With a strong hand Peter the Great reformed the condition of Russian women. The _terem_ was abolished; the Russian woman was permitted to see the world. In rough, uncivilized surroundings, in the midst of a brutal, sensuous people, woman's release was not in all cases a gain for morality. It is impossible to become a woman of western Europe upon demand. Catherine II saw that there must be a preparation for this emancipation. She created the _Institute de demoiselles_ for girls of the upper classes. The instruction, borrowed from France, remained superficial enough; the women acquired a knowledge of French, a few _accomplishments_, polished manners, and an aristocratic bearing. For all that, it was then an achievement to educate young Russian women according to the standards of western Europe. The superficiality of the _Institutka_ was recognized in the middle of the nineteenth century. Alexander II, the Tsarina, and her aunt, Helene Pavlovna, favored reforms. The emancipator of the serfs could also liberate women from their intellectual bondage. Thus with the protection of the highest power, the first public lyceum for girls was established in 1857 in Russia. This was a day school for girls of _all_ classes. What an innovation! To-day there are 350 of these lyceums, having over 10,000 women students. The curriculums resemble those of the German high schools for girls. None of these lyceums (except the humanistic lyceum for girls in Moscow), are equivalent to the German _Gymnasiums_ or _Realgymnasiums_, nor even to the _Oberrealschulen_ or _Realschulen_. This explains and justifies the refusal of the German universities to regard the leaving certificates of the Russian lyceums as equivalent to the _Abiturienten_ certificate of the German schools. The compulsory studies in the girls' lyceums are: Russian, French, religion, history, geography, geometry, algebra, a few natural sciences, dancing, and singing. The optional studies are German, English, Latin, music, and sewing. The lyceums of the large cities make foreign languages compulsory also; but these institutions are in the minority. In the natural sciences and in mathematics "much depends on the teacher." A Russian woman wishing to study in the university must pass an entrance examination in Latin. The first efforts to secure the higher education of women were made by a number of professors of the University of St. Petersburg in 1861. They opened courses for the instruction of adult women in the town hall. Simultaneously the Minister of War admitted a number of women to the St. Petersburg School of Medicine, this school being under his control.