The Guide
Sat, 16 May 2026

Cities / Dubai / Russian International School in Dubai

Russian International School in Dubai

The UAE's only school delivering the full Russian Federation curriculum, established in 1996 and at its current Muhaisnah 4 site since 2006. KHDA Good across seven consecutive inspections.


Founded
1994

The UAE's only school delivering the full Russian Federation curriculum, established in 1996 and at its current Muhaisnah 4 site since 2006. KHDA Good across seven consecutive inspections.

Around 500 students, roughly half Russian with significant Uzbek, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Kazakh contingents. Marina Khalikova has led since 2014 with 35 years in education behind her. Students sit the mandatory Russian state examinations in Grades 9 and 11, alongside English and Arabic. Russian language teaching and secondary Science were rated Outstanding at the most recent inspection, with Islamic Education and Arabic still developmental.

Fees of roughly AED 16,000 to 24,000 are very affordable by Dubai standards. Saturday Russian-language classes are open to Russian-speaking children attending other Dubai schools, a useful option for mixed families. Parents value approachable leadership, prompt communication and an active parents' club. The natural fit is families planning to keep options open for university in Russia or the wider CIS, or who want their children to maintain native-level Russian.


  • Only school in the UAE delivering the Russian Federation national curriculum, on the Dubai-Sharjah border in Muhaisnah 4; intake is mostly Russian nationals, with around 500 students.
  • KHDA inspectors, the most cited public source on parent experience here, report that families rate communication highly, find the online portal informative, and see senior leaders as approachable on concerns.
  • Parent body is described as actively engaged: a parents' club organises parent-teacher meetings and the school uses email, Facebook and Instagram for day-to-day updates.
  • Inspection language places the quality of education above good and confirms it meets the requirements of the Russian system, with English and other language options layered on top.
  • One ex-pupil recalled that the school did not break for Christmas despite being labelled international, a reminder that the calendar follows the Russian academic and Orthodox cycle rather than the western one.
  • Independent parent reviews on platforms like WhichSchoolAdvisor remain absent; survey returns have not been published, so most signal here is filtered through the regulator rather than parents directly.

Head of school

Marina Borisovna Khalikova


Dubai - Muhaisanah Fourth - Muhaisnah - Dubai - United Arab Emirates

School website