Study MBBS in Russia for Indian students – Russia is one of the oldest and most popular countries for studying MBBS abroad among Indian students. Many students choose to pursue MBBS from some of the top medical colleges in Russia as they provide the best infrastructure and research facilities. Indian students have been going to some of the top medical colleges in Russia for a lot many years now. The course duration is 5.8 years and the degree awarded by the universities is recognized by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and will make you eligible to sit for the National Exit Test (NExT) in India. Today, many medical colleges in Russia teach in English-medium for the entire course duration. The medical colleges in Russia have modern equipment, highly qualified faculty, and provides quality education to their students.

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Another reason why many students prefer Russia is the good relations between India and Russia. The locals are welcoming and friendly towards Indians. This creates a sense of ease and security among the Indian students. Russia is a safe country for girls also. The tuition fee is very affordable even for the top medical colleges in Russia. As all the universities are government universities, they provide hostel facilities as well at a very low cost to the students. Almost all the universities we recommend to our students for admission are listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS).

Advantages of studying MBBS from Russia?

Here are some of the benefits of studying MBBS from Russia –

• Many of the top medical colleges in Russia have a very affordable fee
• The world ranking of many colleges in Russia is very high
• All universities are government universities and are managed and funded by the state or center
• The admission and visa process is very simple
• Some universities have a high FMGE passing percentage
• The degree awarded will make you eligible to sit for exams such as NExT, USMLE, PLAB, etc.
• Cost of living is low as the universities provide hostel facility
• Indian mess facility has been made available in many of the top medical colleges in Russia
• Many of the best medical colleges in Russia have English speaking faculty and these universities teach in English medium for the entire course duration

Top Medical Colleges in Russia

We first need to define the criteria to call a college one of the best medical colleges for MBBS in Russia. In our opinion, the biggest weightage must be given to the performance of the Indian graduates from different universities at the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination or FMGE. At the end of the day, only those students who clear FMGE gets a license to practice as a doctor in India. This exam will be replaced by the National Exit Test or NExT in the next few years. Luckily, we have the data of university-wise FMGE passing percentage between 2012-20.

The other criteria to look to are infrastructure, for how many years has the university been teaching MBBS, is the course taught in English medium for the full course, tuition fee and hostel fee, students review/feedback, weather condition in the city where the university is located, how far is the city from Delhi, travel time to the university from India, safety for Indian students, university’s reputation, world ranking. We will look into all these criteria and figure out which are the top medical colleges in Russia for an Indian student.

Let us check the university-wise FMGE passing percentage (2012-20) of Indian graduates after studying MBBS from Russia –

Source – National Board of Examinations, Government of India

Now, let us check the details of the best medical universities in Russia as per Global Medical Foundation –

Kazan State Medical University

Located in Kazan, the Kazan State Medical University is one of the best and oldest universities in Russia. Travel is easy from Delhi as you can take a non-stop flight to Moscow (7 hours on average) and then a connecting flight to Kazan which takes another 1.5 hours. It is one of the most reputed universities and Indian students have been studying here for many years now. The FMGE passing percentage in 2019 from this university was an impressive 33.13%. One thing to take care of for Indian students is that the number of hostel seats is limited and students should apply for admission as soon as possible.

Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia

In our opinion, the best medical university in Moscow for Indian students is the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, also known as RUDN. The MBBS course is taught in English medium for the whole 6 years at this university. Its world ranking is 317 which is a testament to the excellent facilities and quality of education at RUDN. Being in Moscow, the capital of Russia has its own advantages.

Volgograd State Medical University

Volgograd State Medical University is a very popular university among Indian students for studying MBBS. It has a very good infrastructure and the FMGE passing ratio in 2019 was 28.01%. It is another city which is easily accessible. You can reach Volgograd in just 1.5-2 hours by taking a flight from Moscow. The fee is on a higher side which can be a deterrent for many students.

Kursk State Medical University

This university was established in 1935 and has an FMGE passing rate of  34.42% in 2019. Kursk State Medical University has been one of those universities where Indian students have been going for a lot many years and in good numbers. A good reason for selecting Kursk State Medical University is that it only takes around 1.1-5 hours via flight from Russia to reach Kursk.

Crimea Federal University

The FMGE passing ratio from Crimea Federal University, also known as Crimea State Medical University has been one of the best in recent years among the universities in Russia. The university has increased its seats in recent years and has also relaxed its admission criteria to 50% in 12th (Biology and Chemistry) from 70% in these two subjects. Its fee has also increased its fee. However, the university still remains very popular and if it ensures that it can increase its faculty and facilities as well, it will continue to be one of the best universities for MBBS in Russia.

Rostov State Medical University

One of the best universities for Indian students who are looking to study MBBS in Russia on a budget is Rostov State Medical University. It has a limited intake ensuring that there is no overcrowding. The city can be reached from Moscow in two hours via flight. The feedback from students has been really good in recent years.

Mordovia State University

Having personally visited by Shobhit Jayaswal of Global Medical Foundation, we can tell you that Mordovia State University is currently one of the best options for studying MBBS from Russia for an Indian student. It teaches in English medium for the complete 6 years and is located in Saransk which was one of the hosting cities for FIFA World Cup 2018.

Kazan Federal University

Just like Kazan State Medical University, it is one of the universities which are located in Kazan. The world ranking of Kazan Federal University is 347 in the world. However, in 2021, Indian students are yet to graduate from this university. Yet, it is one of the most popular universities in India. Undoubtedly, the infrastructure, campus, facilities, and hostel offered by KFU are among the best in Russia. There are other better universities but soon, Kazan Federal University could be the number one university for MBBS in Russia.