In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Moscow University, the Women Council of MSU published a biographical dictionary dedicated to women who contributed significantly to the academic success of their institution and who distinguished themselves both in research and in teaching. The book contains brief biographies of some 619 women employed by MSU; 63 of these entries are for members of the Department of Physics and of its adjacent research institutes. They are doctors of sciences, full professors, recipients of government as well as university awards, and some are WWII veterans. Their lives in science have embodied all tendencies of the Soviet period of the country. The great majority graduated from Moscow State University and have been working at MSU for more than 25 years. At present, the Physics Department consists of 37 sectors with more than two hundred doctors of sciences, 15% of whom are women. The information supplied by the dictionary, combined with data on the younger staff of MSU with similar degrees in physics, lets us compare tendencies in women’s professional development, their research and teaching careers, and their success in publishing. It also lets us see some of the key issues. Since 1933 (the year of establishment) more than 25,000 people have graduated from the Physics Department, a quarter of whom were girls. Of 90 students who have graduated with honors this year, one third were girls, and of 22 award‐winning thesis this year, 10 were defended by them. About 400 persons are participating in the 3‐year postgraduate program of the Physics Department; 30% of all students enrolled this year are girls. Half the winners of annual awards to students, postgraduate students, and “young scientists” in physics this year were girls. The percent of successful women in physics is growing.

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