Smolny

A pre-1917 educational facility for young ladies gave rise after 1991 to a number of similarly named places of learning in the city because of the high prestige of the original one in popular culture.

[1] In the mid-18th century, Empress Elizabeth of Russia ordered the construction of a Russian Orthodox nunnery, Smolny Convent, where she supposedly wanted to retire in old age.

In the 19th century, the compound received an addition in the form of a Neoclassical building that became the home of the original Smolny Institute— the first and best known royal educational institution for young ladies of noble birth.

One of the Smolny compound buildings houses the Schools of Sociology and International Relationships of Saint Petersburg State University.

Смольный институт свободных искусств и наук) offered joint study programs with Bard College in the United States.

[4] The name "Smolny Institute" is used by another St. Petersburg-based school, which was established under the auspices of the Russian Academy of Education by local Azerbaijani-born entrepreneur and academic Geydar Imanov at the offices of his company, Electrokeramika.