Main building of Moscow State University

The main building of Moscow State University is a skyscraper of 36 floors in its central part, about 239 metres (784 feet) tall, in Moscow, Russia. Architect Lev Rudnev designed it, and it is the tallest of the "Seven Sisters", seven Stalin-era skyscrapers built in Moscow between 1947 and 1953. A 58-metre spire and a 12-ton star crown the roof.

It was the tallest building in Europe for 37 years, from 1953 to 1990, until the Messeturm in Germany passed it. It is still the tallest educational building in the world.

Building the tower

The famous architect Boris Iofan wanted to build it too, but he placed his draft on the very edge of the Sparrow Hills, where there was a risk of landslides. Rudnev got the job and set the building 800 metres back from the cliff. The main tower used more than 40,000 tons of steel and 130,000 cubic metres of concrete. It opened on 1 September 1953, and Rudnev received the Stalin Prize in 1949 for his design.

What it looks like

The central tower is flanked by lower side towers and two dormitory wings with 18 and 9 floors, which with the main block enclose a grand courtyard. Statues decorate it, including a pair of students by Vera Mukhina and a statue of the university founder Mikhail Lomonosov. The whole campus covers about 1.6 square kilometres. The skyline inspired the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw and the logo of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

On the globe

The model shows the stepped central tower with a spire and star, plus its wings and side towers. Look for the star on top.