The impetus for this study was an article by N. Pokrovskii (2005) describing tendencies in higher education in the United States that seem promising, as they flow objectively from globalization processes and are characteristic of the whole globalizing world. As Pokrovskii is a highly qualified sociologist with a good knowledge of the system of education in the universities of America and Russia, his opinion has to be taken into account. At the same time, some of his propositions seem far from indisputable, especially his assessments of what is going on in the sphere of Russian education. In this article, the authors analyze the role of private education in Russia, its implications for social mobility and social inequality, and long-term implications of the commercialization of higher education in Russia. (Contains 1 note.) [This article was translated by Kim Braithwaite.]