HSE University-St Petersburg Launches Centre for Russian Language and Culture

In 2025, HSE University-St Petersburg opened the Centre for Russian Language and Culture at the School of Arts and Humanities. The centre offers various courses for international applicants, the largest of which is the 'Pre-University Programme', a Russian preparatory course for those intending to enrol in full-time bachelor's and master's programmes. Read on to find out more about the centre's activities, courses, and study conditions.

HSE University-St Petersburg

The Centre for Russian Language and Culture offers a preparatory year for international applicants. It is an intensive course which will help students learn Russian from scratch to B1 level in ten months. During the programme, students will master the spoken, everyday language necessary for a comfortable life in Russia. They will also learn terminology and specialised vocabulary for successful studies in full-time programmes in their field of interest.

An important feature is the flexible format of the courses. Students can choose the mode of study that suits them best: offline or online. This makes the programme available to a wider audience. Students who decide to study Russian in St Petersburg will be provided with a place in a comfortable student dormitory.

Selection for the pre-university programme will be carried out on a competitive basis in two stages. First, the centre team will assess the school or university diplomas of the applicants. Then, the applicants will be asked to take part in an interview. The professors will evaluate whether the students are ready for studies and how motivated they are.

Olga Tarakanova

Head of the Centre for Russian Language and Culture at HSE University-St Petersburg

Since 2018, I have been teaching Russian as a foreign language (RFL) at HSE University-St Petersburg and running optional courses with other professors. There are a lot of international students in the groups. In general, the campus welcomes plenty of international students every year who study in English. They have Russian classes twice a week, and we often hear from students that it is not enough. International students want to study Russian more. Besides, there are lots of students who don't attend the optional courses because of their busy timetables. This interest in the Russian language from students is the main reason for creating our centre. We want to give our students an opportunity to study not only on the English-taught programmes on our campus, but also on Russian-taught ones. Of course, studying in Russian requires some really good skills, which is why our centre is much needed.

The training at the Centre for Russian Language and Culture meets state educational standards. Studies of the Russian language are complemented with a focus on students' chosen field of study. Among the available tracks are economics, humanities, and engineering. Starting from the second semester, the students will immerse themselves in the subjects in a foreign language and work with professors specialising in these areas. The course curriculum covers terminology from the chosen fields in order to ease the transition to studying in Russian.

Olga Tarakanova

Head of the Centre for Russian Language and Culture at HSE University-St Petersburg

The centre team consists of professors from the Department of Foreign Languages and professors from the specialised faculties.

Professors of foreign languages teach Russian as a foreign language. They are specialists who have already been working with international students. They have experience teaching the language from scratch to a certain level. Of course, apart from linguistic training, teaching any foreign language requires empathy and understanding that a student is in a foreign, completely new environment. Moving is always stressful, but moving to another country, another language environment, is even more stressful—especially for young people. My colleagues and I jokingly call each other 'language mums'. And it's true in many ways. All the professors are philologists, linguists, and practitioners in teaching RFL.

The specialised courses will be delivered by professors from the faculty of the chosen field of study. That means mathematicians, IT specialists, engineers, and so on. We're still assembling the team. For us, it's very important to make every team member understand our common goal: to prepare strong international students in their chosen study fields.

To help reduce the stress of moving to another country, the Centre for Russian Language and Culture is launching a mentorship programme involving current students of HSE University-St Petersburg. The mentors will help international students adapt to life at the university and in St Petersburg in general. They will also offer support to students in their studies. Mentors will be divided by tracks and represent the available specialised education programmes.

Apart from the basic Russian course, the Centre for Russian Language and Culture offers several other programmes. They are available to students of the main programme and anyone else interested. Among them are:

• 'Academic Study Skills for International Students'
• 'Russian Culture Module'
• 'Preparation Module for the Test of Russian as a Foreign Language'
• 'English as a Foreign Language Intensive Training'

'English as a Foreign Language' and 'Academic Study Skills' add a global element to training at the centre and are a vital component of HSE University-St Petersburg's development vector.

'Academic Study Skills' is a course aimed at adapting and preparing students for studying in higher education. Prospective university students need to acquire such skills as academic reading and writing, presentation skills, critical thinking, and time management. As the course is fully in English, it will help students (including Russian-speaking ones), to gain necessary competencies and educational experience in international groups.

Students of the basic course will learn about Russian culture as an integral aspect of the language. But for those who want to dive deep into this topic, the centre has developed the course 'Russian Culture Module'. During the course, professors of the School of Arts and Humanities will look at the country's history, literature, cinematography, design, customs and traditions. Students will gain a broader understanding of Russia, learn about modern and traditional features of the country, and gain key insights into better understanding its culture.

Olga Tarakanova

Head of the Centre for Russian Language and Culture at HSE University-St Petersburg

Now our main task is to prepare everything for the first intake. It's a very important year for us. We need to prepare ourselves and come together as a team to establish mutual understanding and create all the necessary conditions to meet our first students.

An important goal is to prepare all the documents and meet all the requirements to participate in the competition of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation to get funding for state-funded places. In the future, it will help us support students who cannot afford the training on their own. 

This year, the Centre for Russian Language and Culture has 25 places available. Admissions for the 2025–26 academic year are already open, with studies starting in October 2025. You can apply via the form on the Centre for Russian Language and Culture website.