Moscow's leading universities saw a sharp rise in competition for state-funded places during the main wave of the 2026 admissions campaign, with one program at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics drawing 257 applications per spot.
At Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU), applications rose 46% to 91,400, submitted by 22,500 people, with about 4,300 admitted to state-funded places. At the Higher School of Economics, competition grew from 32 to 44 applications per place.
At Plekhanov, the average competition was 34 applications per place, with a record 257 applications for a single spot on the International Relations program. The Advertising and Public Relations track drew 137 applicants per place.
The Russian State University for the Humanities (RGGU) saw average competition rise 22% year-on-year to 167 applications per place. At Moscow Pedagogical State University, an average of 71 applications were filed per state-funded spot, while at RUDN University the figure rose more than 70% to 22 applications. At RANEPA, applications for state-funded places increased 1.5-fold, with average competition of 21 people per place, and one program drew 486 applications per spot.
At Moscow Polytechnic University, average competition was ten applications per place, reaching 100–110 on some IT tracks. At Kutafin Moscow State Law University (MSAL), competition rose from 15 to 19 people per place, and at the Russian State Social University (RGSU) it grew 8.8% to 37 people. At Moscow State Linguistic University, an average of 30 people competed for each place, with nearly 52,000 applications filed — 32% more than a year earlier.
The rise in competition comes amid restrictions on access to higher education. In 2026, the state cut about 47,000 paid places, or 13%, mainly in law, economics, management, public administration and advertising. The number of state-funded places remained roughly at last year's level, while the cost of paid tuition rose by an average of 10.7%. Education Minister Valery Falkov has said the country does not need "total higher education"; parents across Russia report that their children are not being admitted to 10th grade, and more school students are moving to vocational schools and colleges.
In 2026, more than 41,000 people were admitted to universities under a separate quota for participants in the war in Ukraine and their children — 44% more than in 2025. A total of 117,000 people have already been enrolled under separate, special and targeted quotas, Falkov said.