Pushchino (Пу́щино) is a small city 100 km south of Moscow, Russia. Its population is approximately 20,000. It is an academic research center focusing on microbiology. Research institutes comprising the scientific center include:
- RAS Institute of Protein Research
- Pushchino Radioastronomy Observatory
- Institute of Mathematical Problems of Biology
- Institute of cell biophysics
- Institute of biochemistry and physiology of microorganisms
- Institute of theoretical and experimental biophysics
- Pushchino State University and a branch of Moscow State University
Pushchino is situated on the bank of the Oka river, opposite the Prioksko-Terrasny Biosphere Reserve.
History
Pushchino existed since the 16th century as a family estate after the land was awarded to the Pushchin family around the year 1500. The area was selected in 1956 as a site for a scientific research center for the Russian Academy of Science. It was incorporated as a city in 1966. To disambiguate with a small town near Chekhov, also in the Moscow Region, the city is sometimes referred to as Pushchino-na-Oke (Pushchino on Oka).