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A state medical university under the Russian Ministry of Health, teaching medicine in Voronezh since 1918 and General Medicine in English since 2004.
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Russia
Country
Voronezh
City
#18 in Russia
RAEX Medicine ranking 2026
English
Medium of the English track
For Indian Students
Short answer: Yes, Indian students can study MBBS in Russia. Yes, the degree is eligible for the FMGE, as long as the programme is taught in English throughout and its internship is completed at the same university; a programme taught in Russian, or partly in Russian, does not qualify.
Russian universities admit Indian students directly after Class 12 with Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English, on Class 12 marks and a qualifying NEET UG result, with no separate entrance test and no IELTS or TOEFL. Indian students also obtain the NMC Eligibility Certificate before starting the course.
Yes, when the whole programme is taught in English and the internship is completed at the same university. The NMC Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2021 ask for a course of at least 54 months taught in English, an internship of at least twelve months in the same foreign institution, and a degree that entitles the holder to practise in Russia. The Russian programme is a six-year integrated Specialist degree with clinical rotations and internship in the later years, and at most universities on this page Russian is learned alongside for talking to patients. A few universities teach General Medicine in Russian or bilingually, and the NMC requires English for the whole course, so the internship arrangement and English medium of your programme are what count.
Graduates of a programme that meets these rules sit the FMGE (NExT deferred and not in force), complete any required internship in India and register with the NMC and their State Medical Council. The degree can also support the USMLE or PLAB routes for eligible graduates.
Introduction
Main building of Voronezh State Medical University seen past flowering hydrangeas in the forecourt
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Recognition & Prestige
RAEX ranks Voronezh State Medical University 18th in Russia for Medicine for 2026, within a narrow band over four years (19th in 2023, 20th in 2024, 16th in 2025), and 93rd among all Russian universities, against its best RAEX-100 position of 49th in 2016. It sits in the 78 to 112 band of the Three University Missions international ranking for 2025 and does not appear in the QS or Times Higher Education world rankings.
#18
RAEX Medicine subject ranking, Russia, 2026
#93
RAEX-100, all Russian universities, 2026
78 to 112
Three University Missions ranking band, 2025
Voronezh State Medical University holds Russian state accreditation certificate A007-00115-36/01103921 and educational licence L035-00115-36/00097124, both of indefinite validity, and is a Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution under the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. It is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools. For India, the six-year English-medium degree opens the FMGE route when the programme meets the NMC's FMGL 2021 rules on duration, internship and medium of teaching.
WDOMS
Voronezh State Medical University is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools
Complete Information About Voronezh State Medical University
Get complete information about Voronezh State Medical University, including tuition, living costs, admission and recognition for Indian students.
Success stories
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Academic Excellence
Voronezh State Medical University offers a state-run, six-year medical degree at RUB 340,000 a year, with university hostels and its own teaching hospitals, in a provincial city where rent runs about a third of Moscow's. The practical constraints of travel and safety in the region are set out in Student Life.
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How to Apply
Admission to General Medicine runs through the university's own entrance test in Chemistry and English, set through its Moodle system. A qualifying NEET UG result and the NMC Eligibility Certificate are separate Indian requirements completed before going abroad.
Indian citizens need a qualifying NEET UG result before joining a medical course abroad, valid for three years from its declaration, and the NMC Eligibility Certificate before starting the course.
A scanned school-leaving certificate with an apostille from India's Ministry of External Affairs, a passport copy and an application letter go to the admissions office.
The candidate is registered on the university's Moodle system and given the test format and dates.
The English-medium General Medicine programme is entered through a Chemistry and English test set by the university; the Russian-medium programmes use Chemistry and Russian.
On acceptable results the candidate signs the enrolment consent and the contract, pays tuition, and obtains a Certificate of Recognition of Foreign Education from Glavekspertcentr.
The university issues an invitation letter through the Russian migration authority for the student visa. Within three days of crossing the border the student submits passport, visa and migration card, and takes out a twelve-month medical insurance policy through the university's International Institute, quoted at RUB 5,800 (about ₹6,550).
The applicant needs a school-leaving certificate with an apostille and a Certificate of Recognition of Foreign Education from Glavekspertcentr, the Russian federal document-recognition agency. Under Indian NMC rules an Indian applicant also needs Physics, Chemistry, Biology and English at Class 12, with at least 50% aggregate in Physics, Chemistry and Biology for the general category, 40% for SC, ST and OBC candidates and 45% for general-category candidates with benchmark disabilities, together with a qualifying NEET UG result.
Subjects:
Under Indian NMC rules the candidate must be 17 years old by 31 December of the admission year, with no upper age limit. The university publishes no separate age condition.
Two university-set requirements stand between an applicant and enrolment.
University Entrance Test
A test in Chemistry and English for the English-medium General Medicine programme, run through the university's Moodle system. NEET is not part of the university's own assessment.
Certificate of Recognition of Foreign Education
Issued by Glavekspertcentr, the Russian federal agency for recognition of foreign qualifications. The school-leaving certificate needs an apostille from India's Ministry of External Affairs first.
Admission rests on the university's own entrance test rather than on category-wise minimum marks.
| Component | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Entrance test, English-medium programme | Chemistry and English, set and run by the university through its Moodle system |
| Entrance test, Russian-medium programmes | Chemistry and Russian |
| Before enrolment | Certificate of Recognition of Foreign Education from Glavekspertcentr, at least one semester's tuition paid and a valid Russian entry visa |
To apply, students need to submit essential academic and identification documents:
Admission Guidance & Document Checklist
Get the complete document checklist or admission guidance from our experts.
Programme Structure
General Medicine (Lechebnoe Delo) is a six-year integrated Specialist degree, the equivalent of an Indian MBBS. Clinical practice begins in the second year and runs through the later years, and since Russia's 2016 reform there has been no separate internship year after graduation: the course ends in the state Primary Accreditation examination, which licenses the graduate as a general practitioner in Russia.
Total Duration:
6 Years, ending in the state Primary Accreditation examination
Degree:
Specialist Diploma in General Medicine (Vrach, equivalent to MBBS)
Years 1 to 2
The structure and function of the healthy human body, under the Russian federal standard, with first hospital practice from Year 2:
Year 3
Disease mechanisms alongside the first systematic patient examination teaching:
Years 4 to 5
Teaching across the clinical specialties, with rotations through the university's clinical sites in Voronezh:
Year 6
The concentrated final clinical year, concluding in the state Primary Accreditation examination that licenses practice in Russia:
Clinical training runs through the university's own institutions and its clinical sites across Voronezh:
| Phase | Focus |
|---|---|
| Year 2 | First clinical practice in hospitals and clinics, described by the university as clinical work and interaction with patients |
| After Year 3 | Eligibility for a certificate to work as junior and middle-grade medical staff alongside study |
| Years 4 to 5 | Rotations across Internal Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Neurology and the other clinical departments |
| Year 6 | Subordinatura, the concentrated final clinical year, followed by the state Primary Accreditation examination |
Get the full curriculum
Download a free brochure to see detailed subjects, the course structure and everything you need to plan your studies.
Clinical Network
Voronezh State Medical University publishes no student exchange programme for its international track. It publishes its teaching infrastructure and clinical base, which is where a medical student actually trains.
| Facility | Role in teaching and clinical training |
|---|---|
| Children's Clinical Hospital of VSMU | The university's own paediatric teaching hospital in Voronezh |
| Dental Polyclinic of VSMU | The university's own dental clinic, used for teaching and patient care |
| Clinical sites across Voronezh | Clinical and practical training under agreement at medical organisations across the city |
| Teaching accommodation | 73 classrooms in the main building, 40 in the teaching-laboratory building and around 300 at clinical sites, with 28 lecture halls seating 5,040 |
| Research institutes | Six research institutes attached to the university |
Explore the Clinical Training Network
The table above lists the university's own institutions and the scale of its teaching and clinical base.
Legacy
The university carries the name of one of the founders of Soviet neurosurgery and is led by an oncologist and former chief physician.
The surgeon the university is named after, though not a graduate of it. Burdenko (1876 to 1946) was a military field surgeon, a founder of Soviet neurosurgery, chief surgeon of the Red Army during the Second World War and the first President of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences. The institute was named after him in 1977.
Rector of the university, a Doctor of Medical Sciences, professor and Honoured Doctor of the Russian Federation, and for more than thirteen years chief physician of the Voronezh Regional Oncology Centre. He became acting rector on 16 January 2026 and was confirmed by order of the Russian Health Minister on 16 June 2026.
The university teaches 6,399 students on Specialist programmes and admitted 755 residency trainees in 2024. Teaching runs across the main building on Studencheskaya Street, a teaching-laboratory building and the clinical sites, and its 2024 professional-public accreditation covered six Specialist programmes and 42 residency programmes.
Federal state university under the Ministry of Health
Six research institutes attached to the university
42 residency programmes with professional-public accreditation
18th in Russia for Medicine, RAEX 2026
International Institute of Medical Education and Cooperation
Clinical practice from Year 2
Five university dormitories with 2,108 places
Medical insurance arranged through the International Institute on arrival
About University
Get all information about Voronezh State Medical University in our free brochure
Read on to find out how you can fulfil your dream of studying medicine at Voronezh State Medical University.
Role in medicine
Get all information about Voronezh State Medical University in our free brochure
Read on to find out how you can fulfil your dream of studying medicine at Voronezh State Medical University.
Cost of living
Voronezh is a provincial Russian city where rent runs about a third of Moscow's. The rows below are monthly approximations in rupees; the accommodation range runs from a university hostel place to a private one-bedroom flat outside the centre (Numbeo, Voronezh, August 2026).
| Cost Component | Approximate Amount |
|---|---|
| Accommodation (hostel, about USD 300 a year, to a private flat at RUB 21,000) | ₹2,100 to ₹23,700 |
| Food | ₹9,000 to ₹16,800 |
| Transport (RUB 21 a ride; monthly pass about RUB 2,500) | ₹1,100 to ₹2,800 |
| Other expenses (utilities, internet, SIM, leisure) | ₹3,400 to ₹9,000 |
Average monthly living cost
₹15,600 to ₹52,300
Housing
Voronezh State Medical University runs five dormitory buildings with 2,108 places, administered by its Studgorodok student campus office, and states that foreign students are guaranteed a place.
Need accommodation details?
Get a full overview of housing options with our university guide, or reach out to an expert.
Food & Dining
Voronezh has no established Indian restaurant scene, so an Indian student here mostly cooks.
Every dormitory floor or section has a shared kitchen and students cook their own food. For an Indian student in Voronezh this is the main way of eating Indian food, which is why bringing a spice supply from home matters.
Dormitory 3 on Studencheskaya Street, next to the main building, has its own student canteen and buffet, with a Russian menu.
Large Russian supermarkets carry a limited range of spices, and Ozon and Wildberries ship Indian and Asian spice brands across Russia, with Wildberries pickup points in Voronezh itself.
Yandex Eda is the main food delivery platform in Russia and operates in Voronezh.
An inexpensive restaurant meal in Voronezh costs about RUB 1,000 (about ₹1,130) and a mid-range meal for two about RUB 4,000, with restaurant prices 16.1% below Moscow.
Location
Voronezh State Medical University, Studencheskaya Street 10, Voronezh, 394036, Voronezh Oblast, Russia. Dormitory 3 and the student canteen stand at Studencheskaya Street 12, next to the main building.
Nearest Airport
Voronezh International Airport (VOZ) has been closed to passenger flights since February 2022. Students fly to Moscow and continue by train
From Moscow
The fast train from Moscow takes about seven hours, with third-class fares from about RUB 927
Your Roadmap to Success
Graduates receive the Russian Specialist diploma in General Medicine, the primary medical qualification and the equivalent of an Indian MBBS rather than an Indian postgraduate MD. The university's English materials call it an MD degree, which is a translation choice, not a research doctorate.
The six-year English-medium degree opens the FMGE route to India when the programme meets the NMC's FMGL 2021 rules on duration, internship and medium of teaching. Graduates of a programme that meets them sit the FMGE (NExT deferred and not in force), complete any required internship in India and register with the NMC and their State Medical Council.
The six-year programme ends in the state Primary Accreditation examination, which licenses a graduate to work as a general practitioner in Russia. Specialisation then runs through ordinatura, with 42 accredited residency programmes at the university.
Graduates can specialise in India through NEET PG after clearing the FMGE and the Indian internship, or in Russia through ordinatura.
Voronezh State Medical University is listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS), so its graduates can apply for ECFMG Certification and sit the USMLE. ECFMG's accreditation policy is for information only and does not affect an individual graduate's eligibility for ECFMG Certification.
A Russian medical degree is not a European qualification for UK purposes, so a graduate applies to the General Medical Council through the PLAB route.
Understand the Medical Licensing Pathway
A clear overview of the exams and requirements after graduation.
Practising in India
To practise in India after graduating abroad, an Indian student qualifies NEET UG before admission, completes a programme that meets the NMC's FMGL 2021 rules, clears the FMGE (NExT is deferred and not in force), completes any required internship in India and registers with the NMC or a State Medical Council.
Step 1
The NMC Foreign Medical Graduate Licentiate Regulations 2021 ask for a course of at least 54 months, an internship of at least twelve months in the same foreign institution, and registration with the regulator of that country. The six-year degree clears the course length. It is an integrated Specialist degree with clinical practice from Year 2 and no separate internship year after graduation, so the internship arrangement of your programme is what counts.
Step 2
The regulations ask for the whole course to be taught in English. The university records its English-medium programme as fully in English since 2018. Clinical practice from Year 2 takes place in hospitals where patients speak Russian, so Russian is learned alongside for the wards.
Step 3
The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences conducts the FMGE twice a year with a pass mark of 150 out of 300. In the December 2025 session 42,872 candidates appeared and 10,262 qualified, a pass rate of 23.95%. In June 2025, 36,034 appeared and 6,707 qualified, 18.61%. The National Exit Test (NExT), intended to replace the FMGE, is deferred and not in force. NBEMS publishes no pass rate by university or by country.
Step 4
After clearing the FMGE, a foreign graduate completes a twelve-month Compulsory Rotating Medical Internship in India, the same twelve months an Indian MBBS graduate completes.
Step 5
The final step is registration with the National Medical Commission or a State Medical Council, with the Russian degree apostilled for use in India. A registered graduate can practise anywhere in India.
Student Life Style
Voronezh is a provincial city of about a million people on the Voronezh River, roughly 500 km south of Moscow. Studying here involves practical realities a family should understand before committing six years.
Visitors walking on the frozen surface of Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia, in winter
Road leading towards the snow-capped peak of Mount Elbrus in the Caucasus, Russia
Aerial view of a meandering river across the Russian countryside in summer
Aerial view of a river valley between forested hills in autumn, Russia
Scholarship & Financial
The university publishes no scholarship of its own for General Medicine. The funded route is the Russian government quota, awarded nationally rather than by the university.
The Russian government offers scholarship places to Indian students each year, covering medicine among other fields. Applications run through the official Russian government portal, with candidates choosing up to six universities in priority order and selection on prior grades and a portfolio. Russian is not a precondition, and an optional preparatory Russian year can be chosen.
The university admitted 14 international students to state-funded places in 2024, against 3 in 2023, alongside 168 fee-paying international admissions. State-funded places for international students come through the government quota.
A nine-month pre-university preparatory course costs RUB 76,500 (about ₹86,400), the route for students who need Russian or subject preparation before the degree.
Compare
Compare Voronezh State Medical University with India's top-ranked government medical college.
Quick Comparison:
Voronezh State Medical University vs AIIMS New Delhi
| University | Voronezh State Medical UniversityVoronezh, Russia | AIIMS New DelhiNew Delhi, India |
|---|---|---|
| University Type | Public, Ministry of Health, medical teaching since 1918 | Institute of National Importance (government) |
| Medium | English, with clinical work in a Russian-speaking setting | English |
| Course Duration | 6 years, with clinical practice from Year 2 | 5.5 years, being 4.5 years plus a 12-month internship |
| Tuition (per year) | ₹3.84 lakh (RUB 340,000), last published rate, 2023-24 | About ₹1,628 in academic fees for the whole course, including ₹1,350 tuition |
| Admission | University test in Chemistry and English, plus a qualifying NEET UG result | NEET UG |
| Recognition | Listed in WDOMS; FMGE route when the programme meets the NMC rules | Listed in WDOMS |
| Ranking | RAEX Medicine #18 (2026); RAEX-100 #93 (2026) | NIRF Medical 1 (2025) |
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Short answers to the questions students and parents ask most often about studying medicine at Voronezh State Medical University.
