The Bestuzhev Courses (Russian: Бестужевские курсы) in Saint Petersburg were the largest and most prominent women's higher education institution in Imperial Russia.
The institute opened its doors in 1878. It was named after Konstantin Bestuzhev-Ryumin, the first director. However, the actual lead organizing force was provided by women: Nadezhda Stasova, Anna Filosofova, and several others.
Other professors included Baudouin de Courtenay, Alexander Borodin, Faddei Zielinski, Dmitry Mendeleyev, Ivan Sechenov, and Sergey Platonov. An assistant professor there was Vera Bogdanovskaya, the first female chemist to die as a result of her own research. Nadezhda Krupskaya and Maria Piłsudska were among the graduates. The courses occupied a purpose-built edifice on Vasilievsky Island.
After the Russian Revolution, they were reorganized as the Third University of Petrograd, which was merged into the Petrograd University in September 1919.
Notable alumnae
Varvara Brilliant-Lerman (1888–1954), plant physiologist
Anna Chertkova (1859–1927), children's writer, social activist and Peredvizhniki's model
Élisabeth Tchernayev, later known as Élisabeth Jérémine, (1879 -1964) Russian French geologist and petrographer
Tatyana Krasnoselskaya (1884–1950), Russian botanist
Nadezhda Krupskaya (1869–1939), Bolshevik revolutionary, wife of Vladimir Lenin
Zinaida Nevzorova (1869–1948), socialist revolutionary
Maria Piłsudska (1865–1921), First Lady of Poland
Vera Yevstafievna Popova (1867–1896), chemist
Anna Radlova (1891–1949), Russian and Soviet writer
Sofia Romanskaya (1886–1969), Soviet astronomer
Kateryna Skarzhynska (1852 –1932), Ukrainian folklorist
Olga Ilyinichna Ulyanova (1871–1891), sister of Vladimir Lenin
Mariia Vetrova (1870-1897), Ukrainian revolutionary
Ekaterina Zlatoustova (1881–1952), Bulgarian feminist, civil servant, and teacher