Thread: Your First Days In A Russian Med School

HI to all of you out there!

As i had said in a previous thread... i d like to give you some info about the way students are being tested in russian med schools..and all its loopholes that allow teachers to be more corrupted... but before i do that.. let me give you a ' pre-taste' of how the first days of a foreign students are in a russian med school.. actually in most med schools in russia

anyway.. let s assume that you just arrived in russia.... you ll first be surprised to be greeted with the thousands of WONDERFUL SMILES the russian people would give you.. it seems that they are going to a funeral.. everybody will look mad.. sad..and/or preoccupied with something..

they all be dressed in black..and would look furious if you talk to them.. women are overweight..

The only people that you ll see HONESTLY smiling.. will be the street drunkards...lost in their oblivion..

you ll approach some old roman ruin-looking edifice that will be called your medical school...

then as you enter the doors.. you ll promptly be stopped by some overweight, hypertensive and plethoric red-faced security guard that will ask you ' what do you want ?' in the typical russian hospitable manner..

you ll probably struggle 15 minutes to make him understand that you are a student and that you need to find the foreign students office.. surely you ll be scrutinized and he ll take your passport gribble something in a piece of paper that will act as your pass for that day.. that piece of gribble may even cost you 50 Rubles! (about $1.5)..which actually should not cost anything.. but that s extra money for that guard.. most likely for a shot of vodka....

as you now cleared the first stage of that game.. you ll be walking through some dark.. unlit hallway.. trying to find out where the foreign student office is.. that ll probably take about another 15 minutes.. you ll enter an elevator the size of a coffin....and THEN.....youll start asking questions to yourself.. like ' what the hell am i doing here?'... or ' is that really a med school'... ' was i fooled' ..or stuff like that.. that will be a mind-boggling period ..

FINALLY you passed the level 1 of the game and reached your admission office.. some halfway renovated hallway.. with thick doors.. thick like fat *** cushions.. you could knock as hard as you could .. noone would hear you on the otherside..
you are now in the foreign student s office. .but ONLY 1 person speaks english ...and guess what.. that person is NOT here...

DAMN... what should i do?? wait 5 hours for that person to return.. (if that person returns..as there are no guarantee) or struggle my way back to my rundown dorm?

ok.. i ll make it easier for you... let s assume that ONLY english-speaking person is there.... he/she ll ask you for some pics.. your passport..and SURELY enough pay some amount of money.. (that money will go straight to that person s pocket... i dont know why they need that extra amount)
that person will tell you in some broken english.. ` you will be in group 12`...ok?!!..but where is that ? and when do classes start? and where are my classes going to be??
the answer will be ' Ask your seniors in your dorm and they ll tell you'....
WOW.. that s orientation russian style and i am not joking and i am not kidding about that..

so now i am in the middle of a totally unknown place.. i know NOBODY.. and i am suppose to find out who will be my classmates..and i should follow them like a sheep so that i d know where classes are..that s the equivalent of the MAP that they give you at orientation day in american Us..

anyway.. you ll then probably be asked to PAY your tuition.. cuz that s all that matters to them...
so til the point of paying tuition.. believe it or not.. NO PROBLEMS have yet come your way.. that s cuz you have not paid yet..

so you ll be sent to your ' contractor' ... most likely some foreign place to exchange gas..from some 3rd world place.. like india.. sri lanka.. egypt .. anyway.. you get the pic.. HOWEVER i should say that not all contractors are foreign but a good majority are..
you might find that a little eery.. well so did i... how come some 3rd world starving dog be an foreign student agent at some russian med school? well it is a long story and i ll need to start another thread for that..
(when i said 'starvin dog' i am talking about the personality of the contractor.. not his/her origins...so you guys from asia.. take a pill and relax!)

Russia is famed for long lines.. but when it is time to pay.. they ll be little waiting time!!! that s the ONLY good thing i ve noticed..
at MMA they ll treat you like you ve been owing them the money..

now you ve paid and are set!!.. as you head to your dorm.. making plans for the next upcoming days..and how you ll tackle your new medical career.. you ll start having problems..
you ll enter your dorm ..and already 2 people are already living there..!!

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?? i just went pay my tuition.. and how did those 2 appear?? well easy.. the university staff knows that i have paid..and will not just turn around and go back home now... and as they always overstaff their students.. they pack them up in small rooms after they have paid..
MMA does that.. Mr SAMAN..and he alcoholoc acolyte.. georgi gregorivitch (person in charge with housing) love to do that..

enough said about all that.. cuz i could go on and on for days and months..

the system of education in russia ..is something that you MUST be aware of before you get there..cuz otherwise you ll be in big big big BIG trouble..

the day of registration.. you ll be given a booklet.. called a ZACHETNAYA..it is a booklet that you ll be keeping from day 1 til the last day of med school as it will contain all your grades for all exams..from year 1 to year 6... it is your ' transcripts' .. your ' records'...
you ll have to show it to the prof after every exams..so that he ll write the grade. .the subject and his/her signature..
DONT ever try to fake a signature.. youll be in the streets in no time!

and you already can see that if you have good grades from the 1st year.. then the next following years.. profs.. will look at your past grades and decide the grade you ll get..
so if you did well in your 1st year.. then the profs will think.. hmm that s a smart person.. i ll give him a good grade too..
if you didnt do too well in 1st year.. but are trying your hardest in the following years.. you may not get the grade you deserve as your 1st year grades penalized you.. that s already ONE prob..


wow.. it is late here.. i ll go on next time.. sorry to dwell on all that..
take care

1) Why cook your own food if you are from India?

Well the word 'vegetarian' is not really in the Russian vocabulary. Unless you plan to survive on pourage and potatoes. The vast majority of food in Russia has either beef or pork in it. The other food in the cafeteria is most likely cooked on beef or pork fat drippings. Its not like there are food carts outside where you just order something real quick. You will have some fat woman in the university cafeteria, a relic from USSR, who doesn't know how to cook, throw some nasty old food in a pot (she steals the good food), and mix something up that only a hungry prisoner may enjoy. Unless you are homeless and are used to eating from a garbage can, you will not enjoy most of the food served in the cafeteria. It may be a good idea to team up with your fellow Indians, and share cooking duties for the group on rotation each day.

2) Why cant you dine out under 100-120$ a month everytime you are hungry?

Moscow and St. Petersburg are regularly on the top 10 list of the most expensive cities in the world to live. If you think u can eat 3 times a day for 30 days for $1.25 each time in a restaurant, you are sadly mistaken. In a restaurant be prepared to spend over $5 for an appetizer and $8-$12 for a meal (very very cheap restaurant), unless you plan to walk for hours or know the area. It is much cheaper to buy food at the market once a week, invest in a mini-refrigerator and an electric plate, and cook your own food. You will save money and eat exactly what you want each time. Maybe you can make a deal with an Indian restaurant (if one exists close to university), to cook for you on regular basis for a flat price, but don't depend on it.

3) Any complaint recieved from any student or prospect from in or out of Russia that you were demeaning the school or the professors you shall be expelled or not allowed to sit for the exams.

I don think you will be expelled for complaining. Depends how rude you get, but Russians are very used to rude people. Most likely they will just ignore you and stop taking your telephone calls and refuse appointments. Eventually you will have to come on your knees with a bottle of premium vodka and an expensive box of chocolates and beg them to forgive you. Don't fight Russian bureaucracy, you will always loose and they really don't care. They will get a good laugh about you being angry.

bpoichan, I thought that students will only be focused on clinical training from the 4th year on?

Hi,

that seems a tough shot but among the following what is teh cheapest and best place to study?

Sorry to reopen an old thread but I have the same question as Cox's Bazaar.

I want to find the cheapest possible place to study medicine due to financial reasons. (Are there cheaper places outside Russia? Any country would be ok but I heard Russia was the cheapest)

I want the instructions to be in English. 5 year MBBS and 6 year MD, both are ok as long as I can practice straight after it(and an exam). I'm not so desperate but I would be draining my finances a lot & so I must be able to fill the holes as soon as I finish my degree God willing.

I want a college recognized in home(srilanka), UK, USA and if possible whole Europe, preferably without an exam in UK or another EU country.

I don't mind living in a rural area. In fact, I prefer a rural setting. But, I need a place with good internet access since I rely a lot on internet for my educational research & references.

I'm an above average person but am not the smartest in the lot. So, take that also into account.

Can you also give me an idea about the sacrifices I will have to make to live rurally?


First Moscow Medical Institute
Rostov State Medical Institute
Mordovia N.P Ogarez State Medical University
Saint Petersburg State, Rjazan State Medical University
Astrakhan State Medical Academy
Kuban State Medical Academy
Nizhni Novgorod State Medical Academy
Moscow Medical Stomatology Institute
Irkutsk State Medical University
Tula State Medical Academy
Kursk State Medical University
Tver State Medical Academy
Izevsk State Medical Academy
Russian State Medical University
Russian Peoples Friendship University
Saint Petersburg State I.P
Stavropol State Medical Academy
Volgograd Medical Academy and Smolensk State Medical Academy.

(these are the only medical colleges recognized in russia)

nobody answers me

how do i get a transfer from Russia? ayone done so far?

Originally Posted by med edu

how do i get a transfer from Russia? ayone done so far?

Russia has adopted MD education from Germany: 6 year program which does not require previous Bsci education. First year students study natural sciences (Math, Parasitology, Cytology, ..) but are getting intensive (6 hours a week) study of Anatomy. As a result, the program is not comparable with programs of many other countries (except for former Soviet republics, Germany, etc). Therefore, complete credits transfer (and advanced standing) from foreign medical schools to Russian ones and vice versa is not easy.

Hello! i am from india and want to do my MD in russia.so can anyone plz guide me in choosing an university. Also plz post your views/opinions about Stavropol State Medical university.

Originally Posted by meishern

1) Why cook your own food if you are from India?

Well the word 'vegetarian' is not really in the Russian vocabulary. Unless you plan to survive on pourage and potatoes. The vast majority of food in Russia has either beef or pork in it. The other food in the cafeteria is most likely cooked on beef or pork fat drippings. Its not like there are food carts outside where you just order something real quick. You will have some fat woman in the university cafeteria, a relic from USSR, who doesn't know how to cook, throw some nasty old food in a pot (she steals the good food), and mix something up that only a hungry prisoner may enjoy. Unless you are homeless and are used to eating from a garbage can, you will not enjoy most of the food served in the cafeteria. It may be a good idea to team up with your fellow Indians, and share cooking duties for the group on rotation each day.

2) Why cant you dine out under 100-120$ a month everytime you are hungry?

Moscow and St. Petersburg are regularly on the top 10 list of the most expensive cities in the world to live. If you think u can eat 3 times a day for 30 days for $1.25 each time in a restaurant, you are sadly mistaken. In a restaurant be prepared to spend over $5 for an appetizer and $8-$12 for a meal (very very cheap restaurant), unless you plan to walk for hours or know the area. It is much cheaper to buy food at the market once a week, invest in a mini-refrigerator and an electric plate, and cook your own food. You will save money and eat exactly what you want each time. Maybe you can make a deal with an Indian restaurant (if one exists close to university), to cook for you on regular basis for a flat price, but don't depend on it.

3) Any complaint recieved from any student or prospect from in or out of Russia that you were demeaning the school or the professors you shall be expelled or not allowed to sit for the exams.

I don think you will be expelled for complaining. Depends how rude you get, but Russians are very used to rude people. Most likely they will just ignore you and stop taking your telephone calls and refuse appointments. Eventually you will have to come on your knees with a bottle of premium vodka and an expensive box of chocolates and beg them to forgive you. Don't fight Russian bureaucracy, you will always loose and they really don't care. They will get a good laugh about you being angry.

Hello! i am from india and want to do my MD in russia.so can anyone plz guide me in choosing an university. Also plz post your views/opinions about Stavropol State Medical university.