Russia’s MGIMO University Launches Branch in Astana to Train Next Generation of Regional Specialists
ASTANA — The Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), Russia’s premier university under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has opened a new branch at L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Astana, marking a significant milestone in Russian–Kazakh educational cooperation.
The inaugural ceremony on November 1 welcomed 103 students, who received their student ID cards from Kazakh Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek and MGIMO Rector Anatoly Torkunov.
According to Torkunov, MGIMO Astana will focus on training specialists for Kazakhstan’s key economic, business, and international relations sectors, supporting the country’s drive to cultivate globally competitive professionals.
The branch currently offers two undergraduate programs — World Mineral Resources and Energy Markets and Analysis and Modeling of Socioeconomic and Business Processes — along with two master’s programs: Financial Economics and Financial Technologies and Multilateral Institutions and Management of Global Technological Development.
Artem Malgin, director of the MGIMO Astana branch, said undergraduate students will spend two semesters in Moscow, while master’s students will study there for one semester, ensuring academic integration between campuses. Courses are jointly taught by MGIMO and Eurasian National University faculty.
MGIMO Astana is the institute’s second international branch, following the success of MGIMO Tashkent in Uzbekistan, which offers six programs tailored to regional priorities.
The opening of the Astana campus underscores growing Russia–Kazakhstan cooperation in higher education and the region’s emphasis on developing expertise in energy, finance, and international diplomacy.
