A preparatory faculty in Russia is a one-year course that takes foreign students from zero Russian to level B1 (TORFL-1) and adds the school subjects of their future degree, such as chemistry and biology for medicine. It starts mostly in September, costs about 247,000 to 310,000 RUB for 2026/27 at major state universities, and is needed only for degrees taught in Russian.
A preparatory faculty is a one-year, non-degree course that teaches foreign students Russian from zero and the school subjects they need for a degree taught in Russian. Russians call it podfak. You do not need any Russian to start: most groups begin with the alphabet and pronunciation.
The course has two parts. In the first semester you study almost only Russian; the official Study in Russia portal says this takes four to five hours a day. In the second semester you add subjects in Russian that match your future degree. St Petersburg State University (SPbU), for example, offers five profiles:
Order No. 1304 of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation of 3 October 2014 sets the requirements for these programmes. Each university writes its own timetable inside that frame, so subjects and hours differ.
Most preparatory courses last one academic year and start in the first week of September. SPbU teaches from 1 September to 30 June and accepted applications from 3 February to 25 August 2026. Kazan Federal University (KFU) starts its full-time Russian-medium group on 7 September 2026 and finishes on 31 August 2027; it also sells a 1.5-year version for students who want a slower pace.
Later starts exist, but they are usually online or shorter. KFU's online preparatory course starts on 2 November 2026, and its English-medium biomedical foundation also opens a group on 2 November. KFU's preparatory school also ran a group that began on 9 February 2026. Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University (Pavlov University) takes applications for its distance course from 1 October to 30 November 2026. A late start leaves less time to reach B1 before the summer entrance exams.
For 2026/27 a full-time preparatory year at a well-known state university costs about 250,000–310,000 RUB (≈ $3,100–$3,850), not counting the dormitory, insurance and visa costs. These are the prices published on the universities' own pages:
| University | Programme | Fee | Academic year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kazan Federal University (KFU) | Full-time, Russian-medium, pre-bachelor | 247,040 RUB (≈ $3,060) | 2026/27 |
| Kazan Federal University (KFU) | Online, Russian-medium | 145,000 RUB (≈ $1,800) | 2026/27 |
| Tomsk State University (TSU) | Full-time with adaptation course | 265,000 RUB (≈ $3,290) | 2026/27 |
| Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University | Full-time, medical profile | 270,000 RUB (≈ $3,350) | 2026 intake |
| Pavlov First Saint Petersburg State Medical University | Online: Russian, chemistry, biology | 180,000 RUB (≈ $2,230) | 2026 intake |
| Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation | Full-time, economics, engineering or humanities | 310,000 RUB (≈ $3,850) | 2026 |
St Petersburg State University charged 272,000 RUB (≈ $3,370) for 2024/25 and said the 2025/26 price would change; ask the university for its 2026/27 price. Older figures of 100,000–150,000 RUB (≈ $1,240–$1,860) in videos and agency posts do not match current price lists. KFU says enrolment happens only after full payment, and TSU asks for a prepayment of 132,000 RUB (≈ $1,640).
Students selected under the Russian government quota study at the preparatory faculty free of charge if they say they need it. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education approves a list of universities whose preparatory faculties take quota students each year; for 2026/27 this is Order No. 623 of 8 August 2025.
At the end of the year you take a final exam in Russian at level B1 (TORFL-1) and tests in your profile subjects. SPbU makes the TORFL-1 test part of the final certification and gives every preparatory student a voucher to take it free. The Financial University promises to take students from zero to B1, and TSU's programme describes general Russian up to B1.
B1 matters because it is the level a Russian-taught bachelor's or specialist degree expects. SPbU states that the first-level certificate is necessary for foreign applicants to study at a Russian university. If you pass, you also receive the university's certificate of completion of the preparatory programme.
Finishing the preparatory year does not give you a degree place automatically. You still sit the university's entrance tests for foreign applicants. At Pavlov University, applicants to the Russian-taught General Medicine, Dentistry and Paediatrics programmes take chemistry and Russian language exams in Russian. KFU puts it plainly: successful study at the preparatory school and successful entrance exams let you continue.
A typical first-semester week is five days of Russian classes in a small group, with homework every evening. This is how it looks in a vlog by a Bangladeshi student at a preparatory course in Saint Petersburg, checked against what universities publish:
Yes, if you pay for the course yourself. The official Study in Russia portal says contract students can enrol at any Russian university after completing pre-university training. Quota students are different: a change of university or major has to be approved by a commission of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
The harder part is the visa. Russian rules give a clear path to extend your stay while you study at the preparatory faculty of a federal state university, and when you move to another programme at the same institution (Order No. 926 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of 22 November 2021, edition of 21 October 2025). The university must file its request with the migration authority no later than 20 days before your permitted stay ends. If you move to a different university, ask the new university in writing whether it will apply for your extension in time. If nobody applies before your stay ends, you will usually have to leave Russia and come back on a new invitation.
The simplest way to avoid the problem is to take the preparatory year at the university where you want to do your degree, and to confirm before you pay that it teaches your degree in Russian.
Preparatory students get an ordinary study visa on an invitation from the university. Under Russian Government Decree No. 335 of 9 June 2003, the first study visa is issued for up to three months and is then extended inside Russia as a multiple-entry visa for the period of study, for up to one year at a time.
Universities ask for a passport valid for at least 18 months from the start of your visa or enrolment; both KFU and SPbU state this. SPbU also asks for a medical certificate, separate certificates from a psychiatrist and a narcologist, and certificates on hepatitis, tuberculosis and HIV. Start the visa extension early: the Higher School of Economics (HSE) asks its preparatory students to apply 90 to 45 days before the visa expires, because the Ministry of Internal Affairs takes up to 45 calendar days.
You do not need a Russian preparatory year if your degree is taught in English. At Pavlov University, applicants to General Medicine with English as the medium of instruction take chemistry in English and an English exam, while Russian-taught applicants take chemistry and Russian. Some universities sell an English-language foundation instead; KFU's biomedical foundation in English costs 265,790–292,040 RUB (≈ $3,300–$3,620) for 2026/27.
You may also skip it if you already speak Russian at B1 and can pass the entrance tests, or if you plan a master's or residency and only need a shorter Russian course. Do not drop Russian completely on an English-taught degree, though. Students on English-medium medical programmes report that they need Russian for shops, taxis and, from year four, for talking to patients in hospitals.
In our class there are eight to ten people from Bangladesh, Algeria, Yemen, Egypt and Morocco. Lessons run from ten in the morning to half past one, and the teachers keep it active: one throws a ball and you have to answer with the right word, my, mine, in the correct gender.
— a Bangladeshi student filming his preparatory classes in Saint Petersburg (video)
Before you pay for podfak, ask the university if it really teaches the degree you want afterwards. Medical universities, for example, only teach medicine. If you have to move to another city later, you may have to go home, wait for a new invitation and buy flights again.
— a Nigerian medical student in Russia (video)
My programme was in English, but outside the classroom English almost did not help. For groceries, taxis, food and later in the clinics you need conversational Russian.
— an Indian medical student who studied at Perm State Medical University and transferred to Northern State Medical University (video)
The students who ignored Russian in the first three years could not talk to patients when clinical years started, and they could not take hospital part-time jobs either.
— an Indian fifth-year medical student in Russia (video)
The Nigerian student's warning about going home is a possible outcome, not a fixed rule. Official rules let a preparatory student's stay be extended inside Russia when the university applies in time; the risk is real mainly when the new university does not file that request.
It is compulsory in practice if your degree is taught in Russian and you do not already speak it, because you must pass entrance tests in Russian. If you study in English, or already have B1 Russian and pass the tests, you do not need it.
Yes. Students selected under the Russian government quota study at the preparatory faculty free of charge if they say they need it. They study at one of the universities on the Ministry's annual list, and a later change of university needs Ministry approval.
No. It is a non-degree programme, so your bachelor's or specialist degree starts from the first year after you finish it. A medical degree that takes six years will take seven with the preparatory year.
Yes, some universities run online groups, for example KFU at 145,000 RUB (≈ $1,800) for 2026/27 and Pavlov University at 180,000 RUB (≈ $2,230) for the 2026 intake. You still have to travel to Russia for the degree, and you lose a year of everyday Russian practice that students living in the country get.
The target is B1, the first certification level of the state test (TORFL-1). That is enough to follow lectures in Russian, but most students say the first months of the degree are still hard.
Last updated: 1 November 2026. Fees and regulations change; check the official sources above before you apply.
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