Kabardino Balkarian State University (KBSU) is a classical state university in Nalchik, Russia, whose Medical Academy has taught General Medicine (MBBS) in English to foreign students since 2017. The six-year course costs 395,000 RUB a year in 2026/27 according to the university's price list, and the university has 10 hostels.
Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H.M. Berbekov (KBSU) is a state university in Nalchik, in the North Caucasus. It traces its history to a pedagogical institute that began classes on 5 September 1932, and it was opened as a university by the USSR Council of Ministers on 5 April 1957. In 1996 it was named after its first rector, Khatuta Berbekov.
KBSU is a classical university, not a dedicated medical school. It teaches law, engineering, economics, languages, sciences and more, and medicine is one of its units. In June 2025 the university reported more than 19,400 students, about 2,500 of them from 40 countries, with India, Turkmenistan, Africa and the Arab world as the main sources.
No. The Medical Academy is a division inside Kabardino-Balkarian State University, so your diploma is issued by KBSU. Its medical faculty took its first 100 students on 1 September 1966 with one specialty, Medicine. Since 2017 it has taught foreign students from India and Egypt in English, and according to the university the English-medium groups are chosen mainly by Indian citizens who do not speak Russian.
The English-taught General Medicine programme (code 31.05.01, the Russian equivalent of MBBS) costs 395,000 RUB a year (≈ $4,840) in 2026/27, according to the KBSU price list for specialist programmes in English. The full six-year course is listed at 2,370,000 RUB in total (≈ $29,000). The price list says this rate applies regardless of citizenship.
The same specialty in Russian costs foreign citizens 390,000 RUB a year (≈ $4,780) a year. Fees are set in roubles each academic year by a university order, so the price for later years can change.
| Programme (2026/27, foreign citizens) | Length | Fee a year |
|---|---|---|
| General Medicine in English | 6 years | 395,000 RUB a year (≈ $4,840) |
| General Medicine in Russian | 6 years | 390,000 RUB a year (≈ $4,780) |
| Paediatrics in Russian | 6 years | 350,000 RUB a year (≈ $4,290) |
The fee covers tuition only. Hostel rent, medical insurance, visa registration, food and travel are paid separately.
Foreign applicants on paid places upload scans to a personal account on the admissions site, pass the entrance tests and pay the fee, and then they are enrolled. Paid-contract applicants take either the Russian Unified State Exam or KBSU's own entrance exams. Ask the admissions office which tests apply to the English-medium programme in your intake.
The KBSU document list includes: passport, education certificate, recognition of foreign education (it can be handed in during the first year where it applies), a photo, a vaccination certificate or antibody tests for rubella, mumps, diphtheria and measles, a medical report confirming you can study, an HIV test certificate in Russian, and a voluntary medical insurance policy that includes outpatient care and repatriation. A preparatory-course certificate is not needed for English-taught programmes.
The Russian government quota is another route: it gives free study, a stipend and a hostel place, and you apply through a Russian embassy or a Rossotrudnichestvo office on education-in-russia.com.
KBSU asks Indian citizens applying to medical specialties for a NEET certificate. The Embassy of Russia in India explains how to get a study visa through Russian visa centres or the embassy; see india.mid.ru.
KBSU's Student Town has 10 dormitories, and in August 2026 its director said the university had covered all hostel requests from out-of-town students the previous year. Rent depends on the building and on whether you study on a budget or paid place, and first-year students apply in person after the enrolment order is issued.
Foreign students need an application form from the Student Town office, a passport with a valid visa, a migration card with the border stamp and, if more than 7 days have passed since arrival, the migration registration notice.
Students who filmed their rooms show 4-bed rooms with beds, mattresses, bedsheets and wardrobes provided, a shared kitchen on each floor and entry by access card.
KBSU does not publish a monthly living budget, so plan from your own quotes. An Indian student in his fifth year said hostel rent was between 10,000–14,000 RUB a year (≈ $123–$172) depending on the building; this is his figure, not an official one, so ask the Student Town office for the current rate. Many students cook in the shared kitchens, and an Indian mess runs near campus. Our guide to the cost of studying in Russia lists the items to budget for.
Nalchik is the capital of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, on the northern side of the Greater Caucasus mountains in south-western Russia. The climate is continental: students describe summers of up to 30°C with humid days and sunset around 9 pm in July. Winters are colder, so bring warm clothes.
Nalchik is a regional capital where international students, many of them from India, study and live every year. Daily life follows the usual rules for any foreign student in Russia: keep your passport and migration card with you, because police document checks are routine, and avoid street demonstrations. For travel advice, follow your own government. The Embassy of India in Moscow has issued region-specific warnings only for the regions bordering Ukraine (Bryansk, Belgorod and Kursk, August 2024), not for Kabardino-Balkaria; check its current notices before you travel and register with your embassy after you arrive.
India's National Medical Commission (NMC) sets conditions on the course rather than approving a list of universities. Its Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2021 require at least 54 months of study taught in English for the whole course, a 12-month internship at the same foreign institution, eligibility for a medical licence in the country of study, and completion within 10 years. You then sit India's screening exam. Ask KBSU in writing how its English-stream graduates meet each condition, and keep the reply.
An Indian student filmed a normal anatomy day in the Old Med building. The corridor works as a museum with labelled bones, preserved organs and full cadavers in glass cases. Teachers explain dissected specimens in English, and lab coats, caps and masks are required because the formalin smell is strong.
— Dr Bijnori, an Indian MBBS student at KBSU (video)
A fifth-year student from India said he had lived in Nalchik for almost five years. He lives in hostel 12, the newest building, about a 6 to 7 minute walk from classes and right next to a city bus stop.
— Nikhil Gaikwad, an Indian 5th-year MBBS student at KBSU (video)
He warned that some applicants trust agents who send documents late, after the foreign intake is already full, and lose a whole year. His advice is to ignore people who make claims about the university without ever having been to Nalchik.
— Nikhil Gaikwad, an Indian 5th-year MBBS student at KBSU (video)
During his summer break in fourth year, the same student showed hostel life: friends cooking Indian food together in the floor kitchen, cheaper white onions in local shops, and spices and pressure cookers brought from home.
— Nikhil Gaikwad, an Indian 4th-year MBBS student at KBSU (video)
One point differs from the official data. In a video recorded around 2023 or 2024 the fifth-year student gave the tuition fee as 219,200 RUB a year (≈ $2,690). The 2026/27 KBSU price list gives 395,000 RUB a year (≈ $4,840) for General Medicine in English. The student's figure was right for his own intake; use the current price list for yours.
Yes. KBSU is a federal state university in Nalchik, opened by the USSR government in 1957 and named after its first rector in 1996. Medicine is taught at its Medical Academy, which is part of the university.
Yes. KBSU has taught foreign students in English at its Medical Academy since 2017, and its price list has a separate line for General Medicine in English. A Russian-medium version of the same programme also exists.
The English-taught General Medicine programme costs 395,000 RUB a year (≈ $4,840) in 2026/27, or 2,370,000 RUB in total (≈ $29,000) for six years. Fees are set each year, so check the price list for later years.
Not for the English-taught programme, and no preparatory-course certificate is required for it. Everyday Russian still helps with patients and paperwork.
Last updated: 3 November 2026. Fees and regulations change; check the official sources above before you apply.
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