By Ashish Singh
Education is an important area of cooperation between Russia and India. Young Indians began going to study in the Soviet Union as early as the 1950s. Despite the decline that occurred in the 1990s, educational ties between Russia and India started to recover rapidly since the 2000s. As of 2024, 25 thousand students from India are studying in Russia. Five years ago, the number was 15 thousand. A 40% increase over such a period of time is an excellent indicator. To explore this issue further I spoke with my friend Yevgeny Ivanov, a Moscow-based researcher and university teacher.
Ashish Singh: What is the current status of India-Russia education ties?
Yevgeny Ivanov: Despite the significant increase in the number of Indian citizens studying in Russian universities, Russia still lags behind other centres of international education by number of Indians. The leaders in attracting young Indians are Canada and the United States, where 427,000 and 337,000 Indians are studying, respectively. The UK (185 thousand), Australia (122 thousand) and Germany (43 thousand) also perform well in this regard. Russia is next to Germany.
A total of 1.336 million Indians is studying abroad, i.e., Russia’s share is approximately 2%, while the US and Canada – 57%. It is obvious that Indians go to Western countries not only to get a high-profile education, but also to have the opportunity to immigrate. Russia is not very attractive to young Indians as a destination for immigration, although many regions of Russia have a climate similar to Canada (or even better), and the opportunities for self-realisation may not be worse than in the US or the UK. Unemployment in Russia is at record lows, the demand for qualified personnel is high.
Ashish Singh: What about the quality of education?
Yevgeny Ivanov: The Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) update from Shanghai Ranking Consultancy was recently published. It includes 7 universities from Russia and 15 from India.
Ashish Singh: Why should Indians go to Russia to study if they have twice as many universities from this ranking?
Yevgeny Ivanov: Let’s analyse it step by step-
first, demographics. The number of young people in India who want to get higher education significantly exceeds the capacity of all universities to educate them. In Russia, on the contrary, universities are trying to attract foreign students in order to use their potential at its best.
Secondly, not all Indians have the opportunity to study at universities for free. Young people going abroad often receive grants or quotas, which allow them to significantly reduce the cost of obtaining an education.
Thirdly, the presence of flagship educational centres open to foreign students. Of the 15 Indian universities included in the ranking, 8 occupy places from 801 to 1000. The best Indian university, the Indian Institute of Science, is in 401-500 place. The best Russian university, Moscow State University, is in 101-150 place. Foreign students have more opportunities to enter Moscow State University than the best universities in their home countries.
Fourthly, the ranking underestimates many Russian universities. Despite the many advantages of the Shanghai ranking, it does not reflect the full picture of either Russian or Indian education. Speaking about Russia, many large universities that provide high-quality training of specialists were not included in the Shanghai Ranking. Among them are Bauman University (mainly engineering specialties), Far Eastern Federal University, Tomsk Polytechnic, Sechenov Moscow Medical University, Pirogov Russian Medical University and many others, including military universities.
The point is that the ranking methodology uses six indicators, two of which are tied to the Nobel Prize, and three more to the publication activity of university staff.
Since the largest international publishers are based in the West, after 2014 it became more difficult for Russian scientists to publish their research in foreign journals. After 2022, this gap between Western publishers and Russian academia has grown significantly.
That is, Russian scientists do not do poor research, but now it is much more difficult for them to publish their articles and books in major journals. Due to the decline in the number of English-language publications, Russian universities have lost their positions in the rankings or have not entered them at all.
However, the quality of education remains at a good level, which is confirmed by Russia’s economic indicators. Russian universities graduate a large number of specialists who are needed by the national economy. Although cut off from Western technology and investment, Russia still manages to move forward thanks to its own talented specialists.
(Ashish Singh is a social and political scientist.)
