Belarus

State Ideology Textbooks Distributed to Schools

First-grade students were given state-ideology textbooks titled ”My Motherland Belarus” in September as a present from the president, according to Education Minister Alyaksandr Radzkou. Radzkou described the textbook as “an easy-to-read, quality product” created at President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s order. As many as 100,000 copies of the textbook have been printed. Lukashenka wants similar textbooks to be prepared for older secondary-school and university students. Authors from several universities are expected to present several versions of an ideology textbook to Lukashenka before the end of the year. “We will have a choice, therefore we will be able to make the textbook more interesting to the public,” Radzkou said.

— RFE/RL
Aug. 31, 2005

Russia

Rector Calls for Elite University Group

To maintain high standards as it moves toward greater integration with Europe, Russia needs to develop an elite group of universities, according to Viktor Sadovichny, rector of Moscow State University (MSU).

Sadovichny said in an interview with The Times Higher Education Supplement that Russia’s distinct system of training specialists in five-year diploma programs should be protected, and differences between Europe and Russia should be respected rather than sacrificed in the rush to integration under the Bologna Process. Although he welcomes the idea of further integrating the Russian education system with that of Europe, Sadovichny stressed that the emphasis must be on quality standards and not so much on comparable credentials.

Although reluctant to produce a list of universities, he did say that his institution — currently celebrating its 250th anniversary — and St. Petersburg State University regularly appear in both Russian and international lists of top-rated schools. The MSU rector also is a strong critic of the Russian Education Ministry’s move to introduce a combined school leaving and university entrance examination, arguing that leading universities must be allowed to retain autonomy over admissions decisions through the administration of individual entrance exams.

— The Times Higher Education Supplement
Oct. 7, 2005

Youth Groups Launch Anti-Violence Protests

As attacks on foreign students continue seemingly unabated, an estimated 1,000 students marched through the provincial city of Voronezh in late October to protest the kind of racist violence that caused the death of a college student from Peru on Oct. 9 and a number of African students last year. The protest march was organized by a Kremlin-backed youth group and included foreign and local students.

Alongside St. Petersburg, Voronezh is considered one of the most dangerous cities for foreign students in Russia. Despite the notoriety, universities in the city will remain on a list of 172 institutions recommended to foreign students by the Ministry of Education and Science. The list was drawn up in response to the recent spate of foreign student killings and attacks in Voronezh and St. Petersburg. In Voronezh alone, 40 students so far have been attacked in 2005, according to The Moscow Times, while the state-sponsored newspaper Rossiskaya Gazeta reports that only three institutions have been struck from the list: Krasnoyarsk State University and the state pedagogical universities in Nizhny Novgorod and Orenburg.

In related news, Albania has stopped sending students to Voronezh after an attack in October on an Albanian. Three Albanian students also were reportedly attacked in April 2004. Approximately 120 Albanian students are currently studying in Russia, 12 of them in Voronezh. Most foreign students in Russia come from Africa and Latin America.

— The Moscow Times
Nov. 16, 2005

Majority of Military Schools Scheduled for Closure

Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Nov. 13 that most of the 229 military faculties at Russian universities will be abolished by 2008. Ivanov said just 35 military faculties at civilian universities will remain open, and an additional 33 will be transformed into military training centers. The remainder will be closed, but not until all students currently enrolled in them graduate, the minister said. Approximately 170,000 students are taking military training programs. President Vladimir Putin said on Nov. 9 that military conscription will be reduced from two years to one by 2008.

— RIA Novosti
Nov. 13, 2005

Nine Universities in Russia and Finland Cooperating to Offer Joint Master’s Degrees

Five universities in Finland and four in Russia are planning to build a cooperation framework that would allow students to complete master’s level joint degrees from institutions in both countries.

The Cross Border University project began this year on a trial basis until late 2007. If successful, universities involved in the project will look at building joint doctoral programs. The project is being established within the framework of the Bologna Process, which, in part, is encouraging universities from signatory countries to establish cross-border degree programs. Russia joined the process in 2003 and Finland was an original signatory in 1999.

The Finnish schools involved in the project are the universities of Helsinki, Tampere, Kuopio, and Joensuu, as well as the Technical University of Lappeenranta. Russian participants include St. Petersburg State University, the St. Petersburg Technical State University, the European University of St. Petersburg, and the University of Petrozavodsk.

English-language master’s programs are being offered in business administration, forestry and bioenergy technology, history, information technology, international relations and public health.

— Helsingin Sanomat
Nov. 23, 2005