<p>kxc1961, correct. There is a huge amount of research going on in Russia. The Russian Academy of Sciences consists of a large network of purely research institutions. So for example there is:</p>
<p>Steklov Institute of Mathematics
Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics
Institute for System Programming
Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry</p>
<p>And many many others, dedicated just for research. Many of them are located in Moscow area and have ties with MSU. So the research is, believe it or not, a very big part of Russia’s education.</p>
<p>The problem is what kxc1961 has pointed out - the way research is handled in Russia does not make it very accessible. There are some partnerships with the West’s top universities, but on the whole, you won’t see much of Russian research unless you try hard. It’s not as commercialized as it is in USA, and it is something that should be changed.</p>
<p>But it definitely doesn’t mean anything about the actual quality of education, which is still top-notch.</p>