September 1st: The Opening of Moscow State University's Main Building

📕 On this day in 1953, the iconic main building of Moscow State University (MSU) on Vorobyovy Gory (Sparrow Hills) was officially opened.

This skyscraper instantly became the symbol of the university and, at the time of its completion, was the tallest building in Europe. It remains the university's central landmark to this day. The building houses several faculties, including the Department of Mechanics and Mathematics, as well as the Departments of Geology and Geography.

Its construction was a monumental feat of Soviet engineering, symbolizing a push for technological progress and innovation. To overcome the area's unstable ground, engineers pioneered the use of a special steel frame for the foundation—a groundbreaking technique that allowed the massive structure to be built both tall and stable.📕

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September 1st: Russia's First Public Library Opens

📕 On September 1, 1714, a landmark institution opened in St. Petersburg: Russia's first state public library.
Founded with the revolutionary goal of providing access to books for all literate citizens seeking an education, it was a monumental step for public knowledge in the empire.

📔 Today, it is known as the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences and is the third-largest library in Russia. Its collection had grown to over 3.5 million volumes by 1924.

📕 The library endured a catastrophe in 1988 when a devastating fire ravaged its collections. At that time, the library held about 2.5 million volumes, and the fire irreversibly destroyed over 500,000 books and a third of its newspaper archives.
In a fitting tribute for its 290th anniversary in 2004, a minor planet (discovered in 1976) was named BiblioRAN (30722) in the library's honor. 📖

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September 1st: Tragedy at the Beslan School 🤎

September 1, 2004, marks the date of a horrific terrorist attack on School No.1 in the town of Beslan, North Ossetia, Russia.
The attack occurred in the morning during a ceremonial assembly held to celebrate the first day of the school year. At the time, there were more than 1,100 people inside the school, the vast majority of them children.

After a three-day siege, federal forces made the decision to storm the building on September 3. The operation to eliminate the terrorists continued into the night of September 4. According to official figures, the siege resulted in the deaths of 334 people, including 186 children. Many of the student hostages suffered from gunshot and shrapnel wounds, severe burns, and dehydration. Tragically, as many parents had brought their infants to the festivities while accompanying older children, some of the youngest also perished. In total, more than 700 people were injured, nearly half of them children.

Nearly none of the children orphaned by the siege ended up in state orphanages; they were adopted by relatives. The scale of the loss was so immense that a special memorial cemetery had to be established in the town.

Two weeks later, one of the leaders of the Chechen separatist movement, Shamil Basayev, claimed responsibility for the attack. Basayev was designated a terrorist by the United Nations, the U.S. State Department, the European Union, and was Russia's most-wanted terrorist.

On September 6, 2004, the European Council began its session with a minute of silence in memory of the Beslan victims. Flags were flown at half-mast outside the Council's building in Strasbourg.

In Beslan, September 1st is now observed annually as a day of mourning.

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In the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, a project for the social adaptation of labor migrants from Central Asia has been launched.

✔️ The Ministry of Nationalities and Mass Communications of Karachay-Cherkessia (KChR), in collaboration with the North Caucasian Institute and the Institute of Open Education of the North Caucasian State Academy (NCSA), has initiated an educational project aimed at the social adaptation and cultural integration of approximately 1,500 foreigners from Central Asia.
"Starting from November 2025, a series of seminars will be held for labor migrants as part of the project, addressing issues of social adaptation and cultural integration into modern Russian society. The program’s goal is to provide practical assistance to foreign citizens from Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) who have arrived in Karachay-Cherkessia, helping them understand the legal, cultural, and social norms of life in Russia. The training will take place at the Center for Education and Testing of Foreign Citizens of NCSA."
As clarified by the Academy, the course format includes lectures by experts in Russian legislation, talks by legal experts, screenings of video materials prepared by FAEA (Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs), and quarterly events. The project aims to reach approximately 1,500 people.
"The project is a response to current challenges of our time. We aim not only to educate migrants on legal foundations and behavioral norms in Russian society but also to facilitate their full integration through culture, language, and knowledge of traditions. This is an important contribution to stability and interethnic harmony in the region."
The implementation of the project is supported by the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs. 🤍

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