Published on: 2026-06-22
Source: Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University Peter the Great –
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At the 1Holomki7 estate, a memorial plaque was solemnly unveiled in memory of the Russian scientist and inventor, the first director of the Polytechnic Institute, Prince Andrei Grigoryevich Gagarin. The event was dedicated to the 170th anniversary of Prince Gagarin (1855 61921) and the 230th anniversary of the Ascension of the Lord Church in the village of Belskoye Ustye, near the walls of which he is buried. The memorial plaque was consecrated by Metropolitan Matfey of Pskov and Porkhov.
Andrey Grigoryevich Gagarin — descendant of a noble family that descended from Rurik, the baptizer of Rus, the great prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich, Vladimir Monomakh. Andrey Gagarin was born on December 22, 1855 (January 4, 1856, new style). In 1884 he graduated from the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy with first-class honors and defended a dissertation on the topic of the most advantageous cutting of gun barrels. He is the author of several engineering inventions. For example, the instrument named after him, the “Gagarin circular ruler,” was awarded a gold medal at the Paris World Exhibition in 1900.
On January 7, 1900, by order of Emperor Nicholas II, Andrey Grigoryevich was appointed director of the newly founded Saint Petersburg Polytechnic Institute. His candidacy was proposed by the Minister of Finance of the Russian Empire, Sergey Yulyevich Witte. Andrey Grigoryevich headed the commission for the construction of the institute.
In Polite, the first director of the institute, an outstanding scientist and a person of high moral qualities Andrey Grigoryevich Gagarin, is always remembered with deep respect and sincere love.
The memorial plaque is made of marble and installed with the approval of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage of the Pskov Region. The inscription on it reads: “Here from 1912 to 1920 lived and worked an outstanding Russian scientist and inventor, the first director of the Saint Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, Prince Andrey Grigorievich Gagarin.” During this period, Gagarin planned and built the estate, permanently lived there with his family, and conducted scientific research until his illness and hospitalization in the Pskov hospital in December 1920.
Such a memorial plaque is planned to be placed on the facade of building No. 1 on Furshtatskaya Street in Saint Petersburg, where Prince Gagarin lived and worked during the construction of Politekh and in the first years of leading the institute, ” noted the rector of SPbPU Andrey Rudskoy.
At the event, there was also a ceremony awarding philanthropists and participants of the program in memory of Prince Andrey Grigoryevich Gagarin. For their contribution to the preservation of the historical heritage of Saint Petersburg State Polytechnic University of Peter the Great and assistance in perpetuating the memory of Prince Andrey Grigoryevich Gagarin, commemorative medals and university letters of gratitude were presented:
- His Eminence, the Most Reverend Matfey, Metropolitan of Pskov and Porkhov;
- The government of the Pskov region (the award was received by the Deputy Minister of Cultural Heritage of the Pskov region Elena Kovalchuk);
- The trade union organization of employees of the Saint Petersburg Polytechnic University of Peter the Great (the award was received by the deputy chairman of the Trade Union Committee of the trade union organization, Viktor Vikolainen).
In the continuation of the event program, the guest traveled to the village of Belskoe Ustye to participate in the panel dedicated to the outstanding Russian scientist and inventor, the first director of the Polytechnic, Prince Andrey Grigorievich Gagarin. There, a wreath and flower laying ceremony also took place.
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