Russians are massively reorienting towards Asia due to war and sanctions - Foreign Intelligence Service

In Russia, amidst deteriorating relations with the West and increasing isolation, interest in Asian countries has grown. This is reported by UNN with reference to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine.

Details

As noted by Ukrainian intelligence, if ten years ago studying Chinese, Japanese, or Korean was considered a rare hobby, today this trend is becoming widespread. They added that Chinese is currently the most popular foreign language among Russians, and Korean is the second most in demand.

The change in educational priorities is clearly visible in student program statistics. According to the Higher School of Economics, in the spring of 2026, almost 60% of applications for studying abroad by Russian students were submitted to universities in Asian countries - China, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, and South Korea

In addition, interest in Chinese universities has increased: if in 2020 there were only five applications for a second degree in China, by the spring of 2026 their number increased to 134 in mainland universities and another 56 in Hong Kong.

At the same time, a few years ago the situation was the opposite.

In 2023, approximately two-thirds of Russian students chose European countries - primarily Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, and Italy. However, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of large-scale sanctions, access to European educational programs became significantly more difficult

The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine notes that the growing interest in Asian countries among Russians is not so much a result of conscious strategic choice as a consequence of international isolation after the start of military aggression against Ukraine.

Recall

From 2026, Russia will transition to a single cycle of study lasting 4-6 years. Universities will train narrow specialists according to strict state orders.