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As many as 18 leading medical universities of the Russian Federation will take part in an All India Russian Education Fair to be held across Tamil Nadu this month.

A total of 10,000 MBBS seats are on offer for Indian students at the fair, according to organisers.

Indian students who have cleared National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test and have scored at least 50% marks in relevant core subjects can apply for MBBS courses in Russia. For students from SC, ST, and OBC communities, the minimum marks required is 40%.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Russian Consul General in Chennai Valerii Khodzhaev said his country had about 4,15,000 foreign students in 2025-26 and the number was expected to touch 4,25,000 by the end of the year.

The Russian government has set a target of attracting 5,00,000 foreign students by 2030. Working towards this, the government was improving academic and housing infrastructure at universities and creating a friendly and safe environment for the foreign students.

“Our universities offer some of the best educational programmes,” Mr. Khodzhaev said, adding, “We are able to keep our prices reasonable because of the high purchasing power in Russia.” MBBS fees in Russia can be as low as ₹3.5 lakhs to ₹5 lakh per annum.

The fair will see participation from educational institutions teaching science, technology, and engineering and those offering programmes in emerging domains like biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and data science.

Alexander Dodonov, Vice Consul and Director, Russian House, said full scholarships were also being offered to about 220 Indian students this year.

C. Ravi Chandran, Managing Director, Study Abroad Educational Consultants, said Russia had 63 public medical universities and more than 600 universities for humanities, sciences, and engineering. “Nearly 98% of Indian students in Russia are medical students. That is because it is the only country where institutions satisfied the latest norms set by the National Medical Council,” Dr. Chandran added.

Berezhanskiy Pavel Viacheslavovich, professor of Child Diseases, Sechenov’s University, also spoke.

The fair will take place in Chennai between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. on May 9 and 10 at the Russian Centre of Science and Culture. It will then be held at Hotel Royal Court in Madurai on May 12, Hotel Femina in Tiruchi on May 13, GRT Hotel Zibe in Salem on May 14, and The Grand Regent Hotel in Coimbatore the next day. For more details, contact 9282221221.