REGIONAL POLICY IN HIGHER EDUCATION OF RUSSIA: STAGES, THE CONTENTS AND MODERN CHALLENGES
Targeted regional policy in higher education is a prerequisite for effective regional development. The principles of regional policy have been constantly changing for the whole period of the national higher school formation. Centralization prevailed in some periods while in others the preference was given to dispersed development. Significant spatial differentiation of the country contributed to polycentrism, the formation of a centralized state had been accompanied by a high concentration of universities in the metropolis. For three centuries the higher school has been an effective tool for the territory development. In the post-Soviet period, after extensive development and opening of numerous affiliates began to pursue a policy aimed at spatial centralization and concentration. The modern regional policy in the sphere of high school is characterized by the inconsistency, enhances the polarization of educational space, does not provide innovation development most the Russian Federation subjects. Regional frame universities could act as the drivers for innovative regional development. However, the first experience of their formation questions this possibility.