Impact of socio-economic factors on higher education in Russia

The fundamental changes in the political and economic domains in Russia in the late 1990s affected the Russian scientific community profoundly. This paper focuses on the effects on the Russian higher education system. Today about 75% of the students study in the provinces. The new multi-channel funding system in Russia had a strong impact on R&D in the universities. Provincial universities are becoming a key source of new knowledge and skills. This paper discusses the factors influencing research activity in the different geographical regions and looks at intraand international collaboration and at access to information and communication technology as important factors for sustainability in the Russian regions.