Towards a new role of universities in Russia: prospects and limitations

The paper refers to a contemporary discussion of S&T and innovation activities of Russian universities and respective national policies against the background of institutional transformation of the national innovation system. It emphasizes the Russian NIS structure and subsequent positioning of universities and the research institutions of the Academy of Sciences. The analysis makes it evident that the innovation activity of Russian universities is strongly challenged by various interdependent hampering factors. These factors arise directly from traditional barriers between science and education, which in turn relate to the imperfection of Russia's NIS originating from deep structural breaches far beyond S&T and education activities. National policies nowadays are aimed at increasing the innovation activity of universities, and the article concludes with an overview of the current debate on the most urgent issues.