Russia Approves Digital Student IDs Nationwide
A bill to introduce digital student IDs and academic records across all Russian universities has passed its first reading, signaling a major step toward full digitization in higher education.
Russia is moving to replace paper-based student credentials with fully digital documents. A new legislative initiative, which has cleared its first reading in the State Duma, aims to deploy electronic student IDs and gradebooks at scale across the country.
The pilot program already includes 174 universities, with more than 1.5 million students now able to apply for digital IDs via the country’s public services portal, Gosuslugi. According to Anton Tkachev, First Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee on Information Policy and co-author of the bill, the pilot exceeded expectations in both adoption and functionality.
If fully enacted, the bill will allow the successful pilot to be rolled out nationwide, giving both students and universities a modern, secure tool for identification and academic management. Lawmakers hope the final approval will accelerate the complete transition to digital records in Russian higher education.
