In the small park opposite the Kazan (Volga) Federal University stands a statue of one of the university's most famous students – Vladimir Lenin. As a variant to the thousands of other Lenin monuments around Russia, this monument depicts Lenin in his student years. The university itself was established by Emperor Alexander I in 1804 as the Kazan Imperial University. The university quickly became known as a centre for the sciences, especially in the sphere of organic chemistry. The university’s main building is decorated with a facade of columns.