8 best universities in Russia in 2026
Ranking based on the average of the three main global rankings: Shanghai (ARWU), Times Higher Education and QS.
Kazan Federal University
Average rank: #488
No. 1Kazan Federal University
Federal university founded in 1804, one of Russia's oldest, located in Kazan (Tatarstan).
No. 2Ural Federal University
Large public federal university in Yekaterinburg, founded in 1920, a major hub of education and research.
No. 3Tomsk State University
Siberia's first classical university (1878), a major research university in Tomsk.
No. 4Plekhanov Russian University of Economics
Russia's first school of economics (1907), specializing in economics, finance, management and international business.
No. 5Tomsk Polytechnic University
Siberia's oldest engineering school (1896), a leading national research technical university.
No. 6ITMO University
Research university in St. Petersburg, world-famous for computer science, photonics and competitive programming.
No. 7National University of Science and Technology MISIS
Leading research university in Moscow specializing in metallurgy, materials science and digital technologies.
No. 8Samara National Research University
Public research university in Samara, Russia's reference in aerospace and space technologies.