Surely, we all appreciated our teacher for their humanity, kindness, and dreams about our future.
Chinghiz Aitmatov, "The First Teacher"
Against the backdrop of the international struggle for qualified personnel and alarming signals about the mass migration of minds, Russia and Kyrgyzstan are jointly opening new horizons for youth. According to the Ministry of Education and Science of Kyrgyzstan, in the 2024/25 academic year, over 35,000 Kyrgyz students were studying in Russian universities, placing Kyrgyzstan second in the CIS after Kazakhstan. Of these, 12,000 had the opportunity to study thanks to quotas from the Russian government. Thus, our countries are working together to prepare quality specialists who will represent their countries on the international stage. This cooperation strengthens ties between two strategic partners through education.
From Primary School to MBA
Despite the active development of education in the Kyrgyz language, there are 422 Russian-speaking schools in Kyrgyzstan, where more than 280,000 children study, accounting for almost 30% of the total number of students. For many families, this is not just a fashionable phenomenon, but a strategic choice: graduates of Russian-speaking schools can enter Russian universities without the need to take the Unified State Exam (USE), using the results of the Unified National Testing or internal exams of educational institutions. Knowledge of the Russian language opens access to free higher education through state quotas and grants from leading universities such as RUDN, MISIS, and SPbGU. In 2024, 78% of Kyrgyz applicants who enrolled in Russian universities graduated from Russian-speaking schools. Furthermore, the Russian language remains the primary means of interethnic communication in multiethnic Kyrgyzstan and an indispensable tool for professional communication in fields such as IT, medicine, engineering, and energy. Mastering advanced scientific and technological knowledge is impossible without a confident command of the Russian language, and regardless of the child's future choices, quality education must provide all the necessary tools, including language skills.
From Business to Environmental Initiatives
When discussing the opportunities of Russian-speaking education, it is worth noting that this pertains not only to high technologies but also to a wide range of pressing social interests. Here are two examples.
1. Recently, the Higher School of Business of Central Asia was ceremoniously opened in Bishkek, a joint project of the investment fund Central Asia Capital and the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation (RANEPA). This is the first program in Kyrgyzstan that allows obtaining an official MBA diploma of international standard without leaving the country, and the only one in Central Asia adapted to the specifics of the CIS markets.
2. At the same time, a training center for green energy was opened as part of the celebration of the 85th anniversary of Vocational Lyceum No. 100. This lyceum, founded in 1940 as an electrical engineering school, has long been training specialists for the energy sector, from electricians to automation engineers. The new center, equipped with simulators from "Rosseti" and training modules from NIU "MPEI," will not only serve as a place for studying modern technologies in solar and wind energy but also as a base for joint student projects with Russian colleges. These initiatives have been supported by the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation and Rossotrudnichestvo.
Russia actively supports education not only within its borders but also beyond, including CIS countries, with a focus on Kyrgyzstan. It shares methodologies, creates and finances resource centers for the study of the Russian language and pedagogical programs. Currently, there are 12 such centers operating in Kyrgyzstan in cities such as Kant, Batken, Karakol, Naryn, Talas, and Osh. Every year, more than 500 teachers undergo professional development in Russia through the programs "Pedagogical Bridge" and "Russian Language - Language of the World," and since 2023, Kyrgyz schools have gained access to the "Russian Electronic School" platform, which includes over 150,000 lessons.
Attention is given not only to language training but also to historical, cultural, and spiritual aspects. Alexey Poyda, the First Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Kyrgyzstan for Education and Science, noted at the opening of the Forum of School Leaders: "The main task of school teachers is to maintain a high level of teaching the Russian language as an important element that connects our peoples and countries. It is extremely important to convey to children information about our shared pages of history, about the contribution of our ancestors to the common victory in the Great Patriotic War, as well as to the development of Kyrgyzstan and Russia as independent states."
Cultural unity and understanding of the historical connection between our peoples are powerful incentives for joint development and protection against external threats to our sovereignty.
The "Eurasian Lyceum" Project: More Than Just Buses and Volunteers
A significant role in educational cooperation is played by the ANO "Eurasia," created at the initiative of the Council for the Russian Language under the Government of the Russian Federation. As part of the "Eurasian Lyceum" project, 100 school buses were delivered to remote villages in Kyrgyzstan, allowing children, for example, from Kara-Suu in the Jalal-Abad region, to safely and regularly reach specialized schools located 15-20 km from their homes. This is a huge contribution not only to obtaining a diploma but also to the future of an entire generation, as many of them previously dropped out of school after the ninth grade.
In the 2024-2025 years, 42 qualified teachers from Russia and CIS countries were sent to schools in Bishkek, Karakol, and Osh. These specialists are not volunteers in the traditional sense: they receive a salary, housing, and travel compensation. This is necessary, as labor should be valued, especially when it comes to high-class professionals. According to school directors, the level of student preparation has significantly increased with the arrival of Russian teachers. For example, in one of the schools in Karakol, the number of participants in the republican physics olympiad increased threefold, and two students joined the national team.
These are far from all the projects of ANO "Eurasia," which can be listed for a long time. This also includes funding for the construction of a new building for School No. 1 named after D. M. Karbyshev in Kyzyl-Kiya and the transfer of a mobile educational laboratory based on a bus to the Kyrgyz National University named after Jusup Balasagyn, and much more. These examples clearly demonstrate the vector of development of relations between our countries and the level of mutual support.
KRSU: The Flagship of Cooperation
The Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University (KRSU) occupies a special place in this context. Founded in 1992 at the initiative of Boris Yeltsin and Askar Akayev, today it is the largest university with Russian participation in Central Asia, ranking in the top 10 in Kyrgyzstan. The university is actively modernizing: in 2025, master's programs in artificial intelligence (jointly with MIPT) and biotechnology (with RUDN) will be launched. Since 2024, KRSU has been participating in the federal project "Priority-2030," which provides access to grants of up to 1 billion rubles per year. A new campus for 5,000 students is being built in Bishkek with the support of the Russian government, with the first building set to open in 2026. KRSU has also become a base for training personnel under the "Digital Kyrgyzstan" program, including courses on cybersecurity and blockchain in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Development of the Russian Federation.
Education as a Bridge to the Future
The creation of a unified educational space between Kyrgyzstan and Russia is not just diplomatic steps but a real bridge connecting generations, knowledge, and dreams. Currently, six branches of Russian universities operate in the republic, including the well-known RANEPA and MSU. From 2025 to 2027, Russia plans to build nine fully equipped schools in Bishkek, Osh, Jalal-Abad, and other cities. The agreement on mutual recognition of diplomas signed in 2023 and ratified in 2024 significantly simplifies academic mobility, while the unified digital platform "Education of the EAEU," launched in 2025, will provide access to online courses from leading Russian universities with the issuance of official certificates. By investing in education today, Kyrgyzstan and Russia are paving the way for an innovative, inclusive, and prosperous future. This is a success story that is already being realized in practice.
