The foundation of the current University goes back to 1876, with the establishment of a Teacher's Training Institute. On the 25th of September the classes for the first 25 students began. One can find Belgorod Teachers' Institute mentioned in the "Reference Booklet" of the Russian Calendar of 1882. The educational institution was mentioned among other nine pedagogical institutes of those times — those ones of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan and others. Later on in 1919 it was reorganized into a Pedagogical Institute and shortly after that, in 1922, into a Practical Institute of People's Education. Since the beginning of the 20s the activity of the Institute was conducted under strained circumstances that caused a provisional change of the status of the Institute and from 1923 till 1939 it was functioning as a pedagogical secondary school. In the summer of 1939 Belgorod State Teachers' Institute was founded on the basis of the pedagogical secondary school. The first students graduated from it in 1941.

During the World War II the Belgorod State Teacher's Institute was destroyed and in 1944 it was moved to Stary Oskol.

In 1957 it was removed to Belgorod and changed its name to Belgorod State Pedagogical Institute.

In 1967 the Institute was granted the name of our fellow townsman, the famous publicist M. S. Olminsky. In 1994 the Institute was re-named into Belgorod State Pedagogical University.

In 1996 in accordance with the decree of the President of RF Belgorod State University was established. In 2000 according to the results of state attestation and accreditation Belgorod State University reaffirmed the status of a State University (classical standard). Since 2001 Belgorod State University has been working fulfilling the tasks mentioned in the Concept of Modernization of Russian Education and preparing for state accreditation in 2005.

• Laboratory of Radiation Physics, Belgorod State National Research University

• Belgorod State Pedagogical Institute named after M.S. Olminsky
• Belgorod State University