Higher Education as a Factor of Russia’s Attractiveness to Young People from the Middle East and Africa (Using the Example of Angola, Egypt, Nigeria, Lebanon and Palestine)

The article contains the results of a pilot study conducted by young researchers as part of the project “Russia Today and in the Future: Factors of Attractiveness”, organized by the National Research Institute for Communication Development. Based on analysis of information sources, results from foresight sessions and a survey of young people from the Middle East and Africa studying in Russia, the authors concluded that the countries in question have a solid basis for educational interaction.
The flow of Arab students coming to Russian universities is increasing every year. Russia and the Arab world have long-standing relations in various areas of foreign policy and diplomacy. One of the main factors of cooperation is opposition to Western monocentricism. Many Lebanese applicants, who have problems with admission to their only public university, want to enroll in Russian institutions, because they appreciate the quality of Russian education, take cultural and historical connections into account, and also consider the favorable socio-political climate for Middle Eastern representatives. Russia is popular among modern Egyptian students as a foreign country for education, where medicine, engineering, and international relations are in demand. For Palestinian, Nigerian, and Angolan students, in addition to historical and cultural ties, the attractiveness of education in Russia is associated with the relatively low cost of studying at universities (compared to local “native” universities as well as universities in the EU and USA). The youth of Arab countries and Africa focus on a positive image of the Russian people, their friendly attitude, and religious tolerance. At the same time, Russia is not a key country for students from the analyzed countries to obtain higher education. Most of them focus on grants, olympiads, and quotas allocated by Russia for foreign students, while facing a language barrier. This actualizes the need for improving the positioning system of Russian education abroad and developing international academic mobility. Russia has an undeniable competitive advantage in the “Eastward movement” - the experience of the Soviet Union, and many countries in Asia and Africa gratefully remember the times when Soviet projects were implemented. Intensifying Russia’s cooperation with African and Middle Eastern countries requires a well-planned and clearly formulated strategy and tactics.

1. Amro Azzam H.M. Russian-Palestinian Relations and their Impact on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Nauchnyj aspekt [Scientific Aspect]. 2019; 1 [In Russian]. Available from: https://najournal.ru/1-2019-gumanitarnye-nauki/1386-rossijsko-palestinskie-otnosheniya-i-ih-vliyaniena-izrailsko-palestinskij-konflikt.

2. Arefyev A.L. Export of Russian Educational Services: A Statistical Collection. Issue 10 / Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation. Moscow: GIRYa im. A.S.Pushkina [A.S.Pushkin GIRYA], 2020:557 [In Russian].

3. Arefyev A.L., Maksimenko A.F. Africa as a Promising Supplier of Students to the Global Education Market (the Experience of Teaching Africans in the USSR and the Russian Federation). Obrazovanie i nauka v Rossii: sostoyanie i potencial razvitiya [Education and Science in Russia: Status and Development Potential]. 2018; 3:409–435 [In Russian].

4. Berger P., Lukman T. Social Construction of Reality. A Treatise on the Sociology of Knowledge. Moscow: Medium, 1995:323 [In Russian].

5. Bulgarov M.A., Tonyan M.N., Kutovaya A.A. To the Question about the Nature of the “Image of the Country” // World Science: Problems and Innovations: Proceedings of the Conference Winners of the IX International Scientific and Practical Conference. In 2 parts. Penza, April 30, 2017. Penza: Nauka i Prosveshchenie [Science and Enlightenment], 2017; 2:323 [In Russian].

6. Bourdieu P. Practical Meaning. Moscow: In-t eksperimental’noj sociologii [Institute of Experimental Sociology], 2001:562 [In Russian].

7. Kuznetsov A.A. Political Process in Lebanon at the Turn of XX-XXI Centuries. Moscow: Izd-vo In-ta Blizh. Vostoka [Publishing House of the Institute of the Middle East], 2017:223 [In Russian].

8. Kyshtymova I.M., Seyuba Esanju The Image of Russia and Russians: Features of Perception Youth of Russia and Zambia. Baikal Research Journal. 2022; 13(3) [In Russian]. https://doi.org/10.17150/2411-6262.2022.13(3).28. EDN: NJAWHC. Available from: https://brj-bguep.ru/reader/article.aspx?id=25375.

9. Lippman W. Public Opinion. Moscow: Institut Fonda «Obshchestvennoe mnenie» [Institute of Public Opinion Foundation], 2004:384 [In Russian].

10. Masandzha E.D. Social Adaptation and Socialization: Problems of Adaptive Behavior of African Youth. Gumanitarnye, social’no-ekonomicheskie i obshchestvennye nauki [Humanities, Socio-Economic and Social Sciences]. 2024; 3:23–28 [In Russian].

11. Pyrieva D.N., Gildeeva D.I., Bystrova E.M. Comparison of the Cost of Training in Russian and Foreign Universities. Aktual’nye problemy aviacii i kosmonavtiki [Current Problems of Aviation and Cosmonautics]. 2019; 3:469–471 [In Russian].

12. Romanova I., Cherenkova Е. Formation of the International Image of Russia by Foreign Media. Vestnik Zabajkal’skogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Transbaikal State University Journal]. 2022; Vol. 28, 6:90–100 [In Russian]. https://doi.org/10.21209/2227-9245-2022-28-6-90-100.

13. Sagalaeva S.S. Image of the State: The Content and Approaches to Defining. Vestnik Moskovskogo gosudarstvennogo lingvisticheskogo universiteta. Obshchestvennye nauki [Bulletin of the Moscow State Linguistic University. Social Sciences]. 2020; 2:43–54 [In Russian].

14. Turk S.N., Galkin M.I. Russian-Egyptian Diplomatic Relations: History and Prospects. Epoha nauki [Epoch of Science]. 2020; 22:311–312 [In Russian]. https://doi.org/10.24411/2409-3203-2020-12269.

15. Abiodun Adetokunbo Nigeria − Russia bilateral relations: problems and prospects. Vestnik RUDN. Seriya: Istoriya Rossii [Bulletin of the RUDN University. Series: The History of Russia]. 2017; 3:477–490 [In English].

16. Boulding K. The Image. Knowledge in Life and Society. Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 1956:175.

17. Herinelto C. et al. Development of science in the angolan perspective: problems and solutions. Crede Experto: transport, obshchestvo, obrazovanie, yazyk [Crede Experto: Transport, Society, Education, Language]. 2022; 4:225 [In English].

18. Ikuteyijo L.O. Irregular migration as survival strategy: Narratives from youth in urban Nigeria. West African youth challenges and opportunity pathways. 2020:53–77 [In English].

19. Monday O.M., Mallo G.D. Higher education in Nigeria: Challenges and suggestions. Middle European Scientific Bulletin. 2021; 16(1):56 [In English].

20. Odunuga Segun, East European Revolution and Nigeria’s Diplomacy. Ibadan: University of Ibadan press, 1995:12 [In English].