Putin orders free education for all Haitian students in Russia

Multimedia Photo: Russian rescuers in earthquake-struck Haiti Photo: Haiti earthquake aftermath Infographics: Powerful earthquake hits Haiti Video: Haiti gangs prevent aid in shanty town Video: Haitians struggle to get aid Video: Students from Haiti pray for their relatives All students from quake-hit Haiti at Russian universities will receive state funding to continue their studies, the Russian premier said on Monday. "We have decided that all those who are studying on a paid basis will study at the expense of the Russian federal budget," Putin said, addressing students at the state university in the central Russian republic of Chuvashia. The premier said that currently 75 Haitian students are enlisted in Russian higher education establishments. Many of them had been left without funds after a devastating 7.0-magnitude quake struck the impoverished Caribbean nation on January 12 , almost leveling the capital of Port-au-Prince and claiming up to 150,000 lives.