Does it make sense to get a PhD if I have a Candidate of Sciences degree from a post-soviet country
Does it make sense to go after a PhD...


To whom?


For someone who has published a couple of papers in Science or Nature as the first author during their aspirantura period, the answer is no &mdash; they should apply directly for a permanent post or a prestigious named Fellowship, and develop their research.
For someone who has published several papers in top international journals, and at least one without their supervisor, the answer is probably no again &mdash; they should go for a postdoc or research fellow route.
For someone who did not publish much (or did not publish in international journals), who may struggle with English a bit, and/or not quite on top of the methods and hot topics in their research area, the answer may be yes. Having a PhD from a well-known university definitely improves the position on a competitive academic job market. More importantly, it can provide you with a set of soft skills (networking, presentations, etc) which many post-Soviet institutions are not very strong at sometimes.