The International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma offered graduates direct admission to top universities worldwide without requiring additional entrance examinations. In the Moscow region, 29 schools participated in this program. What made the IB program so popular in Russia?
A primary appeal of the now-designated undesirable International Baccalaureate program was its global recognition. An IB diploma granted students admission to approximately 2,000 universities worldwide without additional entrance examinations, encompassing prestigious institutions like Harvard, Princeton, Oxford, Cambridge, and leading Russian universities. Roughly 6,000 schools across over 150 countries, predominantly in North America and Europe, offered the IB program. In Russia, IB schools were found in major cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kazan, as well as other regions.
At the middle school level, the IB curriculum aligned with national educational standards (in Russia, the Federal State Educational Standards). For senior students, a two-year Diploma Programme (DP) was implemented. Participants selected six subjects from diverse fields—literature and native language, foreign languages, individuals and societies, experimental sciences, mathematics, and arts—with three of these studied at an advanced level.
Completing research projects and passing final examinations were mandatory requirements for earning the diploma. In Russian schools offering IB, instruction was typically in Russian until ninth grade, then transitioned to English for the senior years. Asiya, an International Baccalaureate alumna from Tatarstan, now attending a prestigious American university, shares her experience:
“A diploma is awarded to a student upon successfully completing the final two years of study. The orientation towards a future university and the choice of a professional path usually crystallize towards the end of the first year of DP. The six chosen specialized subjects provide significant assistance, helping students understand their interests and purposefully study the necessary disciplines. According to our teachers, those who successfully complete the DP program will find their first year of university significantly easier, as these two years cultivate key skills in self-organization and balancing study with rest. Although it demands effort due to the large volume of information and numerous subjects where high results are expected, it’s a continuous learning process. Communication skills and the ability to work independently are constantly developed. Students must be able to ask questions, independently find information, and correctly cite their sources. Strict plagiarism checks also foster a sense of responsibility and a mature outlook: realizing that without diligent work, two years could be wasted, and failing exams or achieving poor results would be very disappointing.”
According to EdDesignMag data from 2023, the tuition cost for the IB program for high school students in Moscow ranged from 1 to 3.2 million rubles.
Reasons for the IB Ban
The Russian Prosecutor General`s Office asserted that the International Baccalaureate`s objective was to “mold Russian youth according to Western patterns.” They claimed that IB representatives “imposed their distorted view of historical processes, falsified widely known facts,” and engaged in “anti-Russian propaganda.” Furthermore, IB was accused of promoting “non-traditional values based on the ideology of prohibited extremist organizations.”
Educational Impact and Expert Opinion
The designation of International Baccalaureate as an undesirable organization significantly impacts the educational trajectories of expat children attending international schools with this program. While admission to foreign universities was a key motivation for many students, for their parents, the quality of education itself was equally crucial, as highlighted by Sergey Kosaretsky, Associate Professor at the Institute of Education`s Department of Educational Programs at HSE University:
“The program`s advantages stemmed from the high quality of education, the application of advanced teaching methodologies, and the professionalism of the teaching staff. Schools adopting these standards were undoubtedly among the best in Russia, and their teachers were considered some of the most qualified and effective specialists. Available statistics indicate that not all graduates of these schools pursued studies abroad, underscoring that the choice was often driven by the quality of education itself.”
When asked why graduates with this diploma were so highly valued, Kosaretsky added:
“The pedagogical approaches themselves constantly integrated the best practices emerging from global research and trends: methods of organizing the educational process, effective teaching, providing feedback, stimulating interaction among students, and advanced forms of project-based and research activities. This ultimately contributed to sustaining high motivation and interest among children.”
Changes in Schools and Future Outlook
Currently, all schools previously offering the IB program are compelled to urgently revise their curricula. For instance, representatives from “Letovo” School and Kaluga International School confirmed that the program has been discontinued. The British Moscow School is transitioning to the British A-Level system, which involves studying three specialized subjects, has less stringent English language proficiency requirements, and primarily targets admissions to universities in the USA, Canada, the UK, and European countries.
However, with organizations such as the British Council (organizer of the international IELTS English exam), Yale University, and now IB, being designated as undesirable, the future of the British A-Level program also remains uncertain.
Rupert Blackwood 
Clement Ashworth