On some actual problems of reforming Russian higher education at the present stage

The object of the research is the peculiarities of the latter-day reforms of Russian higher school that over the past two decades has gone through a serious transformation. The purpose of the paper is to analyze some issues of the performed changes, public experts’ proposals, and after reviewing theoretical and methodological studies of Russian and foreign scientists, some other countries’ experience of higher education reforming, the officially offered variant of modernization to substantiate the hypothesis that the maintenance of multi-level higher education in Russia will require to rethink profoundly the role of baccalaureate, specialty and magistracy in the higher educational process and to set up a unique modern based on the unified competence structure training system of both specialists with higher education and research staff. The paper examines the necessity of taking into account both the character of traditions and obvious advantages of Russian, including Soviet, education, and foreign positive operational experience. During the work the comparative method of historical analysis and system contingency approach were used. It was concluded that setting up an independent system of Russian higher education is primary at present.