Lomonosov returned to Russia in 1741. A year later he was named adjutant to the Russian Academy of Science in the physics department.[12] In May 1743, Lomonosov was accused, arrested, and held under house arrest for eight months, after he supposedly insulted various people associated with the Academy. He was released and pardoned in January 1744 after apologising to all involved.[12]
Lomonosov was made a full member of the Academy, and named professor of chemistry, in 1745.[12] He established the Academy's first chemistry laboratory.[15] Eager to improve Russia’s educational system, in 1755, Lomonosov joined his patron Count Ivan Shuvalov in founding the Moscow State University.[15]
In 1761, he was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. In 1764, Lomonosov was appointed to the position of secretary of state. He died one year later in Saint Petersburg. Most of his accomplishments were unknown outside Russia until long after his death.