Moscow State Institute of International Relations at the Russian Foreign Ministry

Moscow State Institute of International Relations is an academic institution run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, which is widely considered the most elite university in Russia. It was dubbed the "Harvard of Russia" by Henry Kissinger, because it educates so many of Russia's political, economic, and intellectual elite. Currently, it has the lowest acceptance rate and the highest test scores of any university in the country.MGIMO is one of the leading Russian universities that offers numerous educational programs in 18 key fields of study, including: international relations, international economic relations, regional studies, international law, political science, public and business administration, journalism, public relations, commerce and transnational business. MGIMO is the only university in the world listed in the Guinness Book of Records – it is named the only educational establishment teaching 53 foreign languages full-time.The University structure comprises two campuses, eight main faculties and three institutes. Each year about 8,000 students from Russia and abroad study at MGIMO University.HistoryMGIMO was founded on 14 October 1944 by a special decree of the Soviet Government on the basis of the recently established School of International Relations of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. The first 200 students were veterans who had survived in the Second World War and were determined to build international peace and stability.By early 1950s, MGIMO comprised three schools, since its ancestor, the School of History and International Relations was added by the School of International Law and the School of International Economic Relations. In 1954 the Moscow Institute of Oriental Studies, one of the oldest Russian institutes and the successor of the Lazarev Institute of Oriental Languages created in 1815, was integrated into MGIMO.