The Karazin Community Commemorates the 253rd Anniversary of the Birth of the University’s Founder, Vasyl Karazin

Today, the Karazin University community marks the birthday of the university’s founder, Vasyl Nazarovych Karazin — an outstanding Ukrainian enlightener, scholar, and public figure whose personal vision of education and prosperity for Ukraine laid the foundation for one of the oldest universities in Eastern Europe.

“It was painful for me to see her — rich in the gifts of nature and in the talents of her people — humiliated and disregarded; and I dreamed that my own perseverance and modest means would be enough to overcome the obstacles standing in the way of her progress,” Vasyl Karazin wrote in 1804, explaining his aspiration to serve education and the prosperity of Ukraine.

It was from this dream that the idea of the university emerged — not merely as an educational institution, but as a space of free thought, science, and responsibility to society. Even in his youth, Karazin believed in the possibility of the harmonious development of both the individual and the state: “We shall be able to establish a system of general well-being; we shall find ways to reconcile ourselves with the world, with Ukraine, and with ourselves…”

More than two centuries have passed, yet these words sound remarkably relevant today. Karazin University continues the tradition established by its founder — uniting science, education, and service to society, and educating generations of thoughtful, responsible, and engaged citizens.

The foresight of Vasyl Nazarovych extended far beyond his time — he also spoke of responsibility to future generations: “Let us recreate for our descendants that enchanting Ukraine in which our forefathers once lived.”

On the birthday of Vasyl Karazin, the university community honors with gratitude the memory of a person who gave Ukraine not only a university, but also the very idea of education as the foundation of national development and human dignity.