Russia Offers More Student Loans, Scholarships For Foreign Students To Foster Pro-Russian International Relations

Russian ministries have recently put forward a plan to raise the quota for state sponsored students in all Russian universities in order to foster more positive Russian international relations.

The Russian Science Ministry, Foreign Ministry, and the State Agency for Cooperation with CIS countries, the Rossotrudnichestvo, have partnered to put forward a proposal that the collective ministries hope will raise Russia’s international goodwill.

Currently, Russia provides state sponsored loans and scholarships to 15,000 foreign students. These foreign students currently come from all around the world to attend Russian universities. As of late, there have unarguably been a great number of international stories that place Russia in less than favorable standing. Such stories range from Russia’s annexation of Crimea, to Russian military activity in the arctic.

It is likely the international backlash that has accompanied these reports has also acted as the main source of motivation for Russian officials putting forward this plan to extend even more student loans and scholarships to foreign students. The various ministries that put forward the plan stated as follows.

“Forming pro-Russian national elites in foreign countries… [will prove] an effective promotion of Russian national interests including the long-term ones.”

Another leading Russian official also added the following.

“It is important for us that graduates of good Russian institutes will return to their home countries and become well-known doctors, influential businessmen, even ministers. And these people will always maintain a good attitude towards Russia.”

As the demand for higher education continues to rise, more and more young people are being urged to attend colleges and universities. Given this trend, it is no surprise that Russia and other leading countries including the U.S. are looking to attract these same young people so as to implement their own form of social and political persuasion over the pliable minds of young college students.

Even though the plan to raise the quota for international student loans and scholarship has not yet been officialy adopted by the Russian Government, RT reports the following.

“According to Rossotrudnichestvo requests for additional places in Russian Universities have already been made from such countries as Angola, Brazil, Venezuela, Vietnam, Germany, Palestine, Syria, Iran, Yemen and others. Russian authorities have previously decided to allocate additional means for 2,200 places for students from Asia, 1,200 places from Africa, 700 places for citizens of CIS countries, 500 places for people from the Middle East, and 200 places to Latin America and the European Union.”

[Image Credit to the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation]