The "Greatness and Misery" of the Higher Education in Russia "Russie.Nei.Visions", No. 14, September 2006

Due to its Soviet legacy, Russia has gained a reputation for having a well-trained population and efficient educational system. The facts on the ground are obviously more ambiguous, however. The veritable 'boom' of higher education and the good results of some well-known universities hide the more general fall of average performances and the devaluation of diplomas. Efforts to reform the system are meeting both structural constraints and corruption practices within the educational community. This makes a genuine assessment of Russian degrees dufficult to achiev. In addition, the 'privatization' of large sections of the education system has rendered the problem of inequality of access even more acute.