Title screen

[References: p. 61 (17 tit.)]

The article discusses the development of a multicultural environment as a factor of improving the well-being context and competitiveness of the higher education system. The authors believe that the scale of what is happening today in the world at different levels leads to a substantial change in national structure of Russia. An extensive review of the Russian and international literature on multiculturalism is presented in the article. The concepts of interculturalism, polyculturalism and multiculturalism were reviewed. The authors also argue that the formation of the elite and the content of the state national policy are interrelated. We believe that it is the level of higher education institutions, the results of their research and technology development activities, determines not only their place in the international rankings, but also the dynamics of economic and innovative development of individual territories and entire countries. In the process of forming new paradigm to develop the role of higher education system, there are many factors which effect on this process especially in some countries like Russia and Belarus.