In the last few years, there has been great interest on the part of the younger generation of the former Soviet republics in obtaining higher education in Russia. In this regard, the problem of Russian language training for foreign applicants entering bachelor’s or master’s degree programs at universities of the Russian Federation is becoming rather urgent. The purpose of the article is to consider the main factors – linguistic and extralinguistic, which hinder the successful teaching of Russian as a foreign language, and to develop methods guides aimed at the formation of the Russian language communicative competence among Turkmen students.