The paper is devoted to the peculiarities of the higher education development in Russia. In the XIX century, many discoveries were made in world science and technology. Many of them were made by Russian scientists. Unfortunately, few of those scientists received higher education in the Russian Empire. The development of higher education in the XIX century was greatly influenced by the political and economic processes that took place in the country. The university administration faced a number of problems. Poor scientific foundation, insufficient financial support, a small number of students, and a shortage of qualified teaching staff were among them. The inconsistent university policy of the tsarist government hindered the development of higher education. The charters adopted throughout the XIX century reflect the policies of the emperors. Under Emperor Alexander I, new universities were opened. They received autonomy in many matters. Under Nicholas I, state control over all aspects of society including education was strengthened. In 1863, the Charter on Higher Education Institutions was adopted which would become the most democratic of all existing charters. However, after the assassination of Emperor Alexander II in 1884 a new university charter was reintroduced. The autonomy was abolished, and censorship was tightened.