In this study we pinpoint the similarities and differences between students at a Russian university and a Swedish university regarding the students’ value-systems. Which similarities and which differences are there between male Swedish students and male Russian students and which differences are there between the female students in the two countries? Our interest was directed towards the gender differences between the two countries. A method, employing three phases was developed for analyses of value systems in the two countries. Students, who as a category, often challenge existing value-systems, were chosen as informants. Student samples from each country, in number varying between 63-100 respondents, provided data in the three sub-studies. The results indicated that similar national concepts, when translated into English, exposed significant differences in their connotations, a phenomenon which will be discussed in relation to implications for intercultural communication. In particular, the concepts of democracy and gender equality will be highlighted. Differences and similarities related to gender and nationality constitute the bulk of the discussion. A major finding was that concepts describing close inter-personal relations, such as friendship and love, were cross-nationally higher rated than values more distant from the individual’s private life world, such as democracy and equal rights.