Peoples' Friendship University of Russia

The Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (Russian: Российский университет дружбы народов, РУДН) is an educational and research institution located in the South of Moscow. It was founded in 1960 as Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University. Its stated objective at the time was to help nations of the Third World, mainly in Asia, Africa and South America, at the height of the Cold War by providing higher education and professional training, but some students also attended from the developed countries.

History

Peoples’ Friendship University was established by the government of the Soviet Union on February 5, 1960. On February 22, 1961 it was named after Patrice Lumumba, who was a prominent political and public figure of what later became the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Soviet government decided to establish Peoples’ Friendship University in response to the requests of former colonial countries. In the first year, 539 foreign students from 59 countries were enlisted (plus 57 Soviet students).

In February 1975 the University was awarded the Peoples’ Friendship Order for the contribution in human development of Asian, African and Latin American countries.

On February 5, 1992 the university was renamed as “Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia – state institute of higher education” (PFUR). The founder of PFUR is the government of the Russian Federation.

The aim

The stated purpose of establishing this university was to give young people from Asia, Africa and Latin America, especially from poor families, an opportunity to be educated and to become highly qualified specialists.

The founders

The organisations that have been mentioned as founders of the university are:

*All-Union Central Soviet of Trade Unions
*Soviet Committee of Asian and African countries Solidarity,
*Soviet Associations Union of Friendship and Intercultural Relationship

Today

Today, more than 47,000 graduates work in 165 different countries around the world. The university has 57 programmes and about 23,000 students (including postgraduates and trainees) of 450 nationalities from 131 countries. About 3500 of them are of foreign origin and more than 1000 are from the autonomous regions of the Russian Federation.The University staff includes about 2000 employees; among them there are 332 professors and Doctors of Science, 807 associate professors and candidates of science, 61 academicians and Corresponding Members of academies of Russia, 50 Honoured workers of Science of the Russian Federation, 26 PFUR teachers and professors are full members of international academies and learned societies.

Organisation

*Faculty of the Russian Language and Basic Disciplines (Preparatory faculty for International students)
*Faculty of Science
*Faculty of Engineering
*Faculty of Medicine
*Faculty of Agriculture
*Faculty of Economics
*Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
*Faculty of Philology
*Faculty of Law
*Faculty of Ecology Institute of Hotel business and Tourism
*Institute of World economy and business
*Institute of Foreign languages
*Institute of Distant learning

Programmes

*Full-time programs (Undergraduate, Graduate and Postgraduate)
*Part-time (evening courses)
*Distant learning programs
*Dual degrees
*Short term courses

Degrees offered

*Bachelor Degree - (4 years of study)
*State Specialist Degree – (5 years of study)
*Medical Doctor Degree – (6 years of Study)
*Master's Degree - (2 years of study following B.Sc.)
*Ph.D – 3 years (after Masters or Specialist)
*D.Sc – 2-3 years (after Ph.D)

Racist violence

Black and Asian students have increasingly been subject to violent racist and anti-foreigner attacks, including a number of murders. On the night of 24 November 2003, a mysterious fire in a university student dormitory left over 40 foreign students dead. Russian media later cited a police source as saying all the doors leading to the fire escapes had been blocked [cite news |first= Sophie |last= Lambroschini |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Russia: For African Students, Affordable Education Still Comes At A Price |url= http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:AU30irPxQv0J:www.rferl.org/features/features_Article.aspx%3Fm%3D01%26y%3D2004%26id%3DFE445544-755E-42F7-B8D4-3CE52FF4BD4E+Lambroschini,+Sophie.+Russia:+For+African+Students,+Affordable+Education+Still+Comes+At+A+Price.+Radio+Free+Europe&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a |work= |publisher= Radio Free Europe |date= 2004-01-02 |accessdate=2008-08-25 "(URL is from Google cache as the original page didn't display due to "unexpexted error" on hte RFE website)"] . The fire services blame an electrical fault, however students blamed arsonists; the previous night, they said, two skinheads had been chased from the area following an attempted arson attackcite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title= Foreigners perish in Moscow blaze |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3232090.stm |work= BBC News |publisher= |date= 2003-11-24 |accessdate=2008-08-25 ] . There has been no police investigation. The home countries of the dead and injured are: China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Angola, Ivory Coast, Tahiti, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Dominican Republic, Lebanon, Peru, Malaysia, Mongolia, India, Nigeria, Tanzania and Sri Lanka. In addition, Palestinians were also listed.

On the 8th of march 2008, three Chinese students were brutally attacked by unidentified men just outside the student halls of residence in a poorly lit corner, and one of the students died on the spotfact|date=August 2008. It is suspected that the attack was committed by racist skinheads, but it has not yet been known.

Notable alumni

* Carlos the Jackal, he began to study but never ended, and was expelled for indecent behaviour
* Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen)
* Imadadin Halawa
* Aziz al-Abub
* David Kermite
* Mustafa Barghouti
* Sergey Dorenko
* Abed Elrahim Abu Zakrra
* Irina Hakamada
* Bharrat Jagdeo
* Lucy Seki
* Yuri Shvets
* Rohana Wijeweera
* Nuvin JOKHOO

References

ee also

* International Lenin School

External links

* [http://www.rudn.ru/ Official website]
* [http://www.forum-rudn.info/ Official Students Forum]