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University Directory · Europe & Central Asia

Top 25 universities in Russia

The 25 leading universities and higher education institutions in Russia, ordered by the citations their research has received. Part of the WAC University Directory.

25 institutions listed · data October 2026

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  1. 1

    Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU)

    Moscow, Russia

    • 228,046 research works
    • 8.5 million citations
    • h-index 703
  2. 2

    Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics (ITEP)

    Moscow, Russia

    • 17,744 research works
    • 3.5 million citations
    • h-index 528
  3. 3

    National Research Nuclear University MEPhI

    Moscow, Russia

    • 33,665 research works
    • 2.8 million citations
    • h-index 469
  4. 4

    St Petersburg University (SPbU)

    St Petersburg, St.-Petersburg, Russia

    • 98,396 research works
    • 2.4 million citations
    • h-index 395
  5. 5

    Novosibirsk State University

    Novosibirsk, Russia

    • 42,214 research works
    • 2 million citations
    • h-index 365
  6. 6

    Sechenov University (MSMU)

    Moscow, Russia

    • 50,112 research works
    • 1 million citations
    • h-index 283
  7. 7

    Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT (SU) )

    Dolgoprudny, Moscow Oblast, Russia

    • 35,935 research works
    • 985 thousand citations
    • h-index 278
  8. 8

    Kazan Federal University (KFU)

    Kazan’, Russia

    • 45,636 research works
    • 897 thousand citations
    • h-index 208
  9. 9

    ITMO University

    St Petersburg, St.-Petersburg, Russia

    • 31,234 research works
    • 846 thousand citations
    • h-index 265
  10. 10

    National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE)

    Moscow, Russia

    • 117,212 research works
    • 820 thousand citations
    • h-index 244
  11. 11

    National University of Science and Technology (MISIS)

    Moscow, Russia

    • 22,541 research works
    • 756 thousand citations
    • h-index 220
  12. 12

    Ural Federal University (UrFU)

    Yekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia

    • 49,542 research works
    • 714 thousand citations
    • h-index 182
  13. 13

    National Research Tomsk State University (TSU)

    Tomsk, Russia

    • 35,828 research works
    • 676 thousand citations
    • h-index 210
  14. 14

    Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU)

    Tomsk, Russia

    • 32,615 research works
    • 665 thousand citations
    • h-index 195
  15. 15

    Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology

    Skolkovo, Moscow Oblast, Russia

    • 13,022 research works
    • 591 thousand citations
    • h-index 254
  16. 16

    Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (SPbPU)

    St Petersburg, St.-Petersburg, Russia

    • 34,269 research works
    • 568 thousand citations
    • h-index 195
  17. 17

    Southern Federal University

    Rostov-on-Don, Rostov, Russia

    • 33,671 research works
    • 549 thousand citations
    • h-index 190
  18. 18

    Saint Petersburg Academic University (SPbAU)

    Saint Petersburg, Russia

    • 2,183 research works
    • 504 thousand citations
    • h-index 116
  19. 19

    Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (PFUR)

    Moscow, Russia

    • 50,833 research works
    • 477 thousand citations
    • h-index 176
  20. 20

    Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University (RNRMU)

    Moscow, Russia

    • 26,629 research works
    • 401 thousand citations
    • h-index 191
  21. 21

    South Ural State University (SUSU)

    Chelyabinsk, Russia

    • 21,876 research works
    • 361 thousand citations
    • h-index 175
  22. 22

    N. I. Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod (UNN)

    Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia

    • 18,821 research works
    • 338 thousand citations
    • h-index 147
  23. 23

    Saratov State University (SGU)

    Saratov, Saratov Oblast, Russia

    • 17,438 research works
    • 337 thousand citations
    • h-index 159
  24. 24

    Siberian Federal University

    Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia

    • 20,247 research works
    • 290 thousand citations
    • h-index 152
  25. 25

    Bauman Moscow State Technical University (BMSTU)

    Moscow, Russia

    • 27,376 research works
    • 245 thousand citations
    • h-index 107

Ordered by total research citations recorded in OpenAlex (October 2026). Works, citations and h-index are OpenAlex figures for the institution. How the list is made.

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About the directory

How institutions are chosen and ordered

The directory lists 1436 universities, colleges and higher education institutions in 199 countries and territories. In countries with 200 or more higher education institutions recorded in OpenAlex it lists the top 25; everywhere else, the top 5.

Institutions are ordered by the total number of citations their research has received, as recorded in OpenAlex, the open catalogue of the world’s research, with data taken in October 2026. This is a transparent, research-based order: it favours large research institutions and does not measure teaching quality, student experience or graduate outcomes. University systems are left out in favour of their campuses, and faculties or institutes are left out when their parent university is already listed. Names, cities and websites come from OpenAlex and the Research Organization Registry (ROR).

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