Kozyrin Alexander - Professor, Head of the Department of Financial Law, National Research University Higher School of Economics. Doctor of Juridical Sciences. E-mail: kozyrine@mail.ru 
Address: National Research University — Higher School of Economics, 20, Myasnitskaya str., Moscow, 101000, Russian Federation.

The article discusses special features of teaching financial law (as well as other subjects of financial law specialization). A significant attention is drawn to the role of the LLM program under its status among other stages of education according to the educational reform which has started at the end of the 20^th century. It is noted that the current RF law On Education,1992 is becoming obsolete. LLM programs have been introduced almost in all Russian universities. The paper poses a question if LLM programs in Russia are the main and final stage of university education (entitling to a diploma) or it represents a research stage (entitling to the first academic degree)? Ambiguity is seen in the successive character of LLB and LLM programs as well as LLM and postgraduate programs, LLM and candidate of science degrees. It is stressed that the standards of the Education Ministry make the disciplines financial and tax laws obligatory for LLB programs overlapping. However, LLM programs are open for those who do not have an LLB degree and thus such students did not study the subjects vital for lawyers. The author makes a number of proposals to improve the situation. He argues that LLM programs should be an integral part of university legal education, but postgraduate programs should serve as a post higher education qualification process. Most disciplines on finances and law may be taught in an abridged form at LLM programs. However, postgraduate programs require a more scrutinized approach to teaching them. In particular, the discipline History of Financial Law may last for one or two years on postgraduate programs. At the same time, the author is against amalgamating financial private law and civil law.