One of Russia’s top universities has launched a new master’s program focused on reducing the impact of international sanctions, an indication that Moscow could be bracing for a generation of life under economic siege.
The two-year course offered by the Higher School of Economics (HSE) in Moscow aims to produce experts in international corporate compliance and sanctions risk management.
Students will be taught how to identify and mitigate the risks posed by sanctions and other restrictive measures imposed by foreign supervisory authorities.
The annual tuition is set at 490,000 rubles (€5,407), with 20 slots for Russian students and two for international applicants.
Alongside the full-time degree, HSE will also offer a 136-hour professional development course titled “Sanctions Compliance”, running online from September 16 to November 14.
Priced at 84,000 rubles (€927), the course includes theoretical instruction and real-world case studies on the application of economic sanctions and compliance mechanisms.
The initiative, the first of its kind in Russia, was first reported by the exiled Russian science outlet T-Invariant.
Adapting to ‘life under sanctions’
Igor Lipsits, a former HSE professor and co-founder of the university, told T-Invariant that the move is part of a Kremlin-backed effort to build long-term resilience under international isolation.
He said: “Everyone is seeing how Iran has lived under sanctions for 40 years. We may spend a long time living in this kind of a hostile environment, with all kinds of restrictions, and with increasing regulations over Russia’s business presence abroad.
“The Russian economy is adapting to life under sanctions for a generation.”
Russia became the most sanctioned country by the West after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, surpassing Iran and North Korea.