Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg the oldest and one of the largest universities in Russia.It is made up of 22 specialized faculties, 13 research institutes, the Faculty of Military Studies, the Academic Classical School, the Medical College, the College of Physical culture and Sports, Economics and Technology and the Department of Physical Culture and Sports. As of 2014, the university has a teaching staff of 5,800. The university has two primary campuses: one on Vasilievsky Island and the other in Peterhof. During the Soviet period, it was known as Leningrad State University, in 1948–1989 named after Zhdanov.Reputation and international rankingsSaint Petersburg State University is the second best multi-faculty university in Russia after Moscow State University, In international rankings the university was ranked 240th in 2013/2014 by the QS World University Rankings, it was placed 351–400th by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and 301–400th by the Academic Ranking of World Universities outperforming the rest of universities in Russia excluding Moscow State University.The university has a reputation for having educated the majority of a Russia's current political elite; these include presidents Vladimir Putin and Dimitry Medvedev, both of whom studied Law at the university.