Abstract: the article deals with a theoretical and practical studies analysis referring to distance education in Russian higher school. The sociological research data devoted to studying the problem of the Russian higher education transit to a distance learning during the coronavirus pandemic are analyzed.
The aim of the research was to study the problems and prospects of the distance education development in the post-coronavirus period.
The study was conducted at the universities in Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Moscow, in Russia. The research methodology combined both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The primary data was collected using questionnaires and frame analysis. 500 students of different training fields (social, humanitarian, technical, economic) who had experience of distance learning during the pandemic were questioned on the basis of quota sampling. 42 students’ cases were analyzed in order to identify key daily students’ practices in online educational interaction.
The study revealed the following problems of Russian higher education transit to distance learning: students’ poor communication with the professors, students’ demotivation to study, inability to attend the university, psychological discomfort during the classes, the poor quality of education received.
The research determined the technical features of educational Internet resources and further prospects of Russian higher school development.
Keywords: distance education, high school, pandemic, on-line learning technologies, transition contradictions of the distance education in Russia, higher education system development