What are the odds that it commemorates the National University of Kiev? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taras_Shevchenko_National_University_of_Kyiv Timeline wise it matches that it was opened during the Tsar era.
The name “Sergei” is spelled in Ukrainian. I think the second word in the line above it is «князу» (prince). It doesn’t seem like it should be of Soviet origin, but not sure how much the Ukrainian language would have been used on official medals in Czarist times?
Are you sure those marks are text? The strokes don't have enough variety of angle to be Cyrillic text. They are almost all vertical, almost like tally marks or blades of grass. If you compare them to the barely readable text on the pillar, they are completely different.
I don't know exactly what medal it is, but it is definitely from Czarist era. The soviets would have never put Nicholas II and Alexander III on their medals. Too bad the text under the building is not readable. That would probably explain the purpose of the medal
Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov (Younger brother of Tsar Alexander III) was killed by terrorists in 1905. His personality was rather vile. He was a homosexual, an ignorant politician, and just a bad person. And the medal is minted in memory of his death.
When his older brother Alexander became king, an epigram appeared: Gentlemen to tell the truth, ex-Grand Duke Alexander Very bad in the role of the king, but he's not a clown. Yes. He is not very smart, but he's not Asian either, And he's not a pederast, like his Seryozha-brother.