THE RECENT EMERGENCE OF PRIVATE CHRISTIAN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES IN RUSSIA:HISTORICAL REASONS AND CONTEMPORARY DEVELOPMENTS.

Although the history of Christianity in Russia dates back to the tenth century, the history of private Christian higher education in Russia is no more than a decade. This paper first explains the historical reasons for this fact and then describes the contemporary development of faith-based private education in Russia over the past decade. When Russia's system of higher education first developed, both the system and the Russian Orthodox Church were under the centralized control of the Russian government. Thus, although Christian perspectives and practices influenced Russian higher education, the Orthodox Church did not start or control universities. The period of communist control in Russia meant that Russian Orthodox perspectives and practices in Russian universities were abolished. Only in the post-communist era have a small number of Christian colleges and universities begun to emerge. These schools represent an interesting cross-section of Christian groups and a unique element in Russia's emerging system of private education. These institutions face numerous and unique challenges in the current Russian climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]