This paper analyses the current state of student representation in Russia as deeply rooted in the institutional structure of the Soviet higher education system. The study traces the origins of existing institutional arrangements for student representation at the level of university governance and analyses how representation practices have been transformed in post-Soviet Russia. It combines a historical review with a qualitative analysis of the current state of the professional student union ("profsoyuz studentov"), which is one of the most widespread organisational forms of student representation in Russia. The data were collected through a series of 30 in-depth interviews with student activists and university administrators from four state universities in Tomsk, in addition to an analysis of documents regulating student representation.