The system of higher education in Russia remains isolated from the world system of education in terms of its pedagogical standards and practices and in terms of current views of the postmodern individual and society. The system in Russia is not oriented toward providing students with a good specialty that enjoys public recognition and is also well paid. The system is overgrown with all kinds of "add-ons" and becoming commercialized "in the spirit of the times," but only on its own terms and for its own benefit. For the structure of higher education as a whole, a number of fundamental, specific operative questions remain unanswered: (1) Whom does the university intend to train, and for what?; (2) What will the university be teaching its students?; (3) Who is to do the job?; (4) How is the university thinking of doing this?; (5) What funds are to be made available?; and (6) How does the university see the broader social and cultural context of its activity?. In this article, the author attempts to find answers to these questions by using the sociological data from 2003 surveys conducted by the staff of the Iurii Levada Analytical Center. The author also examines the tasks of Russian higher education's advancement in the direction of the modern world. (Contains 2 tables and 2 notes.)