Rediscover America: Russia is ready to resume student exchanges with the United States

The dialogue between Moscow and Washington may take an unusual turn. The Russian Federation is ready to resume student exchanges with the United States, the Ministry of Education and Science told Izvestia. Educational programs were frozen after the start of the Free School in 2022. At the end of March in Washington, State Duma deputies discussed with American congressmen the first step forward: the exchange of students between individual universities. The pilot project may be launched at the Moscow State University, the State Duma told Izvestia. However, Donald Trump's strict migration bans and the absence of visa consulates are hindering students' full-fledged trips. About whether there is a chance to restore contacts in science and higher education and how exchange programs used to work — in the Izvestia material.

How likely is the restoration of student exchanges

Even 10 years ago, a Russian student could go to study in the United States for free. However, after the start of the Free School, all interuniversity agreements were terminated, and educational programs were frozen. Nevertheless, relations between the two countries have noticeably warmed up after Donald Trump came to the White House. At the end of March this year, at the initiative of Anna Paulina Luna, a member of the House of Representatives, a delegation of State Duma deputies held talks with US congressmen in Washington for the first time in 12 years.

A number of important topics were discussed at the meeting, including the possible resumption of student exchanges between the Russian Federation and the United States. As a test step, exchanges can be conducted at the level of individual universities, Svetlana Zhurova, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs and a member of the Russian delegation, told Izvestia.

— We talked about resuming the exchange of students, so maybe her (Anna Paulina Luna. — Ed.) they will invite you to Moscow State University, for example. The conversation was about some kind of first step to start with one university, and not immediately launch mass exchanges," the deputy explained.

The Ministry of Education and Science reminded Izvestia that, in accordance with the concept approved by the President of the Russian Federation on September 5, 2022, Moscow is pursuing a "multi-vector humanitarian policy and developing cultural, scientific, educational and sports exchanges with interested partners from all countries, including unfriendly ones, including the United States."

— In this regard, the Russian Ministry of Education and Science is ready to discuss reciprocal steps and agreements on student exchanges reached during the visit of State Duma deputies to the United States, if the American side expresses interest. Currently, 97 students from the United States are studying at Russian universities," the department said.

Izvestia sent a request to the US Embassy in Russia.

In order to fully resume the practice of student exchanges, countries must first resolve the issue of visas. Currently, it is impossible to obtain them either in the Russian Federation or in the United States due to the fact that consulates do not operate on their territory.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has been refusing to issue nonimmigrant visas for several years, including F-1 and J-1 study visas. The issues of restoring the work of diplomatic missions and, following this, which is logical, direct flights were last discussed in December 2025 in the format of a full-fledged dialogue between the Russian Federation and the United States. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov then explained that the main problems had not yet been resolved. The other day, he said that Washington is not ready to resume direct flights until the end of the Ukrainian conflict.

Any issues related to the relations between the two countries depend on the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, American journalist Malek Dudakov explained to Izvestia. Therefore, there is no need to talk about easing sanctions and liberalizing the visa regime yet.

Paradoxically, after Donald Trump came to the White House, it became even more difficult for Russian students to get into a US university. Previously, despite the freezing of all exchange programs, a Russian could privately travel to the US consulate in another country, be interviewed and obtain a study visa while living in the Russian Federation, but now the rules have changed.

Since November 2025, the State Department has published new conditions: to obtain a visa, you need to confirm your permanent residence status in the country where the American consulate operates. Since there is not a single working consulate in the Russian Federation, it is unlikely that you will be able to get a study visa. Wanting to further tighten migration to the United States, in May 2025, Trump also banned Harvard University, one of the leading universities in the country, from accepting any foreign students.

— During Trump's year and a half in power, he cut and canceled many different student programs. In particular, the Fulbright program, which at one time paid money to students from all over the world to study at American universities," Dudakov recalled.

But it is important to emphasize that such a policy is being implemented in line with the fight against migration, including those who enter the United States on a study visa and then illegally stay in the country. Therefore, it has nothing to do with any particular hostility towards Russian students.

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How student exchanges between Russia and the USA used to work

To understand the scale of today's losses in the field of education, it is enough to look at how the Russian-American exchange system worked 10-15 years ago. It was an extensive, efficient network, supported at the highest state level.

The central place in it was occupied by programs fully funded by the US government. Senior students used the Global UGRAD program, which gave them the opportunity to study for a semester at an American university without obtaining a diploma, but with full immersion in the academic environment. The aforementioned Fulbright program — for young scientists, graduate students, and teachers — allowed for research, lectures, and graduate studies in the United States. All expenses, from the flight and insurance to the monthly stipend and the purchase of educational materials, were borne by the host party.

There were also mirror programs for Americans who wanted to study Russian, history, and political science in Russia. In parallel with the government, the leading universities of the Russian Federation and the USA directly signed agreements on "mirror exchange". For example, the National Research University HSE, Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University, MGIMO had direct contracts with institutions at the level of UC Berkeley, Indiana University Bloomington, Columbia University and others. The cultural program Work and Travel USA allowed students to fly to the States for up to four months for summer holidays at their own expense and legally work in the service sector. Over the past month, the program participants have traveled to different states of the country.

Before the coronavirus pandemic and the special operation in Russia, there was consistently a high interest in student exchanges with other countries, including the United States. A 2019 VTsIOM survey showed that the most popular countries for higher education among Russians were the United Kingdom (38%), Germany (19%) and the United States (16%). In the 2018/19 academic year, more than 5,000 Russian students studied in the United States.

— If a step is taken towards resuming exchanges now, it will be very important in the interests of both science and the development of better education programs. We will be able to act on an equal partnership basis. We have very good and strong programs in various high—tech industries," Irina Abankina, professor at the HSE Institute of Education, told Izvestia.

Moreover, Moscow could use student exchanges as a soft power to demonstrate to the United States the advantages of studying in Russia, Malek Dudakov believes. "Americans will see with their own eyes that a huge number of problems they have in their homeland are not relevant for Russia. It's like the same mass shootings, a huge number of homeless people and culture wars," the expert draws attention.

Thus, despite a number of obstacles and visa complications, the Russian Federation and the United States could take the first step and introduce student exchange at the level of individual universities. Such a practice would once again show that education and science should be outside politics and serve the benefit of the peoples of the leading world powers.