The international educational migration as a resource of «soft power» of the state has been analyzed in the article. Based on comprehensive analysis of the existing definitions of educational migration the author’s interpretation of this concept have been proposed. Based on the data of UNESCO, the Institute of international education of the United States, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation the statistics of international educational migration has been presented and analyzed. The main emphasis has been made on such categories of international educational migrants as students (bachelors, masters), postgraduate students. The reasons for the popularity of foreign students in countries such as Canada and the United States have been described. Based on the study two groups of factors have been highlighted: external and internal (motivational) factors, influencing decision-making in choosing the country of study.Based on the data of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, the advantages of education in Russia have been analyzed. The issue of adaptation of foreign students in Russian universities has been considered: first-year curatorial programs, the Institute of student fellowships. It has been concluded hat Russian universities have a wealth of experience in teaching and adaptation of foreign students.The concepts and projects to attract foreign students to the Russian Federation also have been described in detail. Special attention to two projects “5–100” and “Export of Russian education” has been paid. The Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo) as one of the main institutions in the export of Russian education has been designated. The measures to attract foreign students to Russian universities have been proposed.

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Introduction. The article is devoted to the transformation of migration policies during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The article discusses changes in migration processes in connection with the COVID-19. The aim of the article is to illustrate how the countries’ migration policy has changed due to the pandemic and what measures have been developed to support migrants. Methods and materials. The research methodology includes general scientific research methods, such as analysis, synthesis, content analysis and the aristotelian method. As well as specific scientific methods, such as comparative legal and system analysis. The empirical basis of the study is the data of the General Administration for Migration Issues of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russian Federation, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations (UN). Analysis. The authors conducted a comparative analysis of migration policies of various countries during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Considerable attention is paid to the measures taken by countries to provide various types of support to migrants. The authors also analyzed the activities of international organizations and the civil society. The authors concluded that measures to restrain the pandemic affected the implementation of funded integration projects in the European countries, some activities were postponed, however, the European countries made certain efforts to adopt new integration practices to support migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussion. The authors assessed the further development of migration processes and countries migration policies. Results. The authors effectuated a conclusion that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the transformation of migration processes and migration policies. The authors focused on how events in the migration sphere would develop, and what changes would take place in the migration policy of the Russian Federation. The research results presented in the article can be used to improve the migration policy of the Russian Federation in relation to labour migrants and to develop regulatory migration measures.