Russian Higher Education as Influenced by COVID-19 Pandemic

The purpose of this article is to analyze trends in Russian higher education development during the coronavirus pandemic. The paper considers main problems faced by Russian universities in their students’ transition to distance learning. Particular attention is paid to the problem of the «digital inequality», which became urgent in the conditions of online teaching organization. It is shown that the «digital inequality» does not only mean differentiating students by their having necessary equipment to study remotely. The issues of «digital inequality» are being investigated at the levels of regions, universities, teachers and students. At the same time, the authors substantiate the thesis that it will not be possible to solve the problem of the dynamic development of the Russian higher education system within the framework of the current model of budget financing, and thus propose approaches to its change.