This issue presents a collection of studies in structural chemistry from the Department of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University. This is for the second time that our journal presents a sample of studies from that department. The first time was the February issue of volume 15 in 2004. The late Professor Lev V. Vilkov was the Guest Editor. That special issue consisted of nine papers in 80 pages. The present special collection is considerably larger. Professor Yulia V. Novakovskaya guest edited the present issue. She is a Professor of Physical Chemistry and a distinguished researcher who was a prominent contributor to the 2004 issue and has contributed to the present issue as well. I appreciate her care and dedication in bringing together this excellent collection of papers.

The photograph illustrating this note shows the principal building of the Department of Chemistry on the Leninskie Gory campus (Fig. 1). One of the two statues in front of the building is visible in this picture. It is Mendeleev’s statue and remembering him is especially timely in this “International Year of the Periodic Table of the Elements.” The other statue honors Aleksandr M. Butlerov who played a prominent role in spreading the structural chemistry approach to chemistry in Russia.

Fig. 1
figure 1

The main building of the Department of Chemistry of Lomonosov Moscow State University and the statue of Dmitry I. Mendeleev (photograph by Magdolna Hargittai; reproduced by permission)

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