This chapter presents the case of a university that has recently entered the race for global academic excellence. It explains how the relationships between universities and state may affect university decisions and effectiveness in the global ranking game. The chapter discusses the case of a leading Russian university, the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE). Economics as a major became extremely popular among high school graduates. Since 2007, the Russian government has led a complex transformation in the higher education sector. In terms of organizational dynamics, global rankings facilitate the process of decoupling universities from their established patterns of academic work and the norms of the academic profession. In the Russian market for higher education, HSE is considered a standard-setter. Indeed, with the exception of Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, Russian higher education institutions mostly accepted students from the same city or the regions nearest to each institution.