International students in Soviet and Russian universities: a critical analysis of changing rationales 1950s–2025

This article analyses the balance between political, administrative and market logics in recruiting international students at Russian universities across different historical periods, from the mid-1950s to the present day. This periodisation is based on critical shifts in state regulations in higher education embedded in changing political and economic contexts. The paper demonstrates how political and administrative logics dominate under strong state control and limited university autonomy across most of the four periods analysed. In addition, it reveals the recent impact of neoliberal trends, combined with constraints on market mechanisms and the limited agency of universities, on international student policies and their outcomes.