Student tourism was discussed at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on July 10, 2025.
This season, a new international destination has been added to the Student Tourism programme. From now on, students, young scientists, postgraduate students and interns studying in Russia will be able to travel to the Republic of Abkhazia.
”The Student Tourism programme is making wide strides,” Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said. “As many as 260 universities from 85 Russian regions have joined it over the past four years. Programme participants travel inside our country and internationally. Young people can travel to Armenia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, China, and now to Abkhazia. In turn, over 1,000 foreign students will visit Russian regions to learn more about the Russian education system and academic agenda. Such trips contribute to strengthening cooperation between our countries and increasing the number of foreign students, as instructed by President Vladimir Putin.”
The Student Tourism youth and student tourism programme was initiated by President Vladimir Putin. Under it, university students aged 18 to 35 can travel and stay in the partner universities’ dormitories. The programme provides for the effective use of the infrastructure, when dormitories that may have vacancies during the summer break are used by students from other regions. The opportunity to communicate with the peers is a particularly important part of such arrangement.
The purpose of the programme is to create a single space for the cultural, personal, scientific and professional growth of the Russian youth, as well as to make them familiar with the domestic education system and scientific research. Applications can be submitted on the Student Tourism.rf website.
According to Minister of Education and Science Valery Falkov, the programme helps create a favourable educational environment and opens up new avenues for cultural and scientific exchanges.
“The Student Tourism programme participants can travel to 117 Russian cities and choose international travel destinations as well. More than 1,100 scientific infrastructure facilities are available for visiting under the programme, and special educational modules and popular science routes have been made available for visits as well,” he added.
The first step to make Abkhaz State University (ASU) part of the Student Tourism programme was made during an international blog tour in Sukhumi. It was organised in July by the Ministry of Education and Science in conjunction with the International Youth Centre of the Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University. Presentations on educational opportunities, meetings with university representatives, and master classes as well as cultural and tour events were held at ASU. Students and representatives from media centres at Russian universities took part in the blog tour.
Head of the Student Tourism programme Svetlana Nekhorosheva had the following to say, “At Student Tourism, we believe that students can travel easily, safely and affordably throughout Russia and the world. Abkhazia is our important partner when it comes to developing youth exchanges and cultural dialogue. The accession of ASU opens up new avenues for students from both countries to explore.”
