Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg. It is the oldest and one of the largest universities in Russia.
It is made up of 24 specialized faculties and institutes, the Faculty of Military Studies, the Academic Gymnasium, the Medical College, the College of Physical culture and Sports, Economics and Technology and the Department of Physical Culture and Sports. The university has two primary campuses: one on Vasilievsky Island and the other in Peterhof. During the Soviet period, it was known as Leningrad State University (Russian:Ленинградский государственный университет). It was named after Andrei Zhdanov in 1948.