The decision on establishment of university in Baku was made on 1 September 1919 during the assembly of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic's Parliament. The University started its 1st educational year with two faculties – faculty of philology and medical faculty with 1094 students. The 1st rector was the professor of the Kazan University, well known surgeon V.I. Razumovski.\\Baku State University is known as a leader of educational institutions, has a rich history and today it is known as one of the most famous scientific and educational centers of Azerbaijan Republic. The University has been the center of thought and national thinking. Azerbaijan's famous politician, Heydar Aliyev and thousands of well-known scientists, intellectuals, and outstanding diplomats have graduated from this university.\\According to the decree of our national leader Heydar Aliyev dated June 13, 2000, the university got the status of autonomy, and began to implement its activity on the basis of its own statute.\\Today, Baku State University offers students 16 majors with 55 bachelor and 153 master degrees.\\Every year, thousands of young people do their best to pass difficult competition, to enter Baku State University: the competition is 3 persons per place of the faculty; sometimes it reaches 10 persons per place of the certain faculty. Every year 40 of the 100 best entrants, are awarded by the president of Azerbaijan Republic for their high results in education to "presidential grant" on behalf of BSU.\\Lately, the university prepares professionals in such new specialties such as Inspectorate of earth crust and Ground structure, Soil cadaster, German language, German literature etc. The University takes care of its students providing labs and auditoriums equipped with necessary material and technical basis.\\The main goal of the University is to train professionals with free and creative thinking based on democratic values.\\In a pair with paying attention to teaching the main specialties, the University does great work on teaching of foreign languages. For this purpose more than 10 linguistic rooms based on new educational technologies were given for students to use. The University library has more than 2.5 million books, and its 12 reading rooms, 5 subscription departments systematically serve more than 15 thousands of students and teachers.\\Achieving progress in educational sphere, University also takes part in bringing up healthy and strong youth, by building a grand sport and health complex.\\At the same time the University is the center of 37 scientific research and teaching labs which cover not only natural but also humanitarian spheres.The Scientific Research Institute of Applied Mathematics and Scientific Research Institute of Physics Problemshave more than 200 employees. Here also are taught such disciplines as refinements of Azerbaijani language, its history and literature, genetics, nanotechnology, invention of nanomaterials and other wide spectrum fields.\\International Relations of the University becomes broader day by day. Today BSU is a member of such authoritative associations and institutions as Association of Universities of Eurasia, which consolidates most of universities of former USSR, Association of Universities of Caspian Sea States, Association of Universities of Black Sea States, Association of European Universities. In 2002-2004 BSU led the Association of Universities of Black Sea States very successfully. Besides this, the University has bilateral agreements on scientific and technical cooperation, students-teachers exchange programs with Moscow State University Lomonosov's, Middle East Technical University, Nice-Sofia Antipole University, Indiana University, Kiyev National University, Vienna University and other universities and associations.