ABSTRACT

This exploratory study represents the first attempt at examining the politics of exporting Russian higher education to the former Soviet countries. The existing numeric and narrative evidence on Russian universities’ international branch campuses (IBCs) was gathered and systematically organized in a new dataset. The study finds that the majority of IBCs operating in former Soviet countries are branches of Russian universities. While the effectiveness of these IBCs is difficult to demonstrate, the study suggests that the Russian Federation uses IBCs as a tool to retain and strengthen its political power and influence in the region. This is done through a nuanced exploration of the niche of Russian IBCs within the differentiated higher educational landscape and through the analysis of the Russian state’s political rationale for establishing and supporting Russian IBCs. The study proposes to interpret the politics of exporting Russian higher education using the frameworks of neo-imperialism and internationalization.

摘要

这项探索性研究是研究将俄罗斯高等教育出口到前苏联国家的政治的首次尝试。俄罗斯大学国际分支校区（IBC）的现有数字和叙述证据已收集并系统地组织在一个新的数据集中。该研究发现，在前苏联国家运营的大多数中型散货箱是俄罗斯大学的分支机构。尽管这些中型散货箱的有效性难以证明，但该研究表明，俄罗斯联邦将中型散货箱用作保持和加强其在该地区的政治力量和影响力的工具。这是通过在差异化的高等教育领域中细微地探索俄罗斯中型散货箱的利基市场，以及通过分析俄罗斯国家建立和支持俄罗斯中型散货箱的政治理由而实现的。该研究建议使用新帝国主义和国际化的框架来解释出口俄罗斯高等教育的政治。