Founding and Development of Buryat State University — the First Classical University in Buryatia

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of Buryat State University (BSU). The Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, B. N. Eltsin, "On the Establishment of a State University in the Republic of Buryatia" was issued on Sep-tember 30, 1994. The Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation, "On the Buryat State University," issued on November 2, 1995, states: "To reorganize the Buryat State Pedagogical Institute of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federa-tion and Ulan-Ude branch of Novosibirsk University of the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Higher Education and to establish at their premises Buryat State University of the State Committee of the Russian Federation for Higher Educa-tion". The article presents a historical overview of founding the classical university and studies the role of its first rector, initiator and supporter Stepan Vladimirovich Kal-mykov. It is aimed to reveal the history and significance of founding the classical university in eastern Russia, as well as its crucial role in development of regional higher education system.