The Open Doors grant — what do you actually get?
This page explains the support that comes with winning: what is really covered, what stays on you, and what can stop the support itself. Everything here describes the general contract template — your own contract is the reference.
Official source: grant.ined.ru — the official site is available in English and Arabic too: open the link and pick your language from the switcher.
In one minute
Winning Open Doors gives you a tuition-free study place — this grant is an extra layer on top of it, not the place itself.
The free study place comes from the olympiad itself.
The grant comes after it: a contract between three parties — the grant operator, your university, and you. That is why it is called the "trilateral contract".
And per the official grant website: receiving the grant requires the ministry study placement within the government quota — meaning the study place comes first, and the grant is a second, separate step.
If the grant does not go through or you decline it — your free study place stays. It is not cancelled.
What does the grant cover?
Four main things — according to the 2025/26 trilateral contract template:
Your first arrival ticket to Russia, and your final ticket home after graduation. Economy class, shortest route.
A monthly amount transferred to your bank account: 22,440 rubles per month for the 2025/26 season, per the official source. The amount is set each season and may differ in yours — and it is an allowance, not a salary: do not build your entire living budget on it.
A yearly policy for the whole study period: emergencies, clinics, urgent dental care, ambulance, and an annual check-up.
A monthly compensation equal to the university dormitory fee. So: not free housing — but the grant pays you back its cost.
The preparatory year for learning Russian is covered by the same support if it is part of your path.
Per the 2025/26 trilateral contract template
What will you pay yourself?
Things the grant simply does not cover — you pay for them while the grant keeps working normally:
- Holiday travel tickets — the grant covers the first arrival and the final trip home only.
- If you take academic leave and want to travel — tickets are on you.
- Daily personal expenses beyond the monthly payment.
Per the 2025/26 trilateral contract template
⚠️ What can stop the grant itself?
This is a completely different list from the one above — this section is about situations where the grant itself stops or gets cut. Read it carefully.
- Your grades: a "satisfactory" grade or failed subjects cut the monthly payment. It resumes after the first exam session you pass without them — per the contract template.
- Academic leave pauses the support for its whole duration; it resumes by decision after you return.
- The operator can suspend the support if the state funding itself stops — this clause exists in the template and you should know it.
- Any amount paid to you by administrative mistake can be claimed back.
- Changing your study mode from full-time can terminate the contract.
If you are expelled, the support ends and you travel back at your own expense. The funded return ticket is only for graduates or students transferring to another university. This is the most serious line on this page — take it seriously from day one.
Per the 2025/26 trilateral contract template
Things that keep your grant
Not every change loses the grant — these situations keep it with you, per the template:
- Transferring to another university — the grant continues with you.
- Graduating early on an individual plan — the support follows your plan.
- Acquiring Russian citizenship during your studies — you keep the full support until graduation.
Per the 2025/26 trilateral contract template
Your obligations
The grant does not run itself — some things are required from you, and ignoring them has real consequences:
- Study full-time and pass your subjects.
- Get a Russian insurance number (SNILS) if you do not have one.
- Complete the recognition of your school certificate — the deadline falls in your first months: ask your university for the exact date as soon as you arrive.
- Report any change in your details (passport, email, phone) within the periods set in the contract.
- 📧 Most important habit: the email you registered in the contract becomes an official communication channel — a message counts as delivered on the day it is sent, even if you never open it. Check it regularly.
Per the 2025/26 trilateral contract template
🧡 From my own experience
This section is my personal opinion and experience — not quoted from any document, and others' experience may differ.
Notice an important difference: everything above comes from official sources (the template or the official site) — what follows is my own experience. Get used to telling these two apart whenever you read about scholarships.
What I saw myself: having your name on a candidates list does not automatically mean you got the grant — there are procedures that follow.
And I will not give you numbers about how many winners receive it — because I simply do not know, and I will not make things up.
Common questions
How is this different from the Russian government quota scholarship?
The government quota is a scholarship you apply to directly through the official portal in your country — a completely separate track. The Open Doors grant comes through winning the olympiad: a free study place plus living support on top (which this page explains). Both are competitive and neither is guaranteed — and you can try both. Read about the quota here.
If I decline the grant, do I lose my free study place?
No — the place comes from the olympiad, and the grant is a layer on top. Per the template, declining the grant does not cancel the tuition-free study opportunity.
Is housing free?
Not exactly — you pay the university dormitory fee, and the grant compensates you its cost monthly.
How much is the monthly payment?
22,440 rubles per month for the 2025/26 season, per the official source. The amount is set each season and may differ in yours — your contract decides it. And it is an allowance, not a salary.
Who are the three parties in the contract?
The grant operator, your university, and you. The contract is in two languages (Russian + English) with equal legal force — per the template.
What if I transfer to another university?
The grant continues with you per the template — transferring does not lose it.
Haven't applied yet?
Everything above comes after winning — and the road to it starts with the Open Doors olympiad itself.
Registration is free and the competition is online from your country — one of the widest doors to tuition-free study in Russia.
🎯 See how to apply to Open DoorsBottom line: the grant is real support that makes life easier — but it comes with conditions you should know from day one. Your own contract is the only reference — read it yourself.
Official source: grant.ined.ru — the official site is available in English and Arabic too: open the link and pick your language from the switcher.