Which Middle Eastern country had educational ties with Russia?

I've bumped into this fascinating woman on a social networking website. She looks middle eastern, I'd say she could be Moroccan or Algerian from my own experience, but she only lists Russian and English as her languages. Where could she be from? Are there countries in the Middle East with ties to Russia? To make it more mysterious yet, she lists her religion as Christian. I'm mystified. Anybody care to guess?