- Category
- Latest news
Russia Hands Out Free Degrees to Africa, North Korea, and Taliban—Raising Concern About Recruitment
- Authors
![Photo of Roman Kohanets]( "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")
Russia will expand state-funded university places for foreign nationals from Africa and North Korea, and says it is ready to offer free slots to Afghans pending Taliban approval, according to Moscow Times on October 16.
Yevgeny Primakov, head of the state agency Rossotrudnichestvo, said Russia had allocated “more than 5,000” budget-funded places for African students in the current academic year and received “over 40,000 applications—twice as many as in the previous period.”
“We are actively expanding the geography of humanitarian cooperation,” he told reporters at the Russia–Africa Expo 2025 in Moscow, adding that new “Russian House ” partner centers would help strengthen Russia’s cultural and educational presence on the continent.
About Afghanistan, Primakov indicated willingness to provide free places for Afghan citizens but said admissions remain dependent on a clear decision from the Taliban authorities.
Parallel to this education push, fresh reports detail how Indian nationals have been lured or coerced into serving in the Russian military. Cases of Indians who traveled legally to Russia for work or study and were later forced into enlistment were discovered. Indian lawmaker Vikramjit Singh Sahney said many were “invited for jobs and then, without a translator, forced to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense.”
One Indian student, Sahil Majothi, appeared in a video released by Ukraine’s 63rd Mechanized Brigade after his capture, saying: “I didn’t want to stay in prison, so I signed a contract for the ‘special military operation’… I immediately put down my rifle and said that I didn’t want to fight.”
An African student, Daniel K., also one of those being coerced into fighting for Russia in Ukraine after arriving to study engineering in Moscow. Promised legal employment and residency, he was instead pressured by recruiters linked to private military companies to enlist under threat of deportation.
Deployed near Donetsk with minimal training, Daniel was wounded and later abandoned by Russian forces during a retreat. His story, verified through medical documents and witness accounts, highlights a broader pattern of foreign nationals being misled into Russia’s war through fake job offers and student visas.
Earlier, it was reported that Ukrainian soldiers captured an Indian national who said he chose a Russian army contract over a prison sentence after arriving to study in Russia, surrendered at the first opportunity, and is now in Ukrainian custody.
