  This article, the second in a series about the Russian scientist Mikhail
Lomonosov (1711-1765), traces his education from his arrival in Moscow in 1731
to study at the Slavo-Greco-Latin Academy, through his admission to the St.
Petersburg Academy of Sciences in 1736, to his trip abroad to complete his
educational studies from 1736 to 1741. Lomonosov's story during this time opens
a vista on the introduction of modern physics and modern science into Russia.
Michael D. Gordin has argued that Peter the Great's plans to Westernize Russia
were more broadly conceived than he is usually credited, with ambitions that
exceeded mere utilitarian and pragmatic goals. Lomonosov's career trajectory is
a good example, illustrating how different aspects of the Petrine vision
intersected with and reinforced each other. The article ends with Lomonosov's
return to Russia from Germany in 1741, an important landmark in the growth of
the Academy and of Russian science.
