Published on: 2026-09-01
Source: Official website of the State –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Today, GUU is once again filled with voices, meetings, familiar faces, and that special feeling of a beginning that happens only in the first days of September.
Dear students and faculty, congratulations on the start of the new academic year, and to prospective students — on another step towards the university.
Let this year be full of interesting things, and not just in your notes. You will definitely meet people from whom there is much to learn, come across ideas you will want to bring to life, make acquaintances that will grow into friendships, and find opportunities worth stepping beyond the usual for.
And now a bit of history. Because September 1st was a day of new beginnings long before it became Knowledge Day.
Once, September 1 was celebrated as… New Year’s Day
In 1492, in Russia, the beginning of the year was moved to September 1. This day was called the New Year. So five centuries ago, September 1 was welcomed with roughly the same feeling of a new beginning that we experience today when starting the school year.
Everything changed under Peter I. From 1700, Russia switched to celebrating the New Year on January 1 — and September 1 gradually lost its calendar significance.
And the studies could have started as early as December
The familiar “first day of school” that everyone knows simply did not exist for a long time. In the Russian Empire, schools and gymnasiums started classes at different times — in August, September, October, and even December.
The reason was quite practical. In rural areas, children often helped their families with fieldwork, so the start of classes also depended on the end of the agricultural season. For example, at the beginning of the 19th century, classes in district schools and gymnasiums began on August 1. Holidays in this case could last only one month — July.
When did the familiar September 1st appear?
After the revolution, a single date was not established immediately either. It was only in 1935 that September 1 was fixed as the common day for the start of classes in schools across the USSR.
But it was not yet called the Day of Knowledge then.
The holiday is younger than it seems
The official status of the holiday on September 1 was granted only in 1984. It was then that the familiar name appeared in the calendar — Knowledge Day.
And there is still no single start date for the school year worldwide. In Japan, the academic year begins in April, when the cherry blossoms bloom. In Australia, it starts in January or February. In Germany, the date depends on the federal state.
Eras, calendars, and traditions change, but the idea of a new beginning remains.
Dear students, you still have many lectures and exams ahead, sleepless nights, deadlines, huge cups of coffee, great victories, new friends, and decisions that one day might change your entire life.
But only today can one pause for a moment and feel that everything is just beginning.
For some, this is the first day within the walls of GUU. For others, it is a long-awaited meeting with classmates. And for yet others, it is the last September 1st as a student.
Remember this day. Let this new chapter be one that you want to read over and over again.
Happy Knowledge Day, GUU!
Subscribe to the Telegram channel “Our GUU” Publication date: 1.09.2026
Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.