Indian students can now apply for 300 fully funded Russian government scholarships for the 2026–27 academic year. The programme offers opportunities to pursue higher education at leading Russian universities across a wide range of disciplines.

Scholarships are available for undergraduate, specialist, postgraduate (master’s), and doctoral programmes, as well as advanced training courses.

Under this scheme, students are exempt from paying tuition fees at most institutions, except Lomonosov Moscow State University and MGIMO.

Academic fields open to applicants include medicine, pharmacy, engineering, architecture, agriculture, management, economics, humanities, mathematics, space science, aviation, sports, and arts.

Several engineering and medical courses are also taught in English. For students unfamiliar with Russian, a one-year preparatory programme is provided before the commencement of the main course.

Applications can be submitted exclusively through the official portal, education-in-russia.com. Submissions through any other platform will not be accepted.

The selection process consists of two stages. In the first stage, applicants are assessed based on academic performance and supporting documents such as recommendation letters, research work, or certificates from academic competitions.

Candidates who qualify will then be placed at appropriate universities in the second stage, which includes visa processing by Russia’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

The deadline for the first round of applications is January 15, 2026. The Ministry of Education, Government of India, has stated that it is not involved in the nomination or selection of candidates for these scholarships.