Education gives China an edge over Russia, LSE says

China and Russia are natural business partners, but China has a headstart in developing its economy after investing more in education over the past two decades than Russia, said the new director of the London School of Economics, reports Jonathan Earle for The Moscow Times.

"China made early and major investments in education. Russia was extremely slow to recognise how investments in education could pay off for diversifying the economy, as well as simply advancing its citizens," LSE Director Craig Calhoun said in an interview. "Recently, the government has caught up on that to some extent, but it's now way behind," he said, noting that Russian universities rank poorly in international ratings.

Speaking on the sidelines of a reception at the residence of British Ambassador Tim Barrow on Tuesday, Calhoun said the Soviet Union's strong education system was largely lost in the general institutional collapse in post-Soviet Russia.
Full report on The Moscow Times site