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VN Karazin Kharkiv National University

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The V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University (Ukrainian: Харківський національний університет імені В.Н. Каразіна, romanized: Kharkivskyi natsionalnyi universytet imeni V.N. Karazina), also known as Kharkiv National University or Karazin University, is a public university in Kharkiv, Ukraine. It was founded in 1804 through the efforts of Vasily Karazin, becoming the second oldest university,[3] and the oldest continuously operating one, in modern-day Ukraine.

V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University
Харківський національний університет імені В.Н.Каразіна
University emblem
Latin: Universitas Charcoviensis[1][2]
Former names
Imperial Kharkov University (1804—1917)
• Free Academy of Theoretical Knowledge (1920-21)
• Kharkiv Institute of Public Education (1920—1932) etc.
Kharkiv State University (1932—99)
MottoCognoscere, Docere, Erudire (Latin)
Motto in English
To Learn, To Educate, To Enlighten
TypeNational university
Established29 January 1804; 222 years ago (1804-01-29)
AffiliationMinistry of Education and Science of Ukraine
Academic affiliations
IAU, EUA, WHO
RectorTetyana Kahanovska [uk]
Academic staff
2,256
Students17,368
Postgraduates500
Address
4, Svobody square, 61022
,
Kharkiv
,
Kharkiv Oblast
,
Ukraine
CampusUrban
ColorsBlue & White    
Websitekarazin.ua
Map

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, all buildings of the university were partially or fully destroyed by attacks from Russian forces.[4][5]

History

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Russian Empire

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Vasily Karazin

On 29 January [O.S. 17 January] 1805, the Decree on the Opening of the Imperial University in Kharkov came into force. The university became the second university in the south of the Russian Empire. It was founded on the initiative of the local community with Vasily Karazin at the fore, whose idea was supported by the nobility and the local authorities. Count Seweryn Potocki was appointed the first supervisor of the university, the first rector being the philologist and philosopher Ivan Rizhsky [uk].[6]

In 1811, the Philotechnical Society was founded, while the Mathematical Society of Kharkov, the Historical and Philological Society of Kharkiv, the Naturalists Society, Societies of Physics, Chemistry, Law, among others, were established in the second half of the 19th century. The first periodicals in Slobozhanshchyna appear in the university around this time, including Kharkovski Ezhenedelnik (1812), Ukrainski Vestnik (1816–1819), Ukrainski Zhurnal (1824–1825), etc.[6]

Governor's Palace, late 19th century. Old university building

In 1839, a veterinary school, which in 1851 became an independent institute, was established at the university. By this time, the campus included laboratories, clinics, an astronomical observatory, a botanical garden and a library.[6]

Previously, the university was autonomous with rectors being elected. However, from 1820 to 1850, all its activity was strictly controlled. Rectors were appointed by the Minister of Education, while scientific publications, and academic processes were censored. In 1863, under a new Statute, the university became partly autonomous.[6]

The university has been publishing Scientific Notes since 1874.[6]

From the 19th century up to the early 20th century, the University of Kharkiv had four schools: School of Physics and Mathematics, School of History and Philology, School of Medicine, School of Law.[6] During the late 19th and early 20th centuries new faculty buildings and dormitories were erected with the support of sugar industrialist I. Kharytonenko.[6]

Ukrainian SSR

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Constructivist House of Projects, 1930s before the university moved to it.

From 1917 to 1920, there was a struggle between advocates of the Ukrainian statehood and Russian course at the university. Some of the professors who opposed new political realities left. Most of the Ukrainian professors remained in Kharkiv. They continued working in the institutions founded by the Soviet government: the Academy of Theoretical Knowledge (1920–1921), Kharkiv Institute of Public Education (KhIPE, 1921–1930), Kharkiv Institute of National Economy, Institute of Physics and Chemistry, and Institute of Law. Kharkiv State University, consisting of seven schools — School of Physics and Mathematics, School of Chemistry, School of Biology, School of Geology and Geography, School of Literature and Linguistics (with Department of Philosophy), and School of Economy (with Department of Economic Geography) — was restored on their basis in 1932–1933.[6]

In 1921, Kharkiv Medical Institute was founded based on the School of Medicine of the University of Kharkiv.[citation needed]

In 1936, the university was named after the late Russian writer Maxim Gorky, despite him not being related to the establishment during his life. During the German-Soviet war, it was evacuated to the city of Kizilord in Kazakhstan, where it merged with the Kyiv University to form the United Ukrainian State University.[7] In 1943/44, the university returned to Kharkiv (the first academic year after the liberation of the city on 1 November 1943). In 1951, 800 university students suffered from persecution after they refused to pass exams in Russian. Court trials were held behind closed doors.[citation needed]

In 1977 the univesity had 12,000 students, including 300 foreigners. The following schools were operating in the university: School of Mechanics and Mathematics, School of Physics, School of Geology and Geography, School of Economy, School of History, School of Philology, School of Foreign Languages, School of General Sciences, School of Correspondence Learning, and Night School.[6]

Independent Ukraine

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On 11 October 1999, Leonid Kuchma, the President of Ukraine issued a decree, in which he, "taking into consideration considerable contribution that Kharkiv State University made to training qualified specialists and to development of science" granted the status of a national university and named it after its founder, Vasyl Karazin.[citation needed]

In 2004, the university was given a twin building (the former Govorov Academy), opposite Svobody Square.[citation needed]

During the Russian invasion of Ukraine shells hit the building of the Faculty of Economics[8] which was subsequently destroyed by further Russian shelling.[9] On 5 March the university sports complex was partially destroyed. On 11 March — the building of the Faculty of Physics and Technology was partially destroyed and on 18 March — the Institute of Public Administration was partially ruined. As of 22 March 2022, according to the university's press service, the university had no intact buildings left.

In total, the university suffered 12 billion hryvnias of damage as a result of the Russian invasion. Despite this, the establishment continued its educational and research activities.[10] As of March 2026, the university had 13,332 students, of whom 11,314 studied in a remote mode, and 2,018 attended offline events.[11] Many employees were forced to go on unpaid leaves due to the lack of government compensation for refugees temporarily residing in the university's dormitories.[12] In June 2026 an underground safe space was established at the university with the aim of resuming in-person studies later that year.[13]

Cultural role

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During the early period of its existence between 1805 and 1835, the university exerted great influence on educational development in Slobozhanshchyna].[6] Its printing press, which was established simultaneously with the institution's foundation in 1804, played a big role in the development of Ukrainian literature, serving as the centre of Kharkiv Romantic school. It produced many notable publications, including Izmail Sreznevsky's Zaporozhian Antiquities (1833-1838), Ivan Kotliarevsky's Natalka Poltavka (1838), The Muscovite Sorcerer (1841) and Eneida (1842), as well as works by Hryhoriy Kvitka-Osnovianenko, Petro Hulak-Artemovsky and other authors.[14]

The university played a major role in the Ukrainian national revival, producing ethnographic studies of Ukrainian lands and contributing to the development of Ukrainian literature and theatre. Its students formed a number of Ukrainian hromadas, and part of its professors argued against government limitations in respect to Ukrainian language. Among honorary doctors of the university were Mykhailo Hrushevsky, Ivan Franko and Olexandra Yefymenko. In 1907 the university started organizing lectures on topics of folklore, history of Ukraine and linguistics in the Ukrainian language.[6]

Campuses and buildings

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The main academic building
  • Main building
  • Northern building
  • Central Scientific Library
  • Students' Campus

Ranking

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University rankings
Global – Overall
THE World[15]477 (2021)

Under the Soviet Union, the University of Kharkiv was decorated the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, the Order of the October Revolution and the Order of Peoples' Friendship.[citation needed]

University rankings
Global – Overall
QS World[16]382 (2017)
Regional – Overall
QS Emerging Europe and Central Asia[17]23 (2024)

Kharkiv National University holds the second place in Ukraine in volume of publications and citations in scientific database Scopus and the Hirsch index, with the best academic results in the School of Medicine and School of Biology.

In 2017, according to QS World University Rankings, it is the best university in Ukraine and ranks as 382th university in the world. Also, in 2021, according to THE World University Rankings,[18] it is the best university in Ukraine and ranks as 477th university in the world.

Units

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Departments

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Institute of High Technologies

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Scientific institutions

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Notable alumni and professors

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Monument to Élie Metchnikoff, Lev Landau, Simon Kuznets

Nobel Prize winners

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Others

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Rectors

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Rectors of Kharkiv University from 1805 to 1905

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Record of the Jubilee Celebrations of the University of Sydney. Sydney, New South Wales: William Brooks and Co. 1903. ISBN 9781112213304. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  2. ↑ Anderson, Peter John (1907). Record of the Celebration of the Quatercentenary of the University of Aberdeen: From 25th to 28th September, 1906. Aberdeen, United Kingdom: Aberdeen University Press (University of Aberdeen). ASIN B001PK7B5G. ISBN 9781363625079. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  3. ↑ "Modern university". Karazin University. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  4. ↑ "25 меценатов сделали пожертвования на восстановление Харьковского университета", Объектив (22 March 2022)
  5. ↑ "Russians have completely destroyed Karazin University in Kharkiv", Chytomo (3 April 2022)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Енциклопедія українознавства. Словникова частина (ЕУ-II). Vol. 9. 2000. p. 3561.
  7. ↑ "KNU-history - Open University of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv". knu.edu.eu. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  8. ↑ Sistek, Scott (25 March 2022). "Massive icicles hang from destroyed Ukrainian school amid nearly week-long freeze". FOX Weather. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  9. ↑ McCann, Allison; Gamio, Lazaro; Lu, Denise; Robles, Pablo (17 March 2022). "Russia Is Destroying Kharkiv". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  10. ↑ "Каразінський університет зазнав понад 12 млрд грн збитків унаслідок повномасштабної війни". 16 January 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  11. ↑ "У Каразінському університеті розповіли, скільки студентів навчаються офлайн". 16 March 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Каразінський університет пояснив причини неоплачуваних відпусток працівників". 16 January 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  13. ↑ "У Каразінському університеті відкрили підземний простір для понад тисячі освітян". 3 June 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  14. ↑ "Боротьба за книговидання в ранньомодерній Україні: конкуренція, прибутки, читачі, заборони". 26 January 2026. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  15. ↑ "World University Rankings". 20 August 2019.
  16. ↑ "QS World University Rankings".
  17. ↑ "V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University". Top Universities. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  18. ↑ "World University Rankings 2021". Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  19. ↑ Goldthwaite, Richard; Abramovitz M. (1986). "Association Notes: In Memoriam: Frederic C. Lane 1900-1984, Simon Kuznets 1901-1985". The Journal of Economic History. 46 (1): 239–246. doi:10.1017/S0022050700045630. JSTOR 2121281.
  20. ↑ Weyl, E. Glen (2007). "Simon Kuznets: Cautious Empiricist of the Eastern European Jewish Diaspora" (PDF). Harvard University Society of Fellows; Toulouse School of Economics. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  21. ↑ University of Kharkiv. "Historical background". Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  22. ↑ Perlman, Mark (2001). "Schumpeter and Schools of Economic Thoughts". In Chaloupek, Günther; Guger, Alois; Nowotny, Ewald; Schwödiauer, Gerhard (eds.). Ökonomie in Theorie und Praxis: Festschrift für Helmut Frisch (in German and English) (German ed.). Springer. p. 286. ISBN 3540422404.
  23. ↑ Pressman, Steven (2006). Fifty Major Economists. Routledge. p. 181. ISBN 0415366488. Simon Kuznets university Kharkov.
  24. ↑ Simon, Kuznetz (2011). Weyl, E. Glen; Lo, Stephanie H. (eds.). Jewish Economies: Development and Migration in America and Beyond. Vol. I. Transaction Publishers. p. xix. ISBN 978-1412842112.
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