Russia is the largest country on the planet - spanning eleven time zones from West to East - and, with well over 140 million people, the 9th most populous country. Russia’s popularity among international students has grown over recent years. To say that as a foreign student in Russia you can expect an exciting time would be a severe understatement.

Russia is a highly educated country, with a long academic tradition. Its universities have spawned many great minds, among them a number of notable Nobel prize winners. In recent years, Russia has been making an enormous effort to modernise its higher education system and open it up to foreign students. At the same time, the government-led “Project 5-100” has been aiming at bringing at least 5 Russian universities into the top 100 into the most respected global university rankings. The initiative has started to show results; more than a dozen Russian universities are now among the world’s top 500, and the results are improving every year.