Tomsk Polytechnic University

TPU was founded by the Ministry of National Education of the Russian Empire in 1896 as Tomsk Technological Institute of Emperor Nicholas II with the two departments: Mechanical and Chemical Engineering. Having discussed for a long time, the State Council of Russia made a decision on the establishment of an institute as a polytechnic academic institution consisting of the four departments: Mechanical, Chemical Engineering, Mining and Construction Engineering. The University main building was constructed in 1897-1907 based on a project by Robert Marfeld, an academician of architecture.

The position of the first rector was offered to Dmitri Mendeleev. However, he had to refuse the job offer due to his health condition. Despite his refusal of the job offer, he took active participation in Institute development. He was a member of the Construction Committee to erect Institute premises, assisted in the equipment of Institute laboratories and rooms with the most up-to-date devices and tools, as well as recruited professional academic staff. In January 1899, in accordance with the Supreme Decree of the Department of Civil and Ecclesiastical Administration, a student of Dmitri Mendeleev, Professor Efim Zubashev was appointed the first Rector and Chairman of the Construction Committee to erect premises of Tomsk Technological Institute.

The first classes started on October 9, 1900. Professor Vladimir Nekrasov gave the first lecture on analytic geometry. Among the first professors of the Institute, there were notable scientists: Professor Nikolai Kischner, who discovered the Wolff–Kishner reduction; Professor Theodor Molien, who gave a foundation to higher mathematical education and mathematical research in Siberia; Evgeny Biron, who discovered the phenomena of secondary periodicity; Professor Boris Weinberg, who was an outstanding scientist in physics and glaciologist; Professor Vladimir Obruchev, who was an organizer of the Mining Department and a founder of mining and geological school in Siberia. In the autumn term of 1904/05, Adam Yensh, an outstanding Russian urban planner and a sanitary engineer, gave lectures on construction works and architecture to students of the Construction Engineering Department and on introduction to architecture to students of the Mechanical, Mining and Chemical Engineering Departments. In 1917, Tomsk Technological Institute of Emperor Nicholas II was renamed into Tomsk Technological Institute.

In 1925, the institute was renamed into Dzerzhinsky Siberian Technological Institute.

In 1930, Dzerzhinsky Siberian Technological Institute was divided into the following institutes:

• Siberian Geological Prospecting Institute (Tomsk);
• West Siberian Mechanical Engineering Institute (Tomsk);
• Siberian Chemical Engineering Institute (Tomsk);
• West Siberian Mining Institute (Tomsk);
• West Siberian Institute of Agricultural Engineering (Novosibirsk);
• Siberian Institute of Rail Transport Engineers (later Tomsk Electromechanical Institute of Transport Engineers), which was moved to Omsk in 1962 and currently is Omsk State Transport University;
• Siberian Construction Institute (moved to Novosibirsk);
• Siberian State Institute of Ferrous Metals (moved to Novokuznetsk);
• Flour Milling and Elevating Institute (Tomsk);
• Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals (Irkutsk).

In 1934, Siberian Geological Prospecting Institute (Tomsk), West Siberian Mechanical Engineering Institute (Tomsk) and Siberian Chemical Engineering Institute (Tomsk) were united into Tomsk Industrial Institute.

the Sibirskaya Zhizn newspaper about opening of Tomsk Technological Institute of Emperor Nicholas II, 1900

On March 5, 1935, in accordance with the All-Union Central Executive Committee of the USSR, the Institute was named after Sergey Kirov.

In 1940, the Institute was conferred the Order of the Red Banner of Labour.

In 1941-1945 during the period of battles at the Eastern Front of World War II, all research work of the Institute was focused on the development of the arms industry, the assistance to the arms production, including to evacuated industrial enterprises in Tomsk. All research work of universities was coordinated by the Scientists’ Committee formed on June 27, 1941, due to the initiative of a number of professors of Tomsk universities. The Committee contained leading Tomsk scientists, including professors of Kirov Tomsk Industrial Institute (Innokenty Butakov, Innokenty Gebler, Mikhail Korovin). One of the Vice-Chairmen of the Committee was Konstantin Shmargunov, the Rector of the Institute. TPU alumni headed a lot of USSR plants producing tanks and weapons. Timofey Gorbachev, a 1928 alumnus of Dzerzhinsky Siberian Technological Institute, headed the department of the Kuzbassugol Building Complex. Nikolay Kamov, a 1923 alumnus of the Mechanical Faculty of Tomsk Technological Institute, became chief engineer at the Design Bureau producing helicopters. Vladimir Kozhevin, a 1934 alumnus of the Mining Department of Siberian Institute of Mechanical Engineering, from 1941 held a position of a head of the Engineering Office and a deputy chief engineer at the OsinnikiUgol Trust of the Kuzbassugol Building Complex, where coal of the most valuable types required for the metallurgical and defense industries of Russia was produced. In 1942, he was appointed chief engineer and head of mine No. 10 of the OsinnikiUgol Trust. From the moment of Kozhevin’s appointment, the mine became a leading one in Kemerovo Oblast. From 1943 till the end of the battles at the Eastern Front of World War II, the mine maintained the ideals of the USSR State Defense Committee. Valery Kuznetsov, a 1932 alumnus of the Geological Prospecting Faculty of Siberian Institute of Mechanical Engineering, during the years of battles at the Eastern Front of World War II was in charge of drawing geologic maps at the West-Siberian Geology Administration. These maps were required for the exploration of minerals, a necessity in which sharply rose during that period. Grigory Nosov, a 1930 alumnus of Siberian Institute of Mechanical Engineering, took the lead of Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, one of the largest USSR metallurgical enterprises. Over 700 people, including students, academic staff, employees and volunteers went to war. They took part in many battles and only few of them were able to reach Berlin leaving their signatures on the walls of the Reichstag building.

In 1944, the Institute was renamed into Kirov Tomsk Polytechnic Institute.

In 1952, the Institute broadcast the first TV program, which was a movie magazine accompanied by sound. Tomsk became the fourth city in the USSR where television appeared.

In 1957, the Scientific Research Institute of Applied Physics was set up at Kirov Tomsk Polytechnic Institute.

In 1959, the Department of Evening Studies (current Seversk State Technological Academy of National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute)) of the TPU Faculty of Physics and Engineering was opened.

In 1962, Tomsk Institute of Radioelectronics and Electronic Technology was set up based on the TPU Radio Engineering Faculty.

In 1965, a physical start-up of the Sirius Synchrotron with 1.5 eV energy was carried out.

In 1967, the ITR-1000 Nuclear Research Reactor of the Institute was launched.

In 1971, Tomsk Polytechnic Institute was conferred the Order of the October Revolution.

In 1981, the Cybernetics Scientific Training Center was formed at TPU.

On October 18, 1991, the Council of Ministers of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic adopted resolution No. 552 “On Reorganization of Tomsk Polytechnic Institute into Tomsk Polytechnic University”.

In 1997, TPU became the particularly valuable object of the Russian national heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation.

In July 2013, the University became one of the contest winners to be awarded the status of Leading Universities of Russia.

On the basis of various faculties, departments and majors of Tomsk Polytechnic University, over 20 free-standing universities in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Tomsk, Seversk, Krasnoyarsk, Kemerovo, Barnaul, Chita, Khabarovsk and other Russian cities were opened at different time.

Dmitry Andreevich Sednev, Rector of the university, was suspended by the European University Association (EUA) following support for the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Union of Rectors (RUR) in March 2022, for being "diametrically opposed to the European values that they committed to when joining EUA”.[1]