Tsarina Elena, the patron saint of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, the founder of the Clinical Institute.

Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna governed the Mariinsky and Povival Institutes and the Maximilian Hospital, founded the Elisabeth Clinical Hospital for Children, and the Sisters of Charity Community. It was on 3 June that anniversaries of the Institute began to be celebrated.

The first director of the Clinical Institute was the physician of Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, Eduard Eichwald. He was one of the most distinguished representatives of Russian medicine of his time, a talented research scientist and teacher, who contributed much to the development of therapy and medical science in general. Eichwald’s studies combined a wide range of knowledge in physiology, pharmacology, pathology and medical statistics.

On June 9, 1907, Emperor Nicholas II and Chairman of the Council of Ministers Petr A. Stolypin approved the decision to open the Psychoneurological Institute established by the outstanding Russian scientist Vladimir M. Bekhterev.

Vladimir M. Bekhterev left his mark on science as an eminent anatomist, physiologist, neurologist, psychiatrist, psychologist, teacher and public figure. His contribution to medical science is without any exaggeration on a par with the national physiologist Ivan P. Pavlov. Bekhterev was the first who experimentally studied many fundamental questions of the physiology of nervous activity and the higher nervous system.

The Psychoneurological Institute founded by him was a unique institution of higher education aimed at forming a comprehensive view of a human being transcending the boundaries of narrow professional specialization. The education for all students started at the so-called “Fundamental faculty”, where general courses in the natural sciences, the humanities and the social sciences were taught. Only based on this comprehensive and interdisciplinary base did students start to specialise in one of the three faculties: Pedagogical, Legal or Medical.

The tradition of celebrating the University Founders' presents the continuity through the history of two renowned medical schools to the present day. Our University today has brought together their achievements, experiences and ideals harmoniously, making it a pillar for future work in the field of medicine.