Lomonosov Moscow State University climbed six places to 108th in the World University Rankings compiled by London-based higher education specialists QS.
The rise by Russia's top university comes three years after President Vladimir Putin in 2012 set a goal to have at least five Russian higher education institutes in the world's top 100 by 2020. No Russian university has yet reached QS's first 100.
QS last year placed Lomonosov Moscow State University 114th, and 120th in 2013.
The ranking, released Tuesday, was topped for the fourth time by the U.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Harvard University, another U.S. school, came second, followed by Britain's University of Cambridge.
The QS World University Rankings have been compiled every year since 2004 and compare 800 universities.
Russia's No. 2 university in the QS ranking — St. Petersburg State University — fell sharply from last year, slipping 23 places to 256th in the latest ranking. Novosibirsk State University climbed to 317th place from 328th last year.
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