ABSTRACT
Traditionally, the main functions of higher education in Russia aimed to address three areas: cultural, economical and social. This chapter analyzes the current transformations in higher education in Russia in light of its modernization. It provides the empirical documentation along with the authors' own expertise in the subject to present the diverse perspectives on whether higher education in Russia is progressing toward democratization or whether this is still a pathway. The chapter presents the historical information on the state of higher education in the Russian Empire of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century, and moves to the Soviet era when education primarily served the centralized national economy. It describes the positive outcomes and the pitfalls in relation to the enactment of these strategies in Russian education. In an effort to modernize and democratize higher education, the Russian government plays its stake on including Russian education within the European education space via the Bologna process.
