The emigration of skilled and able workers from Russia markedly increased in the last five years, prompting Russian scholars to reassess the phenomenon of brain drain, its definition, scope, consequences and causes. This article finds that the perceived connection between increasing 'brain drain' from Russia and the internationalization of higher education in Russia has played an important role in recent debates. From an analysis of Russian scholarly articles and transcripts of interviews with Russian educators directly involved in internationalization, this study finds that despite the evident concern amongst the Russian academic community about the nexus between internationalization and brain drain, emigration is still seen as a perfect choice for an individual who is skilled and able. This ambivalent attitude towards 'brain drain' has created a situation where some Russian academics use it to justify their resistance to internationalization assuming a causal relationship between the two, while others, by word and deed, support internationalization as a means of curbing emigration. In the context of controversial educational reforms underway in Russia since the 1990s, such perceptions have helped internationalization survive.