100 Notable alumni of Moscow State University

Ella Yuryevna Kagan, known as Elsa Triolet, was a Russian-French writer and translator known for being the first woman to be awarded the Prix Goncourt.

Timur Vadimovich Ivanov is a Russian politician who served as Deputy Defence Minister of Russia from 2016 to 2024. He previously served as the Deputy Governor of the Moscow Oblast from 2012 to 2016. He has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation. In April 2024, Ivanov was arrested by Russian...

Gleb Gennadievich Golubin, otherwise known as Pharaoh, is a Russian rapper. He is associated with the subgenre of cloud rap and has been labeled one of its principal innovators in Russia.

Dmitry Nikolayevich Kuznetsov, better known by his stage name Husky (Russian: Хаски), is a Russian rapper from Ulan-Ude. His music is known for its use of somber and evocative lyricism, complex rhyming schemes, and musical techniques like assonance and alliteration. His provocative songs are known for being poetically contradictory to his gopnik image.

Tutta Larsen, born Tatyana Anatolyevna Romanenko (Russian: Татьяна Анатoльeвна Poманeнкo) is a VJ and TV presenter.

Petr Olegovich Aven is a Russian oligarch, economist and politician who also holds Latvian citizenship. Until March 2022 he headed Alfa-Bank, Russia's largest commercial bank. In March 2022, he resigned from the board of directors at Alfa-Bank and LetterOne Group amidst threat of sanctions. In 2023 he was named the 659th richest person in the world, with a net worth...

Yana Alekseyevna Churikova is a Russian journalist and television host who worked on MTV Russia before moving to Channel One, where she hosted seven seasons of the Star Factory talent show.

Alla Sergeyevna Demidova is a Russian actress internationally acclaimed for the tragic parts in innovative plays staged by Yuri Lyubimov in the Taganka Theatre. She was awarded the USSR State Prize (1977) and the Order of Merit for the Fatherland (twice, 2007, 2001).

Mariya Aleksandrovna Kiselyova is a female synchronised swimmer from Russia. She competes in synchronised swimming and has won three Olympic golds and three golds in the world championships. In Russia, she is currently known as a TV show presenter and a politician for the ruling United Russia party. She is currently a member of the Moscow City Duma.

Alexander Aleksandrovich Bogdanov, born Alexander Malinovsky, was a Russian and later Soviet physician, philosopher, science fiction writer, and Bolshevik revolutionary. He was a polymath who pioneered blood transfusion, as well as general systems theory, and made important contributions to cybernetics.

Mudio Mukutu Pierre Narcisse De Napoli De Suza, better known as Pierre Narcisse, was a Cameroonian-born Russian singer.

Valery Dmitriyevich Solovei is a Russian historian, political scientist and conspiracy theorist, who served as the professor and head of the Public Relations Department at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). He resigned from the MGIMO on June 19, 2019.

Igor Ivanovich Shuvalov is the chair of the Russia's largest state development corporation VEB.RF (since May 24, 2018) and a former government official. He led VEB.RF through a modernization that significantly increased its role in the national economy and wellbeing.

Maria Konstantinovna Pevchikh is a Russian investigative journalist and anti-corruption activist who has served as the chairwoman of the board of directors of the Anti-Corruption Foundation since March 2023. Pevchikh is known for exposing high-level corruption in Russia.

Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov was a Russian poet, prose writer, dramatist, translator, critic and historian. He was one of the principal members of the Russian Symbolist movement.

Andrey Andreyevich Piontkovsky is a Russian-Georgian scientist and political writer and analyst, a member of International PEN Club. He is a former member of the Russian Opposition Coordination Council.

Katerina Vladimirovna Gordeeva is a Russian journalist, documentary writer and author. She is most known for the work involved with Russia's NTV Documentary films from 2003 until 2012. Since 2005, she has directed and released several documentaries. Gordeeva's documentaries cover a list of different topics including health, family and social issues. Her first documentary Ruble's Wives was released in 2005.

Alexey Pivovarov is a Russian journalist, media manager and documentary filmmaker. His YouTube channel Redaktsiya (eng: The Editorial Office) has amassed 4.4 million subscribers. In 2022, the Russian Ministry of Justice placed Pivovarov on the foreign agents list for his condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and longstanding critical attitude toward the Russian authorities.

Valdis Eyzhenovich Pelsh (Russian; Валдис Евгеньевич Пельш; born 5 June 1967) is a Soviet and Russian television presenter, television director, television producer and musician, winner of two TEFI awards (in 1997 and 2005). Valdis Pelšs currently works as a screen actor and manages child programs subdivision on Channel One. He hosted several popular game shows, such as Ugadai Melodiu, Russian...

Konstantin Valeryevich Malofeev is a Russian media mogul and the chairman of the non-governmental and pro-monarchist organisation called the Society for the Development of Russian Historical Education "Double-Headed Eagle". He is the chairman of the media group Tsargrad, dedicated to Russian Orthodox Christianity and supporting Russian president Vladimir Putin. He is a co-founder of the international investment fund Marshall Capital...

Yulian Semyonovich Semyonov, pen-name of Yulian Semyonovich Lyandres (Russian: Ля́ндрес) (October 8, 1931 – September 15, 1993), was a Soviet and Russian writer of spy fiction and detective fiction, also scriptwriter and poet. He is well known for creating the fictional spy Stierlitz.

Dariğa Nūrsūltanqyzy Nazarbaeva is a Kazakh businesswoman and politician who is the daughter of Nursultan Nazarbayev who was the President of Kazakhstan from 1990 to 2019. She was a member of the Mäjilis from 2004 to 2007, 2012 to 2015 and 2021 to 2022. She was Deputy Chairwoman of Mäjilis from 2014 to 2015 until being appointed as a Deputy...

Agrippina Arkadyevna Dontsova, primarily known as Darya Dontsova (Russian: Дарья Донцова) (before marriage known as Vasilyeva) is a Russian writer of detective novels, scriptwriter, TV presenter and member of the Union of Writers of Russia. Winner of a number of literary awards. Over the years, according to official data of the Russian Book Chamber, Dontsova takes the first place in...

Alexander Yevseyevich Khinshtein is a Russian politician and former journalist who has served as governor of Kursk Oblast since September 2025.

Denis Valentinovich Manturov is a Russian politician who has served as First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia since May 2024. He previously served as Deputy Prime Minister from July 2022 until May 2024 and Minister of Trade and Industry of the Russian Federation from 2012 to May 2024. He was appointed as First Deputy Prime Minister after Andrey Belousov was...

Konstantin Dmitriyevich Balmont was a Russian symbolist poet and translator who became one of the major figures of the Silver Age of Russian Poetry.

Nur Muhammad Taraki was an Afghan communist politician, revolutionary, journalist and writer. He was a founding member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) who served as its General Secretary from 1965 to 1979 and Chairman of the Revolutionary Council from 1978 to 1979.

Ruslan Imranovich Khasbulatov was a Russian economist and politician and the former chairman of Parliament of Russia of Chechen descent who played a central role in the events leading to the 1993 constitutional crisis in the Russian Federation.

Sergey Vasilevich Sosedov is a Russian journalist and music critic who served as a judge on televised music contests.

Mykola Yanovych Azarov is a Ukrainian politician who was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 11 March 2010 to 27 January 2014. He was the First Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister from 2002 to 2005 and again from 2006 to 2007. Azarov also served ex officio as an acting prime minister in the First Yanukovych Government when Viktor Yanukovych...

Yevgeny Alexeyevich Kiselyov is a Russian television journalist. As the host of the NTV weekly news show Itogi in the 1990s, he became one of the nation's best known television journalists, criticizing government corruption and President Boris Yeltsin. In 2001, he left NTV following its takeover by the state-controlled company Gazprom, serving briefly as general manager of TV-6 before the...

Tatyana Borisovna Yumasheva is the younger daughter of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin and Naina Yeltsina. Since a rush decision in November 2009 supported by auto magnate Frank Stronach, Yumasheva and her children have been citizens of Austria.

Pyotr Olegovich Tolstoy is a Russian journalist, producer, presenter, and politician. He has been the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma since 5 October 2016.

Lyudmila Evgenyevna Ulitskaya is an internationally acclaimed modern Russian novelist and short-story writer who, in 2014, was awarded the prestigious Austrian State Prize for European Literature for her oeuvre. In 2006 she published Daniel Stein, Interpreter (Даниэль Штайн, переводчик), a novel dealing with the Holocaust and the need for reconciliation between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. She won the 2012 Park...

Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer, who is considered to be a father of Expressionism in Russian literature. He is regarded as one of the most talented and prolific representatives of the Silver Age literary period. Andreyev's style combines the elements of realist, naturalist, and symbolist schools in literature. Of his 25 plays, his 1915...

Nadezhda Andreyevna "Nadya" Tolokonnikova is a Russian musician, conceptual artist, and political activist. She is a founding member of the feminist group Pussy Riot, and has a history of political activism with the street art group Voina.

Prince Georgy Yevgenyevich Lvov was a Russian aristocrat, statesman and the first prime minister of the Russian Republic from 15 March to 20 July 1917. As Russia's de facto head of state, he led the Provisional Government after the February Revolution led to the suspension of the Russian monarchy.

Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold was a Russian and Soviet theatre director, actor and theatrical producer. His provocative experiments dealing with physical being and symbolism in an unconventional theatre setting made him one of the seminal forces in modern international theatre. During the Great Purge, Meyerhold was arrested in June 1939. He was tortured, his wife was murdered, and he was executed...

Alexander Ivanovich Herzen was a Russian writer and thinker known as the precursor of Russian socialism and one of the main precursors of agrarian populism (being an ideological ancestor of the Narodniki, Socialist-Revolutionaries, Trudoviks and the agrarian American Populist Party). With his writings, many composed while exiled in London, he attempted to influence the situation in Russia, contributing to a...

Vladislav Yurievich Doronin is a Russian-born businessman, real estate developer and art collector. He is the owner and chairman of Aman Resorts, chairman and CEO of OKO Group and is a co-founder of Moscow-based Capital Group.

Vasily Semyonovich Grossman was a Soviet writer and journalist. Born to a Jewish family in Ukraine, then part of the Russian Empire, Grossman trained as a chemical engineer at Moscow State University, earning the nickname Vasya-khimik ("Vasya the Chemist") because of his diligence as a student. Upon graduation, he took a job in Stalino (now Donetsk) in the Donets Basin....

Alexey Valentinovich Ulyukaev is a Russian politician, scientist, and economist. He has the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.

Alexander Ivanovich Oparin was a Soviet biochemist notable for his theories about the origin of life and for his book The Origin of Life.

Kim Kyong-hui is the aunt of current North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un. She is the daughter of the founding North Korean leader Kim Il Sung and the sister of the late leader Kim Jong Il. She currently serves as Secretary for Organization of the Workers' Party of Korea. An important member of Kim Jong Il's inner circle of trusted...

Matvey Aleksandrovich Melnikov, better known by his stage name Mot (Russian: Мот), is a Russian musician and pop-singer. From 1 March 2013 until 22 January 2022, he was an artist with the label Black Star.

Vladislav Nikolayevich Listyev was a Soviet, later Russian journalist and head of the ORT TV Channel (now government-owned Channel One).

Ivan Alexandrovich Ilyin was a Russian jurist, religious and political philosopher, publicist, orator, and a far-right thinker.

Irina Vitalevna Baeva is a Russian actress and model best known for her roles in Mexican telenovelas.

Konstantin Georgiyevich Paustovsky was a Soviet writer nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1968.

Vyacheslav Grigoryevich Dobrynin was a popular Russian composer and singer also known as Doctor Shlyager. He was awarded the People's Artist of Russia in 1996.

Yuri Borisovich Milner (Hebrew: יורי מילנר, Russian: Юрий Борисович (Бенционович) Мильнер; born 11 November 1961) is a Soviet-born, Israeli entrepreneur, investor, physicist and scientist. He is a co-founder and former chairperson of internet company Mail.Ru Group (later VK), and a founder of investment firm DST Global.

Varlam Tikhonovich Shalamov, baptized as Varlaam, was a Russian writer, journalist, poet, and Gulag survivor. He spent much of the period from 1937 to 1951 imprisoned in forced-labor camps in the Arctic region of Kolyma, due in part to his support of Leon Trotsky and praise of writer Ivan Bunin. In 1946, near death, he became a medical assistant while...

Diana Gudaevna Gurtskaya is a Georgian singer based in Russia.

Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 original plays, Ostrovsky "almost single-handedly created a Russian national repertoire." His dramas are among the most widely read and frequently performed stage pieces in Russia.

Dmitry Olegovich Rogozin is a Russian nationalist politician serving as the senator from the Russian-occupied Zaporozhye Oblast since 23 September 2023. He previously served as General Director of Roscosmos from 2018 to July 2022, as deputy prime minister in charge of the defense industry from 2011 to 2018, and as Russia's ambassador to NATO from 2008 to 2011.

Yegor Timurovich Gaidar was a Soviet and Russian economist, politician, and author who was the acting Prime Minister of Russia in 1992 and simultaneously held several other cabinet roles. Gaidar was also in the State Duma from 1993 to 1996 and from 1999 to 2003 as a member of Democratic Choice of Russia and the Union of Right Forces.

Konstantin Yuryevich Bogomolov is a Russian theater director, poet, and actor. He has served as the art director of the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya. He is the son of the film critic Yuri Bogomolov. He has been honoured with a Golden Mask Award.

Yevgeny Maksimovich Primakov was a Russian politician and diplomat who served as Prime Minister of Russia from 1998 to 1999. During his long career, he also served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 1998, the Director of Foreign Intelligence from 1991 to 1996, and Speaker of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union from 1990 to 1991. Primakov...

Nikolay Nikolaevich Drozdov is a Russian doctor of biological sciences, candidate of geographical sciences, zoological sciences, professor of Moscow State University, a public figure, member of the expert council of the national award "Crystal Compass", a member of the media council of the Russian Geographical Society.

Dmitry Lvovich Bykov is a Russian writer, poet, literary critic and journalist. He is also known as biographer of Boris Pasternak, Bulat Okudzhava and Maxim Gorky.

Evgeniy Nikolayevich Ponasenkov is a Russian publicist and media personality. He has written about the Napoleonic era in Russia and is the author of two historical monographs. His second monograph "The First Scientific History of the War of 1812" (Russian: «Первая научная история войны 1812 года», 2017, 900 p.) became a bestseller. Ponasenkov himself has no historical education, and his...

Lev Borisovich Kamenev was a Russian revolutionary and Soviet politician. A prominent Old Bolshevik, Kamenev was a leading figure in the early Soviet government and served as a deputy premier of the Soviet Union from 1923 to 1926.

Zemfira Talgatovna Ramazanova is a Russian rock musician. She has been performing since 1998 and has been popular in Russia and other former Soviet republics. To date Zemfira has sold over 3 million records.

Ekaterina Mikhailovna Mizulina is a Russian public figure, executive director of the National Center for Children's Assistance (2017–2020), member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, head of the Safe Internet League. She is the daughter of former Senator Yelena Mizulina.

Artemy Andreyevich Lebedev is a Russian designer, entrepreneur and Internet personality. He is the founder of the design company Art. Lebedev Studio. He is also an avid blogger, known for provocative views and frequent use of obscene language. Lebedev is a member of the Tolstoy family.

Andrey Removich Belousov is a Russian politician and economist, serving as the minister of defence since May 2024. From January 2020 to May 2024, he served as First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. Previously, he was an aide to the president of Russia and minister of economic development.

Grigori Chkhartishvili, better known by his pen name Boris Akunin (Russian: Борис Акунин, born 20 May 1956), is a Georgian and Russian writer residing in the United Kingdom. He is best known as a writer of historical fiction, specifically his Erast Fandorin detective novels. He is also an essayist and literary translator. Grigory Chkhartishvili has also written under pen names...

Vasily Semyonovich Lanovoy was a Soviet and Russian actor who worked in the Vakhtangov Theatre, Moscow. He was also known as the President of Artek Festival of Films for Children. Lanovoy's honours include the KGB Prize, the Lenin Prize, and the title of People's Artist of the USSR. In 2019, he received the title of Hero of Labour of the...

Mehmed Nâzım Ran, commonly known as Nâzım Hikmet ( Turkish: [naːˈzɯm hicˈmet] ), was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, director, and memoirist. He was acclaimed for the "lyrical flow of his statements". Described as a "romantic communist" and a "romantic revolutionary", he was repeatedly arrested for his political beliefs and spent much of his adult life in prison or...

Elvira Sakhipzadovna Nabiullina is a Russian economist and current governor of the Central Bank of Russia. She was President Vladimir Putin's economic adviser from May 2012 to June 2013 after serving as the minister of economic development from September 2007 to May 2012. As of 2019, she was listed as the 53rd most powerful woman in the world by Forbes....

Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet physicist and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, which he was awarded in 1975 for emphasizing human rights around the world.

Dmitry Sergeyevich Peskov is a Russian diplomat serving as the spokesman for Russian president Vladimir Putin since 2012.

Elena Sergeyevna Katina, better known as Lena Katina, is a Russian singer who gained fame as one half of the pop/electronica duo t.A.T.u. She started her career at the age of eight, joining the Russian children's act Avenue, soon after that joining Neposedy. In 1999, producer Ivan Shapovalov chose Katina and Julia Volkova for his project t.A.T.u. The duo would...

Vladimir Vladimirovich Pozner, sometimes Vladimir Pozner, Jr. (born 1 April 1934), is a French-born Russian-American journalist and presenter. In the West he represented and explained the views of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. He was a spokesman for the Soviets, in part because he grew up in the United States and speaks fluent English, Russian, and French. Pozner...

Anna Stepanovna Politkovskaya was a Russian investigative journalist who reported on political and social events in Russia, in particular, the Second Chechen War (1999–2005). She was found murdered in the elevator of her apartment block in Moscow on 7 October 2006, Vladimir Putin's birthday.

Yury Aleksandrovich Dud is a German-born Russian journalist known primarily for his informational online videos he distributes as a YouTuber. He has been deputy director-general of the sports website Sports.ru since 2018, having previously served as the editor-in-chief from 2011 to 2018.

Svetlana Iosifovna Alliluyeva, later known as Lana Peters, was the youngest child and only daughter of the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and his second wife, Nadezhda Alliluyeva. In 1967 she became an international sensation when she defected to the United States and, in 1978, became a naturalized American citizen. From 1984 to 1986 she briefly returned to the Soviet Union...

Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky was a Russian and Soviet psychologist, best known for his work on psychological development in children and creating the framework known as cultural-historical activity theory. After his early death, his books and research were banned in the Soviet Union until Joseph Stalin's death in 1953, with a first collection of major texts published in 1956. A Review...

Vladimir Volfovich Zhirinovsky was a Russian right-wing populist politician who served as the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) from its creation in 1992 until his death in 2022.

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian playwright and short story writer, widely considered one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. Along with Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg, Chekhov is often referred to as one of the three...

Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko is a Russian-Emirati billionaire entrepreneur. He is the founder and ex-beneficiary of fertilizer producer EuroChem Group and coal producer SUEK, and was a non-executive director in both companies until 9 March 2022.

Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska is a Russian oligarch and billionaire. Deripaska began his career as a metals trader after the breakup of the Soviet Union. He used accumulated funds from trading to acquire stakes in the Sayanogorsk aluminium smelter from a consortium of businessmen who privatized it in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Sayanogorsk aluminium smelter...

Raisa Maximovna Gorbacheva was a Soviet and Russian activist and philanthropist who was the wife of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

Andrey Nikolayevich Malakhov is a Russian television personality and presenter on the main Russian television channel, Russia-1.

Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov was a Soviet mathematician who played a central role in the creation of modern probability theory. He also gave fundamental contributions to the mathematics of topology, intuitionistic logic, turbulence, classical mechanics, functional analysis, algorithmic information theory and computational complexity.

Arkady Vladimirovich Dvorkovich is a Russian politician and economist, currently serving as the president of the International Chess Federation, FIDE. He was Deputy Prime Minister in Dmitry Medvedev's Cabinet from 21 May 2012 until 7 May 2018. He was previously an Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation from May 2008 to May 2012. He has the federal state...

Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a Soviet Armenian composer and conductor. He is considered one of the leading Soviet composers.

Evgenia Armanovna Medvedeva, is a retired competitive Russian figure skater. She is the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic silver medalist (2018 women's singles, 2018 team event), a two-time world champion (2016, 2017), a two-time European champion (2016, 2017), a two-time Grand Prix Final champion (2015, 2016), a two-time Russian national champion (2016, 2017), silver medalist at the 2018 European Figure Skating Championships...

Olga Aleksandrovna Ladyzhenskaya was a Russian mathematician who worked on partial differential equations, fluid dynamics, and the finite-difference method for the Navier–Stokes equations. She received the Lomonosov Gold Medal in 2002. She authored more than two hundred scientific publications, including six monographs.

Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova, also referred to as Maria Faassen, is a Russian pediatric endocrinologist. She is the elder child of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova is a Russian scientist, manager, and former acrobatic dancer. She is the second daughter of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev was a Soviet and Russian politician who was the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 until the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Communist Party from 1985, and additionally as head of state from 1988. Ideologically, he initially adhered to Marxism–Leninism, but moved towards social democracy by the early 1990s.

Fidel Ángel Castro Díaz-Balart was a Cuban nuclear physicist and government official. Frequently known by the diminutive Fidelito ('Little Fidel'), he was the eldest son of Cuban leader Fidel Castro and his first wife, Mirta Díaz-Balart.

Boris Abramovich Berezovsky, also known as Platon Elenin, was a Russian business oligarch, government official, engineer and mathematician and a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He had the federal state civilian service rank of 1st class Active State Councillor of the Russian Federation.

Andrey Vyacheslavovich Kuraev is a Russian theologian, philosopher, publicist, blogger, and missionary. Since 3 April 2024, he has been a Protodeacon of the Church of Constantinople (since July 2024, a clergyman of the Exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Lithuania ).

Ion Iliescu was a Romanian politician and engineer who served as the first and the third President of Romania since the country's transition to democracy. He occupied the office from 1990 until 1996 and again from 2000 until 2004. Iliescu was also a senator for the Social Democratic Party (PSD), which he founded and where he became the honorary president...

Imre Lakatos was a Hungarian philosopher of mathematics and science, known for his thesis of the fallibility of mathematics and its "methodology of proofs and refutations" in its pre-axiomatic stages of development, and also for introducing the concept of the "research programme" in his methodology of scientific research programmes.

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was a Russian and Soviet poet, novelist, and literary translator.

Nikolay Ivanovich Pirogov was a Russian scientist, medical doctor, pedagogue, public figure, and corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1847), one of the most widely recognized Russian physicians. Considered to be the founder of field surgery, he was the first surgeon to use anaesthesia in a field operation (1847) and one of the first surgeons in Europe to...