This study investigates how international agreements on inclusion are applied in Norway and Russia. Both countries have agreed to the inclusive aims of the UNESCO Salamanca Statement and Plan of Actions (1994). It is claimed by professionals in the field that the Salamanca Statement implies a paradigmatic shift of policy focus, from focus on special educational provisions for the individual to a common school with diversity within. According to some professionals in the field this must lead to substantial reforms of the general education system in most countries (Vislie, 2003). This study consists of two parts. The first part investigates national policy in the two countries related to pupils with special needs, and analyses trends and changes in the last decade. This part is based on policy documents and available statistics. At policy level and in overall educational structure Norwegian turns out to have developed an explicit inclusive profile. In Russia the aims are framed so as to promote integration. This study raises the question of whether the mainstreaming goal is a Western interpretation of inclusion. In the second part the grass root experiences of teachers and students serve as background for investigating the issue further. As empirical background serves a Russian-Norwegian project, in which two teacher education colleges co-operate in the training of special needs teachers. In the project Russian student teachers have practise periods in Norwegian classrooms during their professional training, and Norwegian and Russian teacher educators give lectures at each others colleges. Both Norway and Russia relies heavily on Lev Vygotsky in their theorising on special needs education, but the practical consequences of se this common theoretical foundation turns out very differently. This study explores the experiences of the partners involved and their reflections on national differences. In this part of the study an ethnographical approach is used, in which interviews and observations are main methods for field data collection. The answers from participant partners indicate that national professional and theoretical traditions strongly influence how international agreements and policy documents are interpreted at classroom level. The findings also indicate a higher awareness of international influence and global educational impact among Russian educators than among their Norwegian colleagues. This brings in the discussion of global impact on education in societies in transitions. The findings are then discussed in relation to the international discourse on inclusion. In the last part of the paper the question is raised: Is there a western hegemony in the discourse on inclusion? And where do the former communist countries belong in this new discourse?. Key words: inclusive education, integration, special education, Russia, Norway, Vygotsky