The International Independent University of Environmental and Political Sciences (IIUEPS) was established in 1992 under the auspices of a number of national environmental NGOs and with support from the Russian Government, the Moscow City Government, the Russian Ministry of Environmental Protection, the State Committee for Higher Education, the Committee of the Russian Supreme Council for Environment, and the Parliamentary Committee for Environmental Protection.

The driving force behind the creation of IIUEPS was its current rector Stanislav A. Stepanov. Among the key figures who contributed to the foundation of the University were some of the greatest thinkers of our time.

Nikita N. Moiseev (1917–2000) – full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, doctor of physics and mathematics, professor, president of the Russian section of «Green Cross International», president and chairman of the UNEP National Committee for Russia, president of IIUEPS (1993–2000), author of a system of mathematical models of biospheric processes that came to be known as «Nuclear Winter».

Nikolai F. Reimers (1931–1993) – doctor of biology, honorary professor of IIUEPS, first dean of the Department of Ecology (1992), author of many books, among them his fundamental work «Hopes for the Survival of Humanity. Conceptual Ecology». He was a real education enthusiast who travelled throughout the country giving public environmental lectures. His «Ecological Manifest» vividly and passionately conveys his concerns about destructive impacts of the humankind and urges us to take better care of the Earth that is our home. He was also the founder and first chairman of the national Environmental Union.

A group led by Nikita N. Moiseev developed the Concept of environmental and political education, which set the guidelines for the work of the University since its very foundation. Its key element was to provide knowledge in humanities, social and environmental sciences that reflects the vision of environmental policy endorsed by the world community and its main organisations forming the United Nations system, such as UNESCO, UNEP, and others.

These principles fall in line with the high national education standards and national strategy of transition to sustainable development. According to the University’s mission, it delivers professional education in environmental sciences, social sciences and humanities, thus paving the way for sustainable development of the humankind and environmental awareness, and contributing to the evolution of a new ethics that will compel us to rethink our relationship with the biosphere. IIUEPS is Russia’s only higher education institution to prepare specialists in such fields as eco-management, geoecology, and nature use. Environmental issues and sustainable development problems are also integrated into most other courses offered by the university.

Notably, IIUEPS was one of the few independent higher education institutions to receive support from the national Government. The University has also participated in many government programs, such as drafting «The Strategy of Environmental Education of Population in Russia» (2000) in cooperation with the Moscow State University and the Peoples’ Friendship University.

Since its inauguration, the University has opened campuses and educational centres in the Russian cities of Nizhniy Novgorod, Penza, Omsk, Tver, Klin and ex-Soviet countries of Kazakhstan (Baykonur), Armenia (Yerevan) and Ukraine (Simferopol). It has established close links with its academic partners in Germany, Great Britain, India, Switzerland, the United States, Serbia, and Montenegro. Joint projects include the Russian-German College and the Russian-American Business Institute co-run with the University of Karlsruhe and the American International University, respectively.

Over the years the University has trained over 7,120 people for specialist’s and bachelor’s degrees in 12 professions and 6 directions of study. Its graduates are successfully working in environmental management and design, environmental law and policy-making, journalism, psychology and linguistics in the government, business and NGO sectors.