Export of Russian education in the mechanism of “Soft Power”

The article analyzes Russia’s strategy for creating a positive image of the state, attracting foreign citizens to Russian universities. As part of the study, a survey of citizens from Kazakhstan, China, Uzbekistan studying at universities of the Russian Federation was carried out. It was found that the lower the quality of life in the respondent’s country, the more he has a desire to stay working in Russia, and the higher the material well-being of the respondent, the more he wants to continue studying and working abroad (USA, Canada, etc.). It is revealed that the higher the level of education of students’ parents and the position they hold, that is, the more well-off a student’s family is, the more often he focuses not only on university ratings, but also on quality of life ratings, happiness index, security, investments in human capital, etc. The authors concluded that the majority of foreign citizens tend to enroll to Russian universities on the recommendation of their reference personalities (usually parents, grandparents), who at one time received higher education in the Russian Federation. The results of the study showed that in order for Russia to enter the top five countries where foreign students study the most, it is necessary for the state and business to use the resources of “soft power”, which the author points out in his article.