Tomsk State University

Heading back to Siberia for the next of these top universities in Russia, Tomsk State University comes 43rd in this year’s BRICS. Founded in 1878 but not opened to students until 1888, it’s the oldest institution in the vast ‘Russian Asia’ area. It now has around 17,000 students enrolled in 23 faculties, and offers 165 master’s programs, including some English-taught courses. Tomsk State University was designated as a National Research University in 2010 and offers its students one of the most extensive library archives of all Russian universities.

In this year’s subject rankings, Tomsk State University is ranked among the top 300 universities in the world for modern languages, and among the top 400 for physics and astronomy.