Introduction. Due to the epidemic of coronavirus infection, the forced conversion to distance learning has forever changed the format of education for foreign citizens. The modern educational situation requires adequate methods and techniques of teaching from the teacher and from the educational institution. In these circumstances, online classes have become particularly relevant. The organization of a digital preparatory faculty can positively influence the practice of distance teaching of Russian as a foreign language and other disciplines necessary for admission to Russian universities. The purpose of the article is to identify the possibilities of distance teaching of Russian as a foreign language and the prospects for the development of online courses within the digital preparatory faculty. Content and methods: in the article we use the analysis and synthesis of methodological literature and normative documents, comparison, abstraction, modeling and forecasting of the online learning process and its results, as well as pedagogical observation, testing and analysis. The material for the study was the works of linguists and methodologists on relevant topics, the materials of practical work of teachers, the results of distance teaching Russian as a foreign language by the teachers of the Department of Russian Language and Intercultural Communication of Shukhov Belgorod State Technological University. Results: the article presents the results of the distance work of teachers of Shukhov BSTU during distance learning, the structure of the digital preparatory faculty of this university is given, the main content of the basic online course “Russian as a foreign language” is reflected. Conclusion: online courses as a basic part of the digital preparatory faculty require further development, implementation and consideration of many factors.