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Citizens of Russia have the right to education which is guaranteed by the Constitution and ensured by the broad development of compulsory secondary education, vocational education, specialized secondary education and higher education; by the provisions of state scholarships, grants and privileges for students. A distance education system helps working professionals to continue their education while remaining at their jobs.

Higher education plays an important role in the life of any country as it provides the country with highly qualified specialists. Russian higher education offers a wealth of choice from more than 200 medical, engineering, economic and humanities specialities.

The Russian higher education system consists of more than 650 state universities where about 7 million people study; more than 165 000 of these come from about 200 different countries. Most of the universities and colleges are public and students don`t have to pay for their education. Students who do well in all subjects receive state grants. The majority of universities have full-time and part-time departments.

Universities and colleges have their own student`s hostels and some of them have large and excellent sports centres. Most of higher educational institutions have modern computer centres. Higher educational establishments are headed by rectors. Vice-rectors are in charge of academic and scientific work.

One academic year in Russian Universities lasts for 10 months (September 1st – June 30th). The academic year is divided into two terms. At the end of each term (January and June) students take tests and exams in the disciplines that they have studied. Between terms students have vacations: winter vacation (2 weeks) and summer vacation (2 months).

Training of specialists at universities is based on combination of education and research. As a rule, the first- and second-year students get thorough instruction in the fundamental sciences. In the third year students begin to study specialized subjects. Specialized courses and practical training help students to become specialists and prepare them for the future work.

Upon successful completion of university, graduates receive higher education degrees: “Bachelor of Science” / “Bachelor of Arts, “Master of Science” / “Master of Arts, “Specialist”.

After four years of study students can pass examinations and get a bachelor`s degree. Then the students can go on with their studies and get a master`s degree at the end of the sixth year. Some students still can get the qualification of a specialist if they take a five year course of study. If a graduate is interested in scientific work he / she may continue his / her education in any field at postgraduate level and get a candidate degree and then a doctorate degree. Some universities have a number of research councils which confer candidate and doctorate degrees.

The recognition of Russian state university degrees all over the world is guaranteed in accordance with concluded intergovernmental and international agreements. At the present time all Russian state university degrees are recognized all over the world.

The system of higher education in Russia is going through a transitional period. The main objectives of the reforms are: to decentralize the higher education system, to develop a new financial mechanism and to give more academic freedom to faculties and students [2, 7, 8, 14].