In this paper, the authors analyze the existing higher education policies in the Russian Federation and discuss the implications of current reforms for the future of the higher education sector and those involved in it. The authors' analytical framework was based on the work of Olssen, Codd, and O'Neill (2004), outlining the major tenets of the welfare liberal and neoliberal policy perspectives. While applying this analytical framework, the authors compare the Russian education policy perspectives adopted at different stages of reform to the welfare and neoliberal policy perspectives described by Olssen et al. The authors argue that by 2000, a definite shift was taking place in the government's approach to higher education reform, a shift evident in the policy rhetoric and concrete measures implemented in the past six years. The change has been decidedly away from the welfare toward the neoliberal state policy perspective. Considering the actual socioeconomic situation in Russia, the authors suggest that the existing discrepancy between the ideological assumptions on which government policies are premised and the real conditions in Russia can negatively affect the progress of higher education restructuring and contribute to growing discontent with the government's reforms. (Contains 2 tables and 5 notes.)