Universities of the North-western federal district in Russian-Finnish research cooperation

This article focuses on the cooperation between universities of the North-western federal district (NWFD) of the Russian Federation, Sweden, and Finland, its intensity and territorial differentiation. The analysis was conducted on the basis of public domain information on the international activity of universities available on their official websites. The authors identify the principle areas and leading centres of such cooperation. The NWFD universities have significant experience in cooperation with Finnish universities. Cooperation with Swedish universities is proved to be less developed. Approximately 50 NFWD universities, 29 of which are located in Saint Petersburg, are involved in cooperation; most NWFD universities do not cooperate with the mentioned countries. Such low degree of cooperation in the field of education is a serious inhibiting factor, which reduces competitiveness on the modern market of educational services.