Emigration of skilled and able from Russia markedly increased in mid-2010s, thus pushing multiple Russian scholars to reassess the phenomenon, its definition, scope, consequences, and causes. This article found that the nexus between brain drain and internationalization of education plays an important role in the debate. By means of analysis of the texts of scholarly articles in Russian academic journals and of the transcripts of interviews with Russian educators directly involved in internationalization of education, this study found that despite most representatives of Russian academic community perceive emigration as a concern for the nation, they simultaneously view it as a perfect choice for an individual, who is skilled and able. The ambivalent perception of brain drain creates the situation, when some Russian academics justify their resistance to internationalization with assumption that it causes brain drain, whereas some others by word and deed support internationalization as a means to curb emigration. In the context of controversial educational reforms underway in Russia since 1990s, such perception helped internationalization survive as a target of the reforms, despite their overall course reversed in 2010s compared with 1990s.

2010 年代中期，来自俄罗斯的技术人员和有能力的移民显着增加，从而促使多位俄罗斯学者重新评估这一现象、其定义、范围、后果和原因。本文发现人才外流与教育国际化之间的联系在争论中起着重要作用。通过分析俄罗斯学术期刊上的学术文章文本以及对直接参与教育国际化的俄罗斯教育工作者的采访记录，本研究发现，尽管俄罗斯学术界的大多数代表都认为移民是对国家的关注，他们同时将其视为技术娴熟且有能力的个人的完美选择。人才流失的矛盾认知造成了这种情况，当一些俄罗斯学者以国际化会导致人才外流为他们抵制国际化辩护时，而另一些人则通过言行支持国际化作为遏制移民的手段。在俄罗斯自 1990 年代以来进行的有争议的教育改革的背景下，尽管与 1990 年代相比，2010 年代的总体进程发生了逆转，但这种看法帮助国际化作为改革目标得以生存。