Russia will abandon the Bologna education system and introduce a state personnel conveyor belt - SVRU
Kyiv • UNN
From 2026, the Russian Federation will switch to a single cycle of education lasting 4-6 years. Universities will train narrow specialists according to strict state orders.
With the start of the full-scale war against Ukraine, the Kremlin simultaneously began transforming its own higher education system, which is intended to turn universities into a tool for training personnel for the state. This was reported by the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, according to UNN.
Details
According to the SZR, in December last year, Vladimir Putin announced the completion of the development of Russia's education strategy until 2036. The document provides for a radical change in the student training system and the actual subordination of universities to state personnel needs.
With the beginning of full-scale aggression against Ukraine, the Kremlin simultaneously launched a "special operation" in its own higher education system. In December last year, Putin announced the completion of the education development strategy until 2036 - a document that is intended to once and for all turn Russian universities into a state personnel conveyor belt.
It is noted that from September 1, 2026, Russia will completely abandon the Bologna education model, which provided for a division into bachelor's and master's degrees and gave students a certain academic mobility and compatibility with Western universities. Instead, the Russian Ministry of Science and Education plans to introduce a so-called "unified integrated learning cycle" lasting from four to six years.
According to intelligence, the new system will provide for a specialization with early professionalization and a minimal opportunity to change the educational trajectory.
All universities will be required to teach a single list of basic disciplines. It will include the history of Russia, philosophy, Russian and foreign languages, life safety, physical culture, jurisprudence, and the course "fundamentals of Russian statehood." These subjects will be mandatory for all students regardless of their specialization.
The Kremlin is purposefully building a system of highly specialized education that completely deprives students of freedom of choice and makes them dependent solely on the state's personnel order.
The intelligence agency emphasizes that after graduation, graduates may face a distribution system similar to the Soviet one, where the state will determine the place of work for young specialists.
The SZR also drew attention to public initiatives of Russian businessmen who propose to limit the possibility of changing jobs. In particular, Russian entrepreneur German Sterligov proposed to revive the medieval tradition of the so-called St. George's Day - a period when peasants could change their master only one day a year.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the rejection of the Bologna system and the strengthening of state control over education will effectively isolate Russian students from the international academic system and create a closed model of personnel training focused exclusively on the needs of the state.