[5] The Main Building of Moscow State University is not open to the general public.

The leading architect Boris Iofan bid for the skyscraper project in 1947 but the job was assigned to Lev Rudnev, because Iofan made a mistake placing his draft skyscraper right on the edge of Sparrow Hills, a site concerned with a potential landslide hazard.

Rudnev had already built important edifices like the M. V. Frunze Military Academy (1932–1937) and the Marshals' Apartments (Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya, 28, 1947), earning the esteem of the Communist Party.

[4] The main tower, which consumed over 40,000 tons of steel for its framework and 130,000 cubic metres of concrete, was inaugurated on September 1, 1953.

The University skyline inspired various buildings in the socialist countries, like the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, and also the logo of 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.