Higher Education as a Factor of Russia’s Attractiveness to Young People from the Middle East and Africa (Using the Example of Angola, Egypt, Nigeria, Lebanon and Palestine)

The article contains the results of a pilot study conducted by young researchers as part of the project “Russia Today and in the Future: Factors of Attractiveness”, organized by the National Research Institute for Communication Development. Based on analysis of information sources, results from foresight sessions and a survey of young people from the Middle East and Africa studying in Russia, the authors concluded that the countries in question have a solid basis for educational interaction.The flow of Arab students coming to Russian universities is increasing every year. Russia and the Arab world have long-standing relations in various areas of foreign policy and diplomacy. One of the main factors of cooperation is opposition to Western monocentricism. Many Lebanese applicants, who have problems with admission to their only public university, want to enroll in Russian institutions, because they appreciate the quality of Russian education, take cultural and historical connections into account, and also consider the favorable socio-political climate for Middle Eastern representatives. Russia is popular among modern Egyptian students as a foreign country for education, where medicine, engineering, and international relations are in demand. For Palestinian, Nigerian, and Angolan students, in addition to historical and cultural ties, the attractiveness of education in Russia is associated with the relatively low cost of studying at universities (compared to local “native” universities as well as universities in the EU and USA). The youth of Arab countries and Africa focus on a positive image of the Russian people, their friendly attitude, and religious tolerance. At the same time, Russia is not a key country for students from the analyzed countries to obtain higher education. Most of them focus on grants, olympiads, and quotas allocated by Russia for foreign students, while facing a language barrier. This actualizes the need for improving the positioning system of Russian education abroad and developing international academic mobility. Russia has an undeniable competitive advantage in the “Eastward movement” - the experience of the Soviet Union, and many countries in Asia and Africa gratefully remember the times when Soviet projects were implemented. Intensifying Russia’s cooperation with African and Middle Eastern countries requires a well-planned and clearly formulated strategy and tactics.