Recently, the benefits and drawbacks of the obligatory state appointment of the government-subsidized graduates to the jobs within their professional specialty have become a topic of active discussion once again. The reaction of the expert community to this initiative, however, was mixed. The researchers of the leading Russian higher education institutions have appraised the Soviet Union’s experience in this sphere and made a comment on the efficiency that such a measure might have in our society.

Highlights:

► state placement of graduates was introduced in 1933 and lasted until the collapse of the Soviet Union
► according to the demographic projections, in the next five years Russia will face a sharp decline in the number of the employable population
► mandatory placement will always imply the action of the non-market mechanisms; on the other hand, mandatory placement leads to a distortion of the effective education system
► the demographic situation in the context of a difficult economic environment is a challenge to the academic community
► mandatory placement system will require significant investments from the state, which probably could have a greater effect if the investments were made in the quality of the educational process and in youth entrepreneurship