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<h1 class="">Mongolia: Russian Universities Beckon Again to Young Scholars</h1>
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<span class="">May 29, 2013 - 2:19pm</span>, by <span class=""><a href="http://eurasianet.org/taxonomy/term/3942">Matthew Kupfer</a></span> </div>
<div class=""><ul class=""><li class=""><a href="http://eurasianet.org/resource/mongolia" rel="tag" title="">Mongolia</a></li><li class=""><a href="http://eurasianet.org/taxonomy/term/2346" rel="tag" title="">Russia</a></li>
<li class=""><a href="http://eurasianet.org/taxonomy/term/3279" rel="tag" title="Receive weekly updateson the notable eventsin Central Asia.">EurasiaNet's Weekly Digest</a></li><li class=""><a href="http://eurasianet.org/taxonomy/term/2921" rel="tag" title="">Education</a></li>
<li class=""><a href="http://eurasianet.org/taxonomy/term/4175" rel="tag" title="">Russia-Mongolia Relations</a></li></ul></div>
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<a href="http://eurasianet.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/gallery/052913_0.jpg" rel="lightshow[field_image][Russian universities are attracting more Mongolian students seeking an affordable higher education outside their own country. (Photo: National Mineral Resources University)]" class=""><img src="http://eurasianet.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/story/052913_0.jpg" alt="Russian universities are attracting more Mongolian students seeking an affordable higher education outside their own country. (Photo: National Mineral Resources University)" title="Russian universities are attracting more Mongolian students seeking an affordable higher education outside their own country. (Photo: National Mineral Resources University)" height="140" width="210"></a> </div>
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Students attend an International Forum-Competition
of Young Researchers at Russia’s National Mineral Resources University.
The school has attracted some Mongolian students, even as Russia has
upped the number of scholarships for Mongolians seeking an affordable
education abroad. (Photo: National Mineral Resources University)
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<p>When Munkhtsetseg Enkhbat, a Mongolian language instructor at the
National University of Mongolia, wanted to expand her knowledge in the
related field of Manchurian linguistics, she decided to go abroad. But
instead of heading to China, she enrolled in a doctoral program in
Russia.</p>
<p>That decision might seem strange on the surface, but it made perfect
sense to Enkhbat. “This is a center of Mongolian studies, and a
Manchuria expert works here,” she said, referring to St. Petersburg
State University, where she is doing her doctoral work. “Many famous
scholars in this field spent their whole lives doing research in this
university.”</p>
<p>Russia has traditionally been a magnet for Mongolian students seeking
a higher education. Since 1922, over 60,000 Mongolians have obtained
degrees in Russia, according to the Kremlin-sponsored Russian Center of
Science and Culture in Ulaanbaatar. But since the collapse of communism,
these ties have frayed, as a growing number of Mongolian students
headed to Asia and the West for their higher education. Russia is no
longer Mongolia’s only ally and link to the outside world. </p>
<p>In Mongolia these days, English has replaced Russian as the main
foreign language taught in schools and universities. Interest in the
Russian language has plummeted. In the 1990s, the country began
retraining Russian-language teachers to teach English. In 2004,
then-Mongolian premier Elbegdorj Tsakhiagiin, now the president,
expressed a desire for everyone in the country to speak English. He
later refined this idea into a more realistic national English
curriculum, but the message was clear: English, not Russian, was the
language of the future. </p>
<p>Despite these changes, Russia remains a destination for some
Mongolians seeking an affordable higher education. And with Mongolia
experiencing a major mining boom and rapid economic development,
anecdotal indicators suggest that a Russian education is desirable
again.</p>
<p>Ulambayar Dashkhorol, 21, went to St. Petersburg from Ulaanbaatar
four years ago to study geology at the National Mineral Resources
University. He followed what could be called a family tradition: his
father works as a geologist, both his parents speak Russian, and he even
attended a Russian-language high school in Mongolia. In this sense, he
is different from many Mongolians who grew up after 1991.</p>
<p>In the past few years, there have been signs that other Mongolians
are following Dashkhorol’s lead. When he first arrived in Russia in
2009, he could practically count the number of Mongolian students
studying in his university on his two hands. Today, he says, numbers
have increased three- or four-fold. Dashkhorol has no doubt that the
increase is tied to the mining boom, but he notes that there are other
factors that make Russia attractive. </p>
<p>“Our country isn’t very well developed,” he said. “Education in
Mongolia just isn’t as good as it is in Russia. Here there are excellent
teachers and technical colleges.”</p>
<p>It also helps that Dashkhorol studies for free. In recent years, the
Russian government has increased the number of scholarships it provides
Mongolian students to 300 annually (250 for undergraduates and 50 for
graduate students). At any given moment, there are approximately 2,000
Mongolians studying in universities across Russia, for free. Several
Mongolian students in St. Petersburg say they hardly know anyone who is
paying his or her own way in Russia. </p>
<p>Yevgeny Mikhailov, the director of the Russian Center of Science and
Culture in Ulaanbaatar, sees growing competition for scholarships.
“Judging by the quantity of applications from young Mongolian men and
women, we can see an increase in the number of young people who would
like to receive an education in Russia and who would like to study
Russian,” he wrote in an email to EurasiaNet.org.</p>
<p>A chance to study for free is not the only thing that attracts young
Mongolians to Russia. Odkhuu Bulgantamir, 28, a master’s student in
geology at the Mineral Resources University, was also impressed by
Russia’s significant experience in mining and his university’s 240-year
history. “If you know Russian, if you know a foreign language, another
door to the world will open for you,” he added. </p>
<p>Bulgantamir is unsure whether Russian education will gain popularity
as the Mongolian economy grows. He’s not the only one with doubts.
Mongolian students admit that there are practical difficulties that come
along with studying in Russia. Russian cities are expensive and
students struggle to stretch their stipends to cover basic needs. And
they are not allowed to work while studying. China, a country that also
offers government scholarship for Mongolian students, allows them to
work; the cost of living there is far cheaper, too.</p>
<p>The main test of Russian education may not be the cost or the
popularity of the language, but whether the students feel they are
getting a good education. For the most part, it seems they do. Even
Enkhbat, who admits she has struggled to adapt to St. Petersburg and
learn the Russian language, feels her decision placed her in an ideal
academic environment. “Russia is one of the main sources of academic and
scientific knowledge in the world,” she said. “The professors and
researchers I work with here are Mongolia experts. They relate to me
well and really understand me.”</p><p><a href="http://eurasianet.org/node/67040?utm_source=Weekly+Digest&utm_campaign=abe53e7dac-my_google_analytics_key&utm_medium=email&utm_term">http://eurasianet.org/node/67040?utm_source=Weekly+Digest&utm_campaign=abe53e7dac-my_google_analytics_key&utm_medium=email&utm_term</a><br>
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