Russia

Duke's Fuqua School of Business has a rich history in Russia, and in light of the school's global strategy, we are expanding our activities in the region. Hopefully this website will give you a better idea of who we are as a business school and our programs, which can help you to accelerate your career.

Duke MBA Programs for Students from Russia & CIS

If you are a citizen of Russia or other CIS country and you are considering applying for an MBA, please visit the Candidates section for an overview of our internationally known Daytime (full-time) MBA, Cross Continent MBA, and Global Executive MBA programs.

Partnership with GSOM

Through our partnership with Graduate School of Management (GSOM) at St. Petersburg State University, we are working together on student and faculty exchanges, and are delivering non-degree executive education programs for Russian companies and business managers. To learn more about our partnership with GSOM, please visit Partners section.

History in Russia: Russian Managers Program

Duke has had a long, exciting and very successful history in Russia and other CIS countries. After the fall of Communism and perestroika in the former Soviet Union, the late J.B. Fuqua—after whom the school is named— underwrote a program to train Russian business managers on the principles of management in a free market economy.

In 1989, as Russia's government verged on bankruptcy, J.B. Fuqua personally provided $4 million for the Russian Managers Program. With help from former Fuqua Dean Thomas Keller, Fuqua's first Russian initiative was born, and over seven years, more than 400 men and women completed the Russian Managers Program.

Contact Us

We hope to continue to broaden our partnerships and involvement in Russia and the CIS!

Please feel free to contact us at Russia@fuqua.duke.edu should you have questions about Fuqua activity in the region or wish to learn more about any of our programs.

St. Petersburg Office

Telephone: +7.812.955.0819
E-mail: russia@fuqua.duke.edu

Daria Zarubina
Regional Director, Russia and CIS
daria.zarubina@duke.edu

Daria Zarubina serves as Regional Director for Russia and the CIS, and she is based in Fuqua's St. Petersburg office. Providing leadership for the school's business operations in the region, she is responsible for corporate and partner relationships, admissions and alumni activities, and overall creation and implementation of strategies to accomplish Fuqua's goals in Russia and the CIS. She represents Fuqua at a variety of events and provides support to Fuqua's programs in the region.

Zarubina holds a Master in International Business degree from the Graduate School of Management, St.Petersburg State University, which is Fuqua's key partner in Russia. Prior to joining Fuqua in 2009 as the regional manager for Russia, she worked in client communication and marketing.

Natalia Stekolnikova
Administrative Assistant, Russia & CIS
natalia.stekolnikova@duke.edu

Natalia Stekolnikova joined The Fuqua School of Business in August 2011. She is Administrative Assistant for Russia and the CIS. Her responsibilities include clerical and project support to the Regional Director, and scheduling, budgeting, travel arrangements, and coordination of various other tasks. She also handles logistics for our Russia-based programs.

Stekolnikova graduated from Saint Petersburg State University and holds a double degree as an interpreter and PR expert. She speaks two foreign languages: English and German. After graduating, she worked as a manager of international educational programs in International Banking Institute, British Council in St. Petersburg, and Fuqua's partner in Russia, Graduate School of Management (St. Petersburg State University).

Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University

The Fuqua School of Business and the Graduate School of Management of St. Petersburg State University have established a partnership to expand business programs into Russia. Through this joint venture, Fuqua will offer the following in St. Petersburg: executive MBA programs, customized executive education courses, and open enrollment executive education courses. Students of The Duke MBA—Cross Continent and The Duke MBA—Global Executive programs will attend classes at GSOM as part of their program. 

Pictured: Executive leadership from the Graduate School of Management meet with students at Fuqua after the global launch event. From left to right are: Executive Associate Dean Igor Baranov, Dean Valery Katkalo, Associate Dean for Executive Education Olga Udovichenko, Executive Director for Center for Corporate Education Ekaterina Karelskaya.   

Knowledge Exchange

In April 2009, Fuqua hosted students from St. Petersburg State University's  Graduate School of Management (GSOM). The 30 Executive MBA students spent five days at Fuqua studying operations management strategies.

Associate Professor of Operations Management Fernando Bernstein — with the assistance of a translator — offered sessions on operations  and strategy, supply chain logistics, inventory management, postponement, and applications of game theory to production and distribution systems. 

The GSOM students represented a number of Russia’s  most prominent companies: the ARNA Petroleum (oil products), Videomir (home appliances), Megafon (telecommunications), Vkus Mody Plus (clothing retail), Epos (cinema chain), Baltic Software and Investment Group, LOESK (electric power-supply), Karat-Plus (confectioners), AB-Service (construction).    

Duke Corporate Education  

Duke University's corporate education arm, Duke Corporate Education (Duke CE), has a global reputation for excellence spanning economics, international relations, trade, government and law. Duke CE has been ranked No. 1 in the world for the last nine years (Financial Times). Duke Corporate Education clients in Russia include TNK-BP.

Alumni Clubs

Fuqua boasts more than 30 alumni clubs around the world, including in Russia and the CIS. Visit the Fuqua alumni club's page to learn more about the latest events and activities of the clubs. For questions about Fuqua's alumni clubs, please contact Katie Thomasson, Associate Director of Alumni Relations, at katie.thomasson@duke.edu.

Due to Fuqua's embedded presence in Russia, we have developed strong corporate relations with executives in the region who contribute to the Duke MBA experience.

Leading business practitioners speak to Duke MBA students during residencies in Russia. They share unique insights regarding the challenges and opportunities involved with leading organizations in Russia, and they share their perspective on doing business in the region.

Past residency speakers include:

David W. Gray
Country Managing Partner
PricewaterhouseCoopers Russia

Patricia Lopez Vasquez
General Manager and Vice President Eastern Europe
Procter & Gamble

Kirill Korniliev
General Director Eastern Europe/Asia
IBM

Ruslan Belyaev
Head of Citibank St.Petersburg
Citi

Regional Employers

Through an extensive recruiting network, Fuqua alumni work on every continent across the globe. Our alumni are currently working in positions at a number of fine organizations in Europe. A representative, but not exhaustive, list is below:

During the past 10 years we have successfully attracted students from Russia and the CIS to our MBA programs. We have more than 80 alumni/current students in the region, and we hope to continue to increase those numbers. Our students and alumni have told us that they chose our programs for various reasons, including:

• Fuqua was the first U.S. school to offer management training for Russian executives (1989-1997)
• Fuqua's top-ranked faculty (ranked No.1 in the U.S. by BusinessWeek for Intellectual Capital in 2008 and ranked No. 2 for Research in Financial Time's 2010 and 2009 Global MBA Ranking)

The Duke MBA—Daytime Program

Every year several students from Russia and the CIS enroll in our full-time program, which is one of the top-rated programs in the world. The Duke MBA—Daytime is a 22-month graduate school experience that takes place at the main campus in Durham, NC. Our world-class faculty and rigorous curriculum provide outstanding preparation for a career in today's complex, multicultural, and multinational business environment. Students in our Daytime program also have international education opportunities in Russia through the Global Academic Travel Experience (GATE) elective.

Our two highly ranked global programs allow students to earn an MBA degree without career interruption. Both of the programs include mandatory residencies in Russia as a part of their curriculum.

The Duke MBA—Cross Continent Program

The Duke MBA—Cross Continent program is an innovative 16-month program geared toward high-potential professionals with 2 to 9 years of work experience, and is focused on providing high quality general management education. It combines distance learning with 6 in-country residency periods in Durham, Dubai, New Delhi, Shanghai/Kunshan, St. Petersburg, and again in Durham.

The Duke MBA—Global Executive Program

The Duke MBA—Global Executive program has attracted more students from Russia and the CIS than any other area of the world except the U.S. It is a pioneering 15-month program designed for executives with at least 10 years of work experience. The program combines traditional teaching through residencies followed by distance learning. Residencies in London, Dubai, New Delhi, Shanghai, Bangkok, St. Petersburg, and Durham enhance understanding of international business as well as provide wonderful networking opportunities with global business leaders. 

Learn More

We encourage you to attend an Information Session in Moscow, St.Petersburg, Kiev, Almaty or Astana or contact your Regional Director Daria Zarubina at russia@fuqua.duke.edu.

Russia/CIS Region Upcoming Events 

Date	Location	Event	Focus
Feb 18, 2012 11 am	Almaty, Kazakhstan	MBA Formula Fair & Online Event learn more
Feb 19, 2012 12 pm	St. Petersburg, Russia	International Education Fair learn more
Feb 25, 2012 9 am	Moscow, Russia	Access MBA learn more
Feb 27, 2012 7 pm	Kyiv, Ukraine	Information Session learn more
Feb 28, 2012 7 pm	Moscow, Russia	Information Session learn more
Mar 3, 2012 11 am	Baku, Azerbaijan	MBA Formula Fair & Online Event learn more
Mar 20, 2012 6 pm	Moscow, Russia	Begin Executive MBA learn more
Mar 21, 2012 6 pm	Moscow, Russia	QS Connect 1-2-1 learn more
Mar 22, 2012 5 pm	Moscow, Russia	QS World MBA Tour learn more
Apr 19, 2012 4 pm	Kyiv, Ukraine	Access MBA learn more

 Fuqua Alumni Club of Moscow

If you are a graduate of The Fuqua School of Business and are living or working in Russia, check out the Alumni Club of Moscow for area events, including networking opportunities. For more information about our alumni clubs please contact Katie Thomasson on the Fuqua Alumni Relations team.

Past Events

St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

June 4 - 6, 2009 
St. Petersburg

Former Fuqua Dean Blair Sheppard participated in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The world-renowned forum included speeches, presentations,  and discussion sessions with the leading Russian and Western political elite and leaders of industry.

Dean Sheppard participated in a panel discussion titled "A New Economic Model and the Long-term Impact of Crisis." The discussion was moderated by Robert Thomson, Managing Editor of The Wall Street Journal and Editor-in-Chief of Dow Jones. Aide to the President of the Russian Federation Arkady Dvorkovich was also a panelist. Dvorkovich graduated from Duke University in 1998 with a PhD in Philosophy. Download a summary of the discussion.

Corporate Programs for the Russian Market

December 9, 2008
Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University

This was a presentation of the joint project of The Fuqua School of Business, Duke Corporate Education, and the Graduate School of Management. A photo gallery and more details are available on the Graduate School of Managements website.

2008 Duke MBA International Retreat: Energy and the Environment

May 31 – June 2, 2008
Moscow

The eighth annual Duke MBA International Retreat was held in Moscow. Described as the "barometer and nucleus of the changes sweeping through Russia," Moscow was the perfect setting for the discussion of the challenges and opportunities surrounding energy and the environment. Participants had a closed session with the CEO of a leading energy company regarding the industry landscape and were led in a case discussion by Fuqua faculty in Duke's Corporate Sustainability Initiative. 

Russian Managers Program Reunion & Duke Russia Business Forum

July 3 – 4, 2007
Moscow

The Fuqua School of Business hosted a reunion for graduates of the Russian Managers program as well as a business forum. More than 100 participants attended the two-day event in Moscow. The Duke-Russia Business Forum focused on challenges and opportunities in the Russian market and featured leaders from several industries, presenting in concert with Fuqua's faculty. Invited speakers included high-ranking executives from the oil and gas, IT, consumer products and other industries highly relevant in Russia's growth. Read more about the event online. Video and audio of the forum is available on iTunesU.

Russian Managers Program

1989 – 1997

After the fall of Communism and perestroika in the former Soviet Union, the late J.B. Fuqua after whom the school is named underwrote a program to train Russian business managers on the principles of management in a free market economy. In 1989, as the country's government verged on bankruptcy, J.B. Fuqua personally provided $4 million for the Russian Managers Program. With help from former Fuqua Dean Thomas Keller, Fuqua's first Russian initiative was born, and over seven years, more than 400 men and women completed the Russian Managers Program. Read more.