Professors and students of Moscow University at the beginning of the First World War

The study deals with Moscow University students and professors’ attitude towards the beginning of the First World War in 1914. It describes the motivation, the reasons for their choice and actions in the first months of the war. The relations between Russian higher school and German universities are examined, and the level of support for the world war in Russia and Germany are compared. It is concluded that support of the Russian Empire’s government in this period was a result of both national and internal factors that allowed the university representatives to perceive the war not only as a matter of the state but also as a personal one, despite the negative attitude towards the existing political regime in the country.