August 12, 2026

War Opens University Doors


War Opens University Doors
Members of the Wagner group. BelTA Agency, Wikimedia Commons

The independent outlet Vazhnye Istory reports that more than 4,300 people were admitted to 18 of Russia’s top universities in 2026 under quotas for participants of Russia’s War on Ukraine and their children — nearly 50% more than last year. For the first time, war participants and their children filled more than the prescribed 10% of state-funded seats in some programs.

Preferential university admissions for children of participants in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine were introduced in 2022. In 2023, authorities created a separate quota covering not only children but also people who have fought in Ukraine since 2014, other security personnel, and Russians who worked in occupied territories. At least 10% of state-funded seats in every university program must be reserved under the quota.

According to Vazhnye Istory, most quota students admitted to leading universities would not have qualified through the general competition. At a medical university in Voronezh, 93% of students admitted through the separate quota based on Unified State Exam, or EGE, scores would otherwise have fallen short. In pediatrics, for example, quota applicants were admitted with scores ranging from 195 to 202, compared with a general-admission cutoff of 262.

At the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, 87% of quota recipients would not have been admitted without the preference. At the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, the figure was 80%.

The quota has been used for five admission cycles, and the number of recipients has risen each year. About 9,000 people entered Russian universities through it in 2023, more than 15,000 in 2024 (3.5% of all students admitted to state-funded places), and 28,500 in 2025 (6.5%).

Nationwide figures for 2026 are not yet available, but data from leading universities suggest growth has slowed. Admissions under the quota rose 58% in 2025 from the previous year and 47% in 2026.

At some universities, quota admissions exceeded 10% in 2026. Under new rules, unused seats reserved for other preferential categories can now be transferred to war participants and their relatives. Previously, those seats returned to the general admissions pool.

Universities have also begun offering tuition-free study for veterans and their families. financed by the institutions themselves, outside the quota.

Since 2023, Moscow's Higher School of Economics has offered university-funded places to service members and their children, spouses, siblings, and adoptive parents. Applicants need only meet the university’s minimum EGE score; those who do not can take internal exams. They may also choose programs with no state-funded seats because the university covers tuition.

This year, the university said it would provide free bachelor’s and master’s education to people who serve for a year in BARS reserve units or Russia’s unmanned systems forces. The program targets applicants who fell a few points short of a state-funded place: They sign a contract, complete a preparatory program and, after service, receive a "guaranteed place" funded by the university.

You Might Also Like

Mobilization Rumors Spread
  • August 07, 2026

Mobilization Rumors Spread

Rumors swirl about a potential new Russian mobilization, but the Kremlin's flat denials don't mean much.
The Useless Red Passport
  • July 29, 2026

The Useless Red Passport

Russia is effectively stripping those who have left the country of their citizenship.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
A Taste of Chekhov
December 24, 2022

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

Bears in the Caviar
May 01, 2015

Bears in the Caviar

Bears in the Caviar is a hilarious and insightful memoir by a diplomat who was “present at the creation” of US-Soviet relations. Charles Thayer headed off to Russia in 1933, calculating that if he could just learn Russian and be on the spot when the US and USSR established relations, he could make himself indispensable and start a career in the foreign service. Remarkably, he pulled it of.

Fish
February 01, 2010

Fish

This mesmerizing novel from one of Russia’s most important modern authors traces the life journey of a selfless Russian everywoman. In the wake of the Soviet breakup, inexorable forces drag Vera across the breadth of the Russian empire. Facing a relentless onslaught of human and social trials, she swims against the current of life, countering adversity and pain with compassion and hope, in many ways personifying Mother Russia’s torment and resilience amid the Soviet disintegration.

Steppe
July 15, 2022

Steppe

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices
May 01, 2013

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955