This is a dataset of 463 questionnaires and 8 interviews collected in the 2012-13 academic year in Khabarovsk, Russia, among first-year and fifth-year students. The results of the survey suggest that advanced students are more likely to act dishonestly than freshmen – indicating that the Russian higher education system ‘promotes’ compliance with corruption and informal practices. These findings are supported by the qualitative data indicating the complexity and ambivalence of academic dishonesty.