Russia higher education aspirations

Russia is striving to enhance its prominence and influence by offering more international students opportunities to study in its institutions. This soft power strategy yields little if any revenue for Russian institutions, as is the case in the U.S.A., U.K. China, France, and Australia. The purpose is to attract more students from former Soviet Union countries, enhancing influence in these countries, as well as to include the international student numbers in reporting that will help Russian institutions improve their international rankings. Sixty-nine percent of the 283,000 international students included in the most recent report were from former Soviet states. With soft power and talent development central to Russia's strategy, many students who have graduated from Russian universities bemoan the lack of work opportunities after graduation.