According to recent figures released by the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), the total enrollment of foreign students in Russian institutes has almost tripled over the past decade. International student admissions have increased from 100,900 in 2004-05 to 282,900 in 2015-16, equivalent to a 180% rise through the decade. Sighting such numbers, the Institute of International Education (IIE) has declared Russia as the sixth largest study abroad destination.
Majority of the international students in Russia in the past decade have come from former Soviet Union countries that now make up the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), with Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine topping the list. The only foreign students, apart from CIS, enrolling in Russian institutes come from China, India and Vietnam. See table below. The table has been released by the IIE.
| A | B | C | D |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Place of Origin | Number of Students | Percent of Total |
| 1 | Kazakhstan | 70,747 | 25% |
| 2 | Belarus | 22,199 | 7.80% |
| 3 | Ukraine | 20,342 | 7.20% |
| 4 | China | 20,209 | 7.10% |
| 5 | Uzbekistan | 18,402 | 6.50% |
| 6 | Turkmenistan | 18,205 | 6.40% |
| 7 | Azerbaijan | 14,658 | 5.20% |
| 8 | Tajikistan | 12,270 | 4.30% |
| 9 | India | 5,878 | 2.10% |
| 10 | Vietnam | 4,676 | 1.70% |
Infact, Indian students are increasingly inquiring about Medical degrees in Moscow and St. Petersberg. Indian students on various social media communities are actively discussing about the possibilities of acquiring degrees in Russia. See images below. The Russian government too has been trying to capitalise on this trend. In the last year, Russia expanded its scholarship programmes for international students by giving a 33% boost to the existing scholarships. In January this year, 5000 new scholarships across various universities were introduced for foreign students.