Introduction. The withdrawal of our country from the Bologna process in 2022 received quite a wide response in the domestic academic community. There are mixed opinions about the gains and losses of Russian higher education over its almost twenty-year stay in the Bologna format, which indicates the relevance of a balanced assessment of the consequences of this stay. The purpose of the article is to give the author’s assessment of the experience of functioning of domestic higher education within the framework of the Bologna process in order to find an optimal balance between Western and traditional Russian practices. Materials and methods: theoretical analysis of the published materials of representatives of the Russian higher education, containing conclusions about the positive and negative consequences of Russia’s presence in the Bologna format. It is revealed that these conclusions focus on the results of the transition of higher education to a two-tier system. At the same time, it is not enough to study such aspects as the competence-based approach, as well as the problems of the quality of education and the development of criteria for its assessment. Research results, discussion. The attempt of Russian education to live by the rules developed by the Western European academic community has a twofold result. On the one hand, it is necessary to note that the practice of moving to a two-level system of higher education and formalizing the competence-based approach in state educational standards is not entirely logical. On the other hand, it is hardly advisable to completely abandon the very ideas of a two-level education system and a competence-based approach, as well as the active use of an independent assessment of the quality of education. Conclusion: The author's recommendations are aimed at building an optimal balance between Western and traditional Russian practices of higher education: support for a variable approach in choosing a higher education model by universities; use of a competence-based approach in order to bring learning results closer to the requirements of the labor market; active involvement of the employer community in assessing the quality of higher education, along with the state.