RUSSIAN FEDERATION

BASIC DATA
Official Country Name:	Russian Federation
Region:	Russia
Population:	146,001,176
Language(s):	Russian
Literacy Rate:	98%
Number of Primary Schools:	66,235
Compulsory Schooling:	9 years
Public Expenditure on Education:	3.5%
Foreign Students in National Universities:	73,172
Libraries:	96,177
Educational Enrollment:	Primary: 7,738,000
	Secondary: 13,732,000
	Higher: 4,458,363
Educational Enrollment Rate:	Primary: 107%
	Higher: 43%
Teachers:	Primary: 395,000
	Higher: 382,897
Student-Teacher Ratio:	Primary: 20:1
Female Enrollment Rate:	Primary: 107%
	Higher: 49%

HISTORY & BACKGROUND

The Russian Federation is a multinational state in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, and from the Arctic Ocean to the Chinese border. Established as an independent country in 1991 upon the breakup of the Soviet Union, it is the biggest country in the world with a territory of 6,592,844 square miles (17,075,400 square kilometers). It is divided into 21 autonomous republics, 49 oblasts, and 6 krays. The population is composed of almost 120 nationalities and ethnic groups: 81.5 percent Russians, 3.8 percent Tartars, 3 percent Ukrainians, 1.2 percent Chuvashes, 0.9 percent Bashkirs, 0.8 percent Belarusians, 0.7 percent Moldavians, and 8.1 percent others. Moscow is the capital and the largest city.

The territory of Russia was originally settled by Slavic tribes, which began migrating from the West in the fifth century A.D. The first Russian state, centering in Novgorod and Kiev, was established in the ninth century. The Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian peoples developed on the basis of the ancient Russian ethnicity. The origin of Russian education is usually associated with the emergence of the Cyrillic alphabet. The penetration of Greek priesthood into Russia and the need to translate the Greek Scriptures into Slavic languages encouraged the Byzantine scholar and philosopher Cyril (827-869) and his brother Methodius (826-885) to create a new system of characters. It was called the Glagolitic alphabet, or glagolitsa (which meant speaking), and its later version was called the Cyrillic alphabet, or kirillitsa.

The first known Slavic literary monuments date back to the tenth century. The creation of schools (uchilishcha) started after the Christening of Russia (988).

The history of Russian education opens up with the handwritten chronicles from the early eleventh century about the Grand Princes Vladimir and Yaroslav, who started building churches and schools of "book learning" in Kiev and Novgorod and started obliging Byzantine priests to teach children. The schools, which offered courses of seven liberal arts, became important centers of ancient Russian culture, disseminating religious knowledge and translations of foreign authors. "Book knowledge" was preceded by learning to read and write, as well as acquaintance with foreign languages.

Beginning with the twelfth century it became common for well-to-do families to hire tutors. The education was largely centered on life experiences, family, and community relationships.

A new genre called poucheniya (precepts) emerged between the eleventh and twelfth centuries in the form of manuals for family education. The most famous precepts were written by Vladimir Monomakh (1053-1125), the Grand Prince of Kiev and a highly educated man, who was closely related to European royalties through the marriages of his children. His first wife was the daughter of the English king. Monomakh addressed the poucheniya to his own children to teach them how to love God, be honest, fair, behave in battle, and how to treat other people. He encouraged them to study and follow the example of their grandfather who had known five languages. Monomakh's writings became very popular with other families.

In 1037 the Metropolitan school founded in Kiev at the Cathedral of St. Sofia started to prepare priests. Between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries a number of monastery schools patronized by the Grand Russian Princes opened in Smolensk, Vladimir, Rostov the Great, and Nizhny Novgorod. These schools were attended by children of noble parents from other countries, including Western Europe.

Graffiti on church walls, old business documents, and ancient Russian chronicles proved that literacy was significantly spread among different social groups, and proved other aspects of Russian education history. Due to inconvenient script, reading in the ancient period was a very difficult art. Students wrote on waxed planks or on birch bark with special styluses. Letters were also employed for counting. One of the major subjects was singing. The teachers were poorly trained, and corporal punishment was a usual practice.

During the period of the Mongol invasion, which lasted almost 250 years (thirteenth to fifteenth centuries), numerous lands and cities were ravaged and many schools ceased to exist. In the 1300s southwestern Russia was seized by the Lithuanian state, which in 1386 was united with Poland. As a result, part of the Russian population found itself on the territories where Catholicism was the official religion. The Orthodox monasteries, however, continued to play an important role in preserving and sustaining the traditions of Orthodoxy, as well as Russian culture and identity.

Russia also faced the challenges of the European educational system. Western Orthodox brotherhoods started organizing new schools, which would serve the interests of the Orthodox church. The subjects included religious rules, rituals, church singing, the Bible, as well as languages, grammar, poetics, rhetoric, philosophy, and arithmetic. The schools were largely egalitarian and admitted children from all ranks of society. The discipline was strict, but allowed for elements of self-government.

The fourteenth to fifteenth centuries witnessed the formation of the Russian centralized state. The Moscow Great Principality stood as the state's core structure. The political and social changes, as well as the intensification of religious life, launched new educational initiatives. Numerous schools affiliated with churches and monasteries emerged in the Russian cities. Moscow was gradually becoming the center of chronicle writing. Literature, architecture, and art progressed to a new stage. Brotherhoods of artisans and merchants, formed around town parishes, recruited literate citizens to teach youth reading, writing, and counting. The schools of the Moscow state made wide use of the Byzantine scholarly tradition. However, drastic military measures aimed to subordinate the Novgorod and Pskov republics to Moscow were harmful for the old centers of "book knowledge" and crafts.

The rule of Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584), the first Czar of Russia, brought about contradictory results. A highly educated person, he carried out a number of important reforms, developed the bureaucratic and military machine, and significantly extended the borders of Russia, which ultimately became a powerful kingdom. At the same time he was an unrestrained tyrant and governed using severe repression and terror. The system of Orthodox education established in 1551 for training the clergy was roughly divided into several stages: elementary (learning to write and read religious books); professional (which allowed one to conduct most of the religious services); and higher (mastering the Christian scholarship, which involved the study of ancient languages). The greatest chronicle of legal regulations summing up the ideas of the unity of Russia under the Czar was created in the 1570s. The emergence of printing (Ivan Fyodorov) advanced the dissemination of Orthodox educational literature.

The second half of the sixteenth century saw the introduction of new subjects into the school curricula. In Moscow there were many scholars with knowledge of ancient languages (namely Latin and Greek). The favorite popular genre was apocryphal literature about Adam and Eve, and Christ's childhood and his parents. The mid-1600s were marked by the creation of educational institutions similar to Western European grammar schools, as well as serious changes in principles and methods of teaching. Textbooks started to include more versatile materials. Children learned to read using ABC-books (azbuki) and entertainment books with pictures.

The Russian Empire achieved the height of its power and territorial influence under Peter the Great and Catherine the Great in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Peter the Great (1672-1725), the first Russian Emperor, attempted to westernize Russia. He expected science and school to serve the practical needs of the army, navy, industry, trade, and state administration. His social, economic, and cultural reforms resulted in the secularization of learning, emergence of new types of educational institutions, and advancement of teacher training. The navigation, artillery, engineering, medical, and other schools created on his initiative became the prototype of the future professional training system. He also approved the establishment of the Academy of Sciences in 1724. The introduction of the civil script in 1701 made it easier to study reading and writing. In 1703 Arabic numerals replaced the formerly used letters. Compulsory education for the children of the clergy, merchants, artisans, and soldiers was declared in 1714. The statute of 1721 established a system of Orthodox schools, seminaries, and academies.

The most outstanding figure in the Russian education of the eighteenth century was Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765), the first Russian scientist and scholar of worldwide significance. He was also a poet, philologist, artist, and historian. He initiated numerous scientific, technical, and cultural innovations and devoted great efforts to the development of the Russian Academy of Sciences. His textbooks on grammar, science, rhetoric, and poetics were the first to be used at Moscow University, founded on his initiative in 1755. Lomonosov worked out regulations for the University and gymnasiums (secondary schools). His book Russian Grammar (1757) was published eleven times, translated into many languages, and widely used in Russian schools. His theoretical writings also dealt with the importance of teaching Russian language and history. The Ellyn-Greek school, which opened in Moscow in 1687, was later reorganized into the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy and gave both theological and broad secular education. The period between 1730 and 1765 produced a number of closed institutions for aristocracy, among them the First Cadet School for future officers and the Smolny Institute for Noble Young Ladies.

The school reform carried out under Catherine the Great (1729-1796) was the first attempt to create a public educational system. She sent the leading scholars to study the systems of learning in various countries of Western Europe. They finally selected the Austrian model, adapted it to Russian conditions, and tested it for several years in St. Petersburg. In 1786 The Charter of Public Schools established two types of educational institutions: five-year major and two-year minor schools for townspeople. However, Catherine the Great acted along the lines of enlightened absolutism. She wrote in a letter to her associates: "Plebeians should not be educated, otherwise they will know as much as you and I and will not obey us to the same extent as now." Due to this attitude and also because of the absence of funds and trained teachers, schools for peasants were virtually nonexistent.

By the beginning of the nineteenth century the Russian Empire had more than 300 schools with 20,000 students and 720 teachers. The development of education in the nineteenth to early twentieth centuries was a permanent struggle of reforms and counter-reforms reflecting the contradictory character of Russian social life. A fundamental educational reform, prepared by the closest associates of Czar Alexander I (1777-1825), created a hierarchical school system headed by the Ministry of Public Education and regulated by The Charter of the Universities of the Russian Empire (1803). It included six educational regions with four types of institutions beyond elementary schools: parish schools, uyezd (district) schools, gymnasiums, and universities. The negative reaction of the czarist government to the ideas of the French Revolution and Enlightenment in Europe brought about the revision of school and university curricula. A number of university professors were dismissed as "unreliable, harmful books" were withdrawn from the libraries. Educators were expected to convince students of the divine origin of monarchic power.

Russian education evolved with both minor and major changes. In 1828 the course of study at gymnasiums was extended to seven years, with priority given to classical education. Schools with instruction in Armenian, Georgian, and Azerbaijan languages were opened in the Caucasus. In the 1830s the Minister of Education declared the intention to adapt world education to the peculiarities of Russian life and spirit, and this idea launched the famous formula: "Orthodoxy, autocracy, national roots." Meanwhile, it became evident that elementary schools, especially in rural areas, were the weakest part of the educational system. Churches intensified their missionary and enlightening activities: by the mid-nineteenth century there were 9,000 parish schools. In the 1835-1850 period Jewish, Muslim, and Caucasian schools were included in the state network.

The turning point in the development of the Russian educational system was the reform of the 1860s carried out as part of cardinal transformations under Czar Alexander II (1818-1881). The Statute on Elementary Public Schools of 1864 declared elementary education open to all social ranks. The reform strongly encouraged private and local initiative in establishing new schools. Special systems were set up for Poland and Finland, with education conducted in Latvian, Lithuanian, Estonian, and other native tongues.

Beginning with 1870, the Russian educational system started to involve adherents of Islam and Buddhism using oral languages and alphabets based on the Cyrillic characters. The statute of 1871 unified the curricula and limited the choice of textbooks. Emerging pedagogical and enlightenment societies supported the creative efforts of teachers and scholars.

Although there is evidence of the a school existing for females as early as 1086 in Kiev by Princess Anna Vsevolodovna, there has been a severe deficiency in women's education in Russian history. In the 1860s women's struggle for the right to education attracted keen public interest. As a consequence, the government gave permission to open female educational programs, but refused to finance them. Though the courses launched in Moscow and St. Petersburg did not give women higher education, they met the need for training elementary school teachers. The Bestuzhev higher courses for women who aspired for higher learning opened in St. Petersburg in 1878 and enrolled 800 female students. The best Petersburg professors taught there, often without any compensation.

Konstantin Ushinsky (1842-1870) is considered to be the founder of Russian pedagogy. A proponent of the ideas of social education, he was engaged both in theoretical research and school reform. The cornerstone of Ushinsky's pedagogical theory was the acknowledgment of the creative force of the people in the historical process and their right for adequate schooling. The system he developed was based on the demand for the democratization of public education, and the scholarly approach to the selection of teaching materials, which would reflect the peculiarities of the child's intellectual development. His anthropological position was expressed in his major work The Human Being as an Object of Education.

The aim of the counter-reforms of the 1870s-1880s was not so much to restructure the educational system, as to control society through education in order to preserve the inner security of the empire. The main emphasis was on centralization of power, restoration of social filters in access to studies, strict regulation of inner school life, and educational process.

Preparatory classes, which trained the underprivileged students, were closed. The number of Jews admitted to gymnasiums was strictly limited: 10 percent within Jewish communities, 5 percent outside, and 3 percent in St. Petersburg and Moscow. The teaching of religion in general education schools was intensified. Student meetings were banned. The fees were doubled and the state financing reduced. The statute on universities of 1884 actually eliminated their autonomy. In 1886 all the courses for women except the Bestuzhev courses were closed.

The government efforts were counterbalanced by the activities of progressive social groups and individuals who strove to develop innovative ideas, open schools and libraries for common people, and publish new textbooks and educational journals. The great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) established a peasant school inside his estate, personally taught there, and encouraged other people to do the same. In order to advance his pedagogical ideas, Tolstoy organized a publishing house Posrednik (Intermediary).

According to the census of 1897, the level of literacy in Russia was 29.6 percent (44.4 percent among men and 15.4 percent women; 24.6 percent in rural areas). The number of elementary schools gradually grew. By 1914-1915 there were more than 77,000 general education institutions with about 5,700,000 students and 167,000 teachers.

After the October Revolution of 1917 educational institutions of all types were nationalized. Narkompros (People's Commissariat for Education) headed by A. V. Lunacharsky (1875-1933) assumed the responsibility for the development and control of education through the network of local administrative organs. Lenin's wife Nadezhda Krupskaya (1869-1939) outlined the main organizational principles of unified labor school in her book Public Education and Democracy. In August 1918 the All-Russian Educational Convention approved the blueprint for the statute On Unified Labor School (1918) prepared by Lunacharsky and Krupskaya. It decreed the creation of the free, unified, labor compulsory school divided into two stages: five years of study, ages 8 to 13; and four years of study, ages 13 to 17, with the emphasis on polytechnic education and productive labor. The new legislation also abolished religious education, home assignments, grading, examinations, and uniforms as obvious characteristics of the czarist school. Teachers' and parental authority were rejected. The family was expected to wither away as a survival of capitalism and be replaced by "the collective" as the main agent of socialization. School was seen as an effective tool for indoctrinating communist ideology and bringing up "the new Soviet person" able to build socialism.

The workers' faculties (rabfaki) were organized in 1919 to prepare people from formerly underprivileged social groups for higher educational institutions. The statutes of the 1920s legalized the practice of giving preference to workers' children in admittance to school. During the 1921-1925 period the mass preparation of workers through the network of FZU (factory schools) and technicums (training schools for middle-level technicians and foremen) reflected the priorities assigned by the state.

After the end of the Civil War (1922) the voluntary society Away with Illiteracy began financing thousands of special schools for the elimination of adult illiteracy (likbezy). In 1925 they involved 1,400,000 people; as a result, by 1926 literacy in Russia advanced to 55 percent. Narkompros stimulated the development of education for different ethnic groups in their native tongues. The immediate concerns of the state also dealt with the need to take care of the homeless, vagabond children, alongside with efforts to overcome juvenile delinquency.

The atmosphere of enthusiasm and pursuit for radically new forms of instruction gave birth to numerous experiments: the "complex system," "project method," "Dalton Plan," and group or brigade method. It was concluded, though, that traditional forms were much more effective, and the experimentation time was condemned as a period of impotence. The works by Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) and other scholars contributed to the systematization of pedagogy. But in the 1930s the attempt to discuss the connection between personality and society was denounced as anti-Leninist. The resolution of 1936 On Pedological Distortions in the System of Narkomprosses (People's Commissariats of Education) brought many psychological investigations to a halt.

The state influence on school became even more pronounced in the mid-1920s with the announcement of the course towards industrialization, collectivization of agriculture, and cultural revolution. In the 1930s new transformations were initiated and personally monitored by Joseph Stalin. They envisaged centralized control at all levels, unification and regulation of the contents and methods of teaching, utilitarian attitude towards knowledge, obedience, and discipline. The legal decisions were materialized in standard obligatory curricula, syllabi, and textbooks worked out under the close scrutiny of the Communist Party.

The famous educator A. S. Makarenko (1888-1939) celebrated the idea of a highly disciplined learning collective as a model for the Soviet school committed to "bringing up a generation capable of building communism." His contradictory ideas and the publication of his book Pedagogical Poem aroused great public interest and initiated much argument. He worked out a theory of the collective as a form of educational process (including its structure and organization, stages of its development, methods of labor and aesthetic education, and formation of conscious discipline). He also made special emphasis on the creation of positive emotional atmosphere among homeless children who had suffered the horrors of war, devastation, and famine. His other ideas dealt with pedagogical logic, issues of family education, and other subjects. Makarenko was criticized from every angle, both by his contemporaries and scholars of later generations.

The speedy development of industry and collectivized agriculture, as well as the significant gains of education during the Stalin era were overshadowed by political terror, "purge" trials, mass executions, and exiles to work camps. Stalin's search for "enemies of the people" resulted in a significant reduction of the number of intellectuals (intelligentsia) who in turn, became the primary target of the repression.

During World War II, the Nazis ruined 17,000 school buildings. To preserve the compulsory education system, new boarding schools opened in the eastern parts of the country for the children, evacuated from the regions under Nazi occupation. "Prolonged day" groups were organized. Upon the liberation of Soviet territories, schools were reconstructed or newly built. By the end of the 1940s the educational network was restored. The Academy of Pedagogical Sciences and dozens of research institutes and experimental schools contributed to the introduction of mass secondary education.

After Stalin's death (1953) Nikita Khrushchev was elected First Secretary of the Communist Party. The twentieth CPSU Congress in 1956 denounced Stalin, started the "de-Stalinization" of the country, and sparked radical changes in all spheres of economic, political, and social life.

The 1958-1964 educational reform extended compulsory education from seven to eight years, combined general learning with productive labor (up to twenty hours a week at industrial enterprises), initiated structural and curricular innovations, and established special foreign-language schools. In 1959 it was claimed that 39 percent of workers and 21 percent of collective farmers had secondary or higher education. The reshaping of the school system initiated the experimental study of the problems of instruction and development, as well as innovative methods and technologies. After Khrushchev had been deposed in 1964, the Soviet government eliminated the major features of his educational reform.

The aim of the educational policies under Leonid Brezhnev was to meet the requirements of the "scientific technical revolution." The statutes and regulations of the 1960s-1970s period introduced a revised secondary school curriculum with electives added at seventh grade and intensified vocational guidance and counseling. The efforts of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences were directed towards the elaboration of the content of general secondary education, diversified and individual approaches to teaching science, practically oriented aspects of developmental education, and problems of adult education. The main trends of the 1970s-1980s period dealt with the optimization of the teaching process, use of technical aids, pedagogical psychology, computer education, and pedagogy of cooperation.

The propagation of Communist ideology through the Octobrist (ages 7 to 10), Young Pioneer (ages 10 to 14) and Komsomol (ages 14 to 28) organizations remained an important aspect of school and university life. By the mid-1970s the transfer to universal secondary education was achieved.

However, the qualitative growth could not make up for the disparity between the country's needs and capacities of the schooling system. Real education was substituted by the production of unrealistic data advertising the achievements of socialism. This crisis in education, which became evident in the 1980s, reflected general tendencies in Soviet society. The long-standing Russian educational tradition and accumulated intellectual property had come into conflict with the ideological pressure of the Soviet bureaucratic administrative machine. School, monopolized by the state, lacked initiative, diversity, and enthusiasm. It ultimately limited the intellectual potential of society. The educational reform attempted in 1984 did not only eliminate, but aggravated the crisis. School, seen primarily as an indoctrination tool, was insensitive to the students' individuality, national, and regional needs. Humanitarian subjects were permeated with ideology. Science syllabi oriented towards "average" capacities were equally ineffective for weak and strong students. The gap between the quality of schooling in urban and rural areas continued to grow. As a result, rural young people's social mobility and access to universities were limited.

Perestroika (restructuring) and glasnost (openness), the key notions of the revolutionary reforms initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, had a profound influence on the educational system. The main principles of its further advancement, approved by the All-Union Educational Convention in 1988, included democratization, pluralism, diversity, humanization, and continuity. The new program unfolded in 1990 and continued in Russia, which reemerged as an independent republic after the disintegration of the USSR in 1991.

The Russian educational reforms of the post-Soviet period had a number of peculiarities. The school had finally acquired freedom and could move towards democratic forms of teaching. The late 1980s to early 1990s saw the rapid development of innovative approaches and their spontaneous introduction into practice. Though educators realized the necessity to devote more attention to each individual student, they came to the conclusion that it was far too complicated in classes of twenty-five to thirty people. It also became clear that the idea of humanization could be implemented only in conjunction with profound social changes. The main goals were formulated in the federal Law on Education (1992).

On the one hand, perestroika encouraged innovation and creativity; on the other, the deepening economic crisis brought about insufficient financing, reduction or complete termination of numerous educational programs, and concentration on the survival rather than the development of the educational system. School administrations had to deal with poorly maintained buildings, overcrowded classrooms, lack of equipment, shortages of textbooks, electricity, and heat in certain areas of the country, as well as other economic problems. The transitional period made the school life more chaotic. Young people's organizations, whose activities had been heavily loaded with ideology, ceased to exist, but their place remained vacant. Students became more inert, apathetic, less interested in social life and self-government. Discipline became more lax. The number of juvenile delinquents, orphans, and children with mental problems started to grow. The partial shift from budget to non-budget financing, including the use of private funds, and the introduction of fees at certain institutions resulted in social differentiation and non-equal educational opportunities. The patience of teachers, who had previously been renowned for their enthusiasm and selflessness, was wearing thin because of low salaries and chronic delays in their payment.

This socioeconomic context made the reforms a long and painful process. The necessity to make economic adjustments partially overshadowed the educational tasks. The freedom given to educational institutions was not always used well and at times brought about undesirable consequences. Many teachers, who did not have sufficient professional training, psychological, and practical experience, started developing low-quality courses, textbooks, and methodological materials. These negative tendencies stimulated the establishment of the state standards. By 1999-2000 the situation had become more stable and was marked by systemic legal and conceptual changes in the educational system.

CONSTITUTIONAL & LEGAL FOUNDATIONS

According to Article 43 of the Constitution adopted in 1993, every Russian citizen is entitled to a free education. This right incorporates free provision of preschool, general primary, general secondary, and professional secondary education in state or municipal institutions, as well as access to free higher education on a competitive basis. Article 44 indicates that the church is separated from the state and education has a secular character.

The Law on Education, as well as numerous statutes and regulations of the Russian Federation, its autonomous republics, and other administrative units, give substance to these constitutional provisions. The Law on Education of the Russian Federation was adopted in 1992, upon the break up of the Soviet Union. After much argument, its amended version was approved in 1996. Corresponding laws have subsequently been enacted in the autonomous republics.

According to Article 2 of the Russian Federation Law, the main principles of Russian education include: its humanistic character, with priority given to humane values, human life, health, and free personality development; unity of the federal educational establishment, and protection of national cultures within a multicultural state; accessibility of education and its ability to adapt to different levels of student development and preparation; secularity; freedom and pluralism of education; and democratic character of administration and autonomy of educational institutions. The state educational standards established by the law include the federal, as well as national and regional components. Central (federal) organs generate the federal component, which specifies the mandatory minimum of the program content, maximum study load, and requirements for graduates. The state educational standard of basic general education is approved by the Russian Federation Supreme Soviet (Duma).

The law further outlines the legal framework of the educational system on a national scale, requirements to the academic process and its content, and defines the main goals of education. According to Article 8, the system of education in Russia included successive curricula and educational standards, a network of educational institutions of different types, and a system of administrative organs. Organizationally and legally educational institutions could be state, municipal, and non-state (private or affiliated with social and religious organizations). Articles 28 to 32 established the distribution of responsibilities between the federal, republic, regional, municipal administrative organs, and the educational institution itself. A newly organized institution had to receive a license from the state. Accreditation carried out by the federal organs defined the status of an educational institution, whereas attestation controlled the content, level, quality of student preparation, and their correspondence to the state standards. The law also regulated the economic and social aspects in the sphere of education and the international activities of institutions.

EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM—OVERVIEW

The Russian Federation inherited the major features of its educational system from the Soviet Union, where schooling was centralized and uniform. This explains why the educational patterns are basically the same all over the country. Preprimary education is optional and includes nursery schools for infants under three years of age and kindergartens for three to six-year olds. General education is represented by the primary and secondary levels, usually combined in one school. The length of study is 3 or 4 years in primary school, 5 years in basic secondary school, and 2 years in upper secondary school, which totals 10 or 11 years (from 6- or 7- to 17-years-old).

The secondary school system is essentially two-track: after the basic secondary course students can either go on to the upper level or enter one of the secondary professional schools: PTU, technicum, uchilishche, or college. Graduates of general secondary and professional secondary schools can get a job or enter a VUZ (higher educational institution). Higher professional education is represented by institutes, academies, and universities, which can award three types of degrees: Bachelor (four years of study), Certified Specialist (five years of study), and Master (six years of study). Those who aspire for an advanced scholarly degree can proceed to aspirantura to earn the degree of Kandidat nauk and go further to doktorantura for the degree of Doktornauk.

Russia is a unique multicultural state with almost 120 ethnic units, which belong to 20 groups of the 4 biggest linguistic families and include from 30 to 130 million people. The Declaration of Rights of the Peoples of Russia (1917) proclaimed the right of all the citizens to be educated in their native tongue. From the very start bilingualism became the main principle of education for non-Russians. In the 1920s to 1930s, scholars created new alphabets for dozens of ethnic groups (first on the Latin and later on the Cyrillic basis). Scientific and instructional literature, as well as fiction was published in many native languages. Gradually, though, the sphere of their employment was significantly narrowed. At schools their use was practically limited to the elementary grades, whereas other levels were taught in Russian. In the 1970s to 1980s new efforts of linguists resulted in the development of alphabets for ethnic minorities of the Far North. The Federal Law on Languages (1991) guaranteed all ethnicities the right to study and be taught in their native language in the places of their compact habitation. It was further intensified by the Order of the Ministry of Education On the Measures for Preservation and Development of the Languages of the Peoples of Russia (1992).

According to the Constitution of 1993, Russian is the state language on the whole territory of the Russian Federation. In addition, republics have the right to establish their own state languages, which can be equally used in the state, republic, and local administrative organs. The state guarantees all its peoples the right to preserve and develop their native tongues. Article 6 of the Law on Education grants the citizens of Russia the right to choose the language of instruction within the options provided by the educational system. In all the accredited educational institutions, except preschools, the study of Russian, as well as the state languages of the republics, is regulated by the federal and republic laws.

Whereas the legal acts of the Russian Federation give the role of the intercultural communication tool to the Russian language, they leave room for the development of other languages and spheres of their use, as well as redistribution and coordination of their functions. The desire to preserve the cultural identity, along with the recent nationalistic tendencies, explains why the number of schools with instruction in the native tongue is steadily growing. Students have more opportunity to learn about the history, culture, and progressive traditions of ethnic groups living in particular regions. The goals of education have been reconsidered to match the needs of particular communities and ethnic groups. Teacher training includes the study of ethno-specific peculiarities under the conditions of bilingualism. After the break up of the Soviet Union, national languages have become a major political force. They have been used as a sign of national identity, as well as a tool of discrimination against non-titular nations. The traditional types of bilingual educational institutions include: 1) schools with instruction in the native language where Russian is taught as a subject; 2) schools with instruction in Russian where the native language is taught as a subject; 3) schools where the native language is taught only in elementary school; and 4) multinational schools where the native language is taught only as an elective. In the 1998-1999 academic year the schools of the Russian Federation were using 80 different languages of instruction. More than 20 million students were getting education in Russian and more than 1.1 million in their native (non-Russian) language.

PREPRIMARY & PRIMARY EDUCATION

Russian preschools of the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries predominantly existed in the form of shelters and orphanages. They were mostly based on charity and directed towards the disadvantaged. Pedagogical principles were first introduced in preprimary education in the mid-1900s. It was the time when big cities saw the emergence of private kindergartens with fees charged for specifically Russian programs of bringing up children. Such institutions were mostly located in St. Petersburg and were accessible only for the chosen few. The rules were strict; the subjects included reading, writing, counting, and two or three foreign languages. In the period between the late 1800s and the early 1900s progressive preschools started implementing the principles of free education, as well as Montessori's ideas. In spite of the growing need and interest for early-childhood education and upbringing, the network of free kindergartens was unfolding very slowly. In 1882 there were only 37 preschools, 14 out of them in St. Petersburg. In 1893 preschool institutions received the first subsidy from the Ministry of Public Education. By 1914 Russia already had 275 preschools.

The Declaration on Preschool Education adopted immediately after the Revolution of 1917 announced that preschools in the Soviet Republic were to become an organic part of the whole system of public education. The decree of 1918 subordinated all the state and private preschool institutions to Narkompros. The First Convention on Preschool Education (1919) came up with the initiative to create year-round kindergartens functioning nine or ten hours a day. In 1925 educators invented day summer playgrounds to accommodate peasants' children during the period of the most intensive field work. By 1927 the number of children on the summer playgrounds increased tenfold, from 15,000 to 150,000. By 1931 the number of children attending preschools reached 3,667,000.

The ideological pressure of the period between the late 1920s and the 1930s resulted in the development of preschool indoctrination programs, collectivist methods, and strict official control from above. The uniform program of 1932 and a number of statutes and regulations formulated the official requirements for preprimary education, seen as the first stage in creating "the new Soviet person." Children's committees and meetings were organized. Dolls represented soldiers of the Red Army, workers, peasants, and Young Pioneers. New Year holidays were abolished as "a survival of the past." Fairy-tales were seen as "an obstacle to the formation of a materialistic outlook." Teachers interfered with the children's games if they were "ideologically unacceptable."

During World War II the number of preschool institutions continued to grow. The need to accommodate the growing number of orphans, as well as the young children from evacuated families required more boarding preschools and children's homes.

The three postwar decades (1950s to 1970s) witnessed a rapid growth of the network, especially in urban areas. By 1980 the network included 63,500 preschool institutions with 7,127,700 children. In the 1960s to 1980s the general crisis of the Soviet educational system revealed itself in the form of outdated preschool programs, exaggerated attention to ideology, unjustified unification, and a disregard for the children's individual peculiarities.

The political reforms of the period between the late 1980s and the early 1990s gave educators more independence and freedom to develop new diversified programs, personal approaches, and nationally specific forms of upbringing. At the same time the economic state of preschools noticeably deteriorated. Most of the institutions were subordinated to the municipal administrative organs and were no longer financed by industrial enterprises and government organizations. In the 1993-2000 period 20,000 preschool institutions were closed; the number of children attending them decreased by one third (2,400,000), thus satisfying only 50 percent of the demand. By the beginning of the 1998-1999 academic year there were 60,250 preschool facilities attended by 4,700,000 children.

Preschools have to be licensed and accredited as all the other educational institutions. Their network is administered by the Ministry of Education. Preschool teachers (vospitateli, literally "upbringers") are trained at 190 secondary pedagogical schools and more than 30 pedagogical institutions of higher learning.

Preprimary education in Russia exists in the form of nursery schools (yasli) for infants aged six-weeks- to three-years-old and kindergartens (detsady) for children aged three- to six-years-old. In many cases the two types are located in the same building. The facilities include half-day, all-day, and boarding schools. They vary from year-round to seasonal institutions, the latter predominantly in rural areas. Special facilities are set up for children with physical and mental disabilities. Private preschools are emerging in addition to the state ones. A recent development, family nursery schools and kindergartens, is gradually gaining popularity. Alongside with games and outdoor recreational activities, preschool programs, especially in the last year of kindergarten, include classes, which would prepare the children for primary school: language development, instruction in reading, writing, counting, singing, dancing, and art. The nationwide interest for foreign languages accounts for their introduction into preschool curricula. An important part of preprimary education is the organization of concerts and parties, especially for the national holidays.

Although specialists have different opinions about the future of preprimary education in Russia, they all agree that the main goal is to preserve and develop the existing facilities. On the average the network continues to lose 3,500 preschools a year. Over the last decade, the reduction amounted to almost 40 percent. The improved facilities accommodate a limited number of children from well-to-do families, while the demand for preschool education remains unsatisfied. The subordination of preschools to municipal organs in the 1990s created additional problems, the worst of which was insufficient financing. Educators suggest alternatives to the existing preschools: facilities with short-term stay (one to six hours) once or several times a week, on weekends, and with variable costs.

The plan of the government is to include preprimary institutions in the system of general compulsory education and develop flexible programs with an individual attendance schedule in order to prepare five- and six-yearolds for school. The changes in the organizational structure will be based on the distinction between preschool education and daycare as a form of federal aid to low-income families.

Another area that needs to be improved is the content of preschool education. It has been criticized for "invading" the primary school educational space. Teachers, doctors, and parents believe that it is unacceptable to overload children of preschool age and thus deprive them of the period of childhood, which has a value of its own. In order to reform the content of preschool education, a competition was organized in 2000. The winners' program has become the basis for the development of the state standards, which are expected to ensure the children's smooth transition from the preprimary to the primary school level.

General education school in Russia includes three stages: grades 1 to 4, elementary level; grades 5 to 9, basic secondary level; and grades 10 to 11, upper secondary level. The complete course totals 11 years in the general education track. There is no formal division between the levels, and the students (called ucheniki, "pupils" in Russian) usually remain in the same building from grade one through eleven. Separate primary or basic secondary schools exist only in rural areas. Since the mid-1960s the government has been making serious efforts to restructure the school network by combining small schools into larger ones located in areas accessible for the local children. In the first grade students are divided into classes of 25 to 30 people who study as a group throughout all the years of school.

In the 1998-1999 academic year, Russia had 66,700 general education schools of different types with more than 21,100,000 students. As a result of the development of the private sector in education, there were 568 non-state schools (0.8 percent of the total number with 0.2 percent students).

The history of Russian primary education is connected with monastery schools, which emerged in the eleventh century and gave children moral and religious instruction. In the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries, "masters of literacy" taught small groups of students or tutored them individually. The foundations of the primary schooling system were laid in the early 1700s under Peter the Great.

In 1782 the Commission on Establishing Schools worked out a structure of general primary education, which was introduced in 1786. The Charter of Educational Establishments of 1804 created a network of one-year parish schools. The mid-eighteenth century was marked by the development of primary schools for peasants and pronounced interest for educating female students. The reforms of the 1860s committed primary schools to disseminating basic knowledge and religion, establishing centralized administration of the school system, and introducing uniform curricula and textbooks. Primary education of this period was significantly influenced by the progressive social movement and the publication of pedagogical journals and books, especially by K.D. Ushinsky.

The Statute On Unified Labor School published in 1918 after the October Revolution decreed five years of primary schooling, which were later replaced by four years. In 1934, after the reconstruction of the Soviet school system, primary learning became the first stage of the unified general education system based on the principles of continuity and transferability.

Over the next decades the curricula and syllabi for primary schools were systematically revised and altered, depending on the political and economic situation in the country. In the 1970s the number of grades in primary school was reduced to three. The educational crisis of the 1980s made it obvious that the standardized school programs permeated with Communist ideology required urgent changes. The 1984 school reform lowered the school age to six, thus returning to a four-year primary school and trying to incorporate the world experience into Soviet education. The revolutionary political changes of the late 1980s initiated "deideologization" and "depolitization" of the school system.

However, most parents, teachers, and doctors did not enthusiastically hail the transition to four-year primary schooling. The reform could not be carried out for many socioeconomic reasons: insufficient numbers of classrooms and teachers, absence of necessary facilities and equipment, and inadequate psychological and professional teacher training. As a result, a two-track primary education system developed by the end of the 1990s. According to the new program, children can start school at six years of age and study for four years, before they go on to the secondary level. The alternative is to enter the first grade at the age of seven and follow the lines of the traditional, more intensive curriculum, when the same material is covered in three years. In this case children skip grade four of primary school and go directly to the fifth grade. Though this process is somewhat confusing, it preserves the uniformity on the secondary school level. Educators hope that the coexistence of the two tracks will allow them to complete the reform by gradual transition to the four-year primary school program.

The subjects taught on the primary level include Russian (and/or another native language for non-Russian students), reading, mathematics, nature studies, physical training, music, and art. Though the content of education is based on the state educational standards, schools and individual teachers have acquired more freedom in developing curricular and teaching materials. Gymnasiums, lyceums, and private schools introduce additional subjects (e. g., foreign languages, dancing). All the classes, except music, art, and physical training, are taught by one teacher who is also in charge of extracurricular activities (excursions, field trips, concerts, parties, and celebration of national holidays).

The school year always starts on September 1. Though uniforms are no longer enforced in most of the schools, children, especially first-graders, wear white shirts or blouses. Primary school students study five or six days a week and usually have four 40-45 minute classes a day. The intervals between classes vary from 5 to 25 minutes. Each student has a special record book (dnevnik) for writing down the schedule and home assignment every day of the week. The teacher uses the dnevnik to record the student's grades and remarks about his or her behavior. It is considered to be an effective method of the teacher's communication with parents. The academic year is organized on a quarterly basis, with four vacations (a week in early November, two weeks for the New Year and Christmas, a week at the end of March, and three months in the summer). Students are graded for every subject at the end of each quarter and the academic year. The grading is numerical: five, excellent; four, good; three, fair; and two, poor (failure).

SECONDARY EDUCATION

Prior to the Revolution of 1917, the prototypes of modern secondary schools were gymnasiums and lyceums. The first gymnasiums opened in the early 1700s, with Russian as the language of instruction. These were followed by other secondary schools, which were affiliated with the Moscow (1755) and Kazan (1758) Universities. The lyceums introduced at the beginning of the nineteenth century were a combination of primary and secondary schools. The legislation of 1864 established two types of gymnasiums: classical and real. The curricula of the former included ancient history and classical languages, whereas the latter gave preference to sciences. The Charter of 1871 declared classical gymnasiums the only type of educational institutions representing complete secondary education. Only in 1912 did the graduates of real gymnasiums acquire the right to apply to universities.

The October Revolution (1917) declared the schools to be unified, labor, and polytechnic. As a result, general education in secondary schools was combined with vocational training. Strong emphasis was also made on the indoctrination courses expected to propagate Communist ideology. The regulation of 1934 established two types of secondary general education: incomplete seven-year and complete ten-year education. The law of 1959 extended the length of study in complete secondary schools to eleven years, but in 1966 it was cut back to ten years.

The socioeconomic crisis of the 1980s endangered the state of Russian secondary education: its uniformity, lack of educational choice, and social apathy alienated students from the school. The reform of 1984 declared a number of goals to enhance the quality of education, but the state failed to realize most of them. The decision to lower the school age from seven to six years once again extended complete education to a total of eleven years. In the early 1990s, schools acquired the right to choose curricula and textbooks, to diversify the teaching process and introduce different profiles of education.

Primary and secondary level grades are usually located in the same building and are regarded as one school. Nevertheless, there is a major difference between the levels: if in primary grades most of the classes are taught by the same teacher, on the secondary level there is a different teacher for each subject. Students are transferred from primary to secondary school as a class of about thirty, who continue on together as a group. One of the subject teachers is appointed their klassny rukovoditel (academic director) in order to give them guidance, watch their progress, provide leadership for extracurricular and recreational activities, and keep in touch with the parents. Parent-teacher conferences called "parents meetings" are devoted to the students' achievements, discipline, and organizational issues. They also elect representatives to the school parent committee, which assists the teachers and administration.

The academic year in all the schools begins on September 1, which is celebrated as the Day of Knowledge, and continued until the end of May, exclusive of the examination period. The year is divided into quarters. Students go to school five or six days a week (depending on the decision of the school administration) and have up to 36 lessons per week. Classes last 40 to 45 minutes. The intervals between them are from 5 to 25 minutes long, and there is no additional lunch break. Since most of the school buildings cannot accommodate all the students at once, schools usually operate on a shift schedule.

The subjects in the curricula are grouped into seven areas of knowledge: languages and literature (includes Russian, as well as other native and foreign languages; the number of hours allotted for the Russian language can be different and depends on the linguistic situation in the area, as well as peculiarities of a particular school); mathematics (includes algebra, geometry, logic, statistics); sciences (includes physics, chemistry, biology); society (includes Russian and world history, law, foundations of modern civilization, world economics, international relations, and sociology); art (includes fine arts, music, world culture, and courses reflecting the cultural peculiarities of the region where the school is located); labor (includes labor education, professional training, and technical drawing); and physical training.

The number of hours in each area is subdivided into the federal, regional, and school components. The curricula comprise an invariable part, which is mandatory for all the schools, and a variable part, within which schools are free to make decisions of their own. The programs also provide for individual consultations, electives and optional courses, which are often taught by invited university professors, actors, artists, or people of other professions. For the last thirty years the number of subjects at schools have doubled. It can be as high as seventeen to twenty, therefore the schedule of classes is different every day of the week.

Though computer literacy instruction is part of the programs, it is ineffective because in most of the schools the equipment is outdated or nonexistent. The lessons of physical training take place in the gym or on the sports grounds. Due to the lack of adequate equipment and poor organization, sports activities are not very popular with Russian students. Insufficient state financing compels schools to look for sponsors and seek additional funds to improve their facilities. Some innovative schools also work in close conjunction with universities, local libraries, museums, and industrial enterprises.

Students in grades five to eight are evaluated at the end of each quarter, and students in grades ten to eleven twice a year (after the second and the fourth quarter). All secondary school students receive a cumulative grade in each subject at the end of the academic year. Officially the grading is based on a four-point scale: five, excellent; four, good; three, fair; and two, poor (failure). Grade one (very poor) is usually an emotional response to unsatisfactory performance and is used as a disciplinary measure. Students are promoted to the next grade on the basis of academic achievement during the year and the results of the annual examinations (oral or written) in Russian and mathematics (obligatory for all) and one or more subjects of their own choice. Those who fail in two or more disciplines either repeat the year or are transferred to a class of compensatory education. Students with a failing grade in one subject are allowed to go on to the next grade, but they have to complete their work on the subject. People who are unable to cope with a particular level cannot go on to the next one. Excellent students of grades five to eight are exempt from examinations. However, everybody is required to take exams after grade nine, because it is the final year of basic (incomplete) secondary school. After it some students go on to secondary professional schools; others continue with grades ten and eleven.

The examinations for the Certificate of Secondary Education, also called a "maturity certificate," conclude the eleventh grade. They are prepared by the federal authorities and strictly monitored. The school can offer five or seven exams, which always include an essay on Russian literature and a written test in mathematics. Other subjects can be chosen by the student. Those who get all excellent grades for the last four semesters and the final examinations are awarded a gold medal. Students with a maximum of two good grades (all the others being excellent) receive a silver medal. The medals significantly improve their chances to be admitted to a competitive higher educational institution.

The democratization of the school system, greater flexibility in curricula development, and encouragement of innovations have opened up the way for numerous experiments at the secondary school level. In 1998-1999, alongside with regular secondary schools, the network included 2,547 lyceums and gymnasiums with 1,700,000 students. The old terms have acquired a new meaning. The word "lyceum" has come to denote an innovative secondary school with a specialization in a particular area (e.g., mathematics, law, ecology, pedagogy), which is attached to a higher educational institution. "Gymnasium" is a nontraditional humanitarian school with a comprehensive program and the study of at least two foreign languages. To be granted the status of a lyceum or gymnasium, schools are expected to prove that they have highly qualified teachers, advanced programs, and adequate facilities. Among the first institutions to receive this status were the schools with intensive foreign language programs, which had been established under Khrushchev (the 1960s) and had gained popularity for producing nearly bilingual graduates. Though officially these schools are expected to enroll all the children of eligible age from the local community, the entry there is becoming more and more competitive.

The schools for the gifted and talented, which work in conjunction with theaters and conservatories, provide advanced training in ballet, music, and performing arts. Children with outstanding abilities for mathematics, biology, physics, and other sciences selected during nationwide competitions (Olympiads) are enrolled in specialized educational establishments, which are affiliated with universities and serve as laboratory schools or experimental grounds.

Those who decide to combine work with parallel secondary education can study at part-time evening schools. Due to the low quality of instruction and the inability to compete with daytime institutions, enrollment in such schools is steadily decreasing. Boarding schools, which in the late 1950s were seen as the Communist school of the future, now predominantly accommodate orphans, children deprived of proper parental care, and students from remote rural areas, who do not have a regular private school in their locality. In 1998-1999 the number of children in boarding schools and orphanages was more than 96,000. Most of such schools, as well as children's homes, are poorly financed and maintained. Their existence is a struggle for survival, rather than a strive for innovation.

The state also operates special facilities, which provide secondary education for the blind or partially sighted, deaf or partially hearing students, individuals with speech defects, and other health problems. The educational process in such schools is adjusted to the students' special needs and trains them in skills, which can be useful in their adult life. Alcoholism, crime and other social problems account for the growing number of institutions for mentally retarded and physically handicapped children, as well as closed correctional establishments for juvenile delinquents.

A school is headed by the Director who is personally responsible for the general management of the school life. As the main administrator, the Director deals with the educational process, staffing, the financial state of the school, the maintenance of its facilities, as well as food and security. Deputy directors (zavuchi) take care of particular areas of work (curricula, schedules, extracurricular activities, etc.). The highest organ of school self-government is the pedsovet (pedagogical council), which deals with fundamental aspects of the school life. It is chaired by the Director and includes all the deputy directors and educational staff. The Pedsovet adopts the school Charter (Ustav), defines the organizational structure of the school administration, makes decisions about educational programs, choice of curricula, forms and methods of teaching, approves the students' final grades, cooperates with the parents committee, educational institutions, and NGOs.

In the situation when schools have to deal with numerous economic difficulties, it has become vitally important to preserve and support the educational network, especially in the Far North, Siberia, and the Far East. Due to insufficient financing, only 46.3 percent of schools have the necessary facilities; and one third of the buildings need repairs. There is no construction of new educational establishments occurring in rural areas. Many schools are overcrowded, 32 percent of them have to work in two or three shifts.

Due to low social and territorial mobility of students and teachers, people living in different parts of the country do not have equal access to high-quality programs. It is necessary to improve and diversify the content of education, develop new methods, technologies, curricula, and textbooks. Another aim is to make various forms of education accessible for the gifted and talented students living in remote areas. The transition to a market economy requires paying more attention to professional orientation and programs for individuals who combine their education with work.

The principle of continuity between different stages of schooling is declared, but not truly implemented. The number of secondary school graduates, who can enter higher educational institutions without additional training (private tutoring), is steadily decreasing. Serious efforts have to be made to bridge the gap between the content of secondary and higher education. In order to support students from rural schools (68.9 percent of the total number), it is essential to intensify professional guidance, organize specialized classes, and search for other forms of cooperation between VUZs and rural schools. The introduction of unified state examinations is expected to make the admission to higher educational institutions more objective.

One of the long-term goals is a gradual transmission to a 12-year secondary education (4-6-2 model), which involves the development of new curricula, alleviates the students' work load, and allows for the individual choice of subjects according to the students interests and abilities. The reform is preceded by a period of experimentation: beginning in 2001, five educational institutions in every region are working along the lines of the new program. By 2015 the reform will embrace ninety percent of all the students.

The development of specialized professional education in Russia was strongly encouraged by Peter the Great and started with the opening of the Artillery School (1701), Medical School (1707), Engineering School (1709), Navy Academy (1715), and other institutions. By 1914-1915 there were more than 400 professional schools with 54,000 students, who were trained to work in construction, industry, transportation, medicine, and agriculture. During the first years after the October Revolution the Soviet government, which made special emphasis on vocational training, established 450 new institutions called technicums.

In the 1930s the network continued to grow; the night and correspondence departments were opened for those who combined studies with work. During the Second World War the vocational training system prepared 340,000 workers and specialists. When adults were recruited into the Army, teenage graduates replaced them in factory shops. By the late 1940s there were 4,000 vocational schools and technicums with 1,007,700 students. After three more decades of steady growth, the enrollment figures became stabilized and in the 1990s started decreasing (4,611,000 students in 1980, 4,231,000 in 1990).

Vocational institutions were subordinated to the republic, regional, and local administrative organs in order to meet the needs of particular territories. New types of schools (professional colleges and lyceums) combined general and vocational training with the purpose to improve the students' economic, legal, and industrial competence. By 1998-1999 there were 2,649 state and municipal secondary professional schools with 2,052,000 students.

The system encompasses two levels of education. The initial level comprises professional technical schools (PTU) and centers of continuing professional education, which train skilled workers and paraprofessionals for blue-collar jobs. The course lasts from one to two years for professional training only, and three to four years if it is combined with general secondary education.

The types of schools at the secondary professional level include: technicums (or polytechnicums) (independent institutions, which predominantly train middle-level technicians, lower managers, shop foremen for industry, transport, construction, and agriculture); uchilishcha (schools, which prepare specialists for non-production spheres, including preprimary and primary school teachers, nurses, circus performers, and librarians); and colleges (secondary specialized institutions, which can be either independent or function as structural divisions of a university, institute, or academy).

Other types of vocational institutions are farmers' schools, commercial schools, and specialized schools aimed at the social rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents. Organizationally, all the schools are subdivided into state, municipal, and non-state institutions. In order to acquire a legal status, they have to be accredited by the state. The prerequisite for admission is basic (nine-year) or complete (eleven-year) secondary education. Prospective students have to take entrance examinations, which in some cases can be substituted by an interview. Preference in admission to free education is given to applicants who are getting professional training for the first time, as well as those who are referred to the institution by employment agencies.

The length of study at schools, which offer an mixture of professional and general education, is from three to four years. The state standards, adopted in 1992 and 1996, introduced a completely new approach to the structuring of the permanent and variable parts of the curricula. They include the federal, national, and regional components. The federal component defines the obligatory minimum content of educational programs, maximum workload, and the required level of student training. In their turn, the national and regional components reflect the specific needs of a particular locality and ethnic group. The standards have to be reviewed at least once every ten years. The new arrangement allows for adjustments, which take into consideration the peculiarities of the natural environment, climate, and the demand for certain skills and occupations. It aims at training specialists of wider profiles, who would have more professional mobility and adaptability to the changing social conditions. The mandatory minimum in the curriculum provides for the equivalency of training on all the territory of Russia.

The curricula, built along the lines of the state standards, include practical and theoretical courses. The annual number of hours can be from 4,418 to 5,744. Approximately one-third of them are devoted to general education (710 to 800 hours for humanitarian subjects, 500 to 680 hours for sciences, and 263 to 435 hours for electives and optional courses). In technical schools special emphasis is made on the basics of technology, economics, law, organization of production, intensive work methods, and use of new equipment. In addition to traditional topics, students get acquainted with new trends in commerce, management, marketing, auditing, and computer science. The educational process consists of lectures, tutorials, laboratory work, consultations, tests, excursions, simulation games, and practical training. The weekly study load is 36 to 38 hours. Students are organized in groups of 25 to 30 students (12 to 15 students for complex specialties). An academic director or a master of production training, attached to each group, is responsible for developing the students' vocational skills. Practical training usually takes place at the school shops or corresponding enterprises. At some schools the course culminates in the defense of a final paper called a diploma project.

Vocational schools are administered by a council representing all categories of employees, students, and other interested parties (enterprises, organizations, or parents). The council is chaired by the Director, who is responsible for the educational process, the school's financial state, the students' health and security, and recreational activities. In 1998-1999 there were 123,200 teachers employed in the network of secondary professional education. Most of them were graduates of industrial pedagogical institutes, higher, and specialized secondary institutions.

Educators are trying to find a rational correlation of theoretical and practical knowledge—a calculated balance of creative thinking and professional skills. In order to intensify the professional, social, and territorial mobility of specialists and make them more competitive on the job market, it is necessary to extend and combine the existing specialties and advance the quality of education. The educational tendencies encompass competitive enrollment; diversified curricula; financial reform of the network; cooperation of the state, businesses, trade unions, and educational institutions; and attraction of investments into the sphere of vocational training.

HIGHER EDUCATION

The first higher educational institution in Russia was the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy reformed in the early eighteenth century by Peter the Great. The Moscow University founded in 1755 on the initiative of Lomonosov gradually became one of the leading educational establishments in Europe. The system of higher learning, which developed in the first half of the nineteenth century, was administered by the Ministry of Public Education and included universities, privileged lyceums, and specialized institutes. At the end of the nineteenth century there were 63 higher educational institutions with 30,000 students. By 1914 the number of the students grew fourfold and reached 120,000.

After the Revolution of 1917, preference in access to higher education was given to workers and members of the Communist party. In the 1921-1933 period "institutes of red professorship" trained students to become lecturers on Marxism-Leninism, History, Political Economy, and other social sciences. In spite of the dramatic losses during the Second World War, the network of higher educational institutions was preserved. The postwar period was marked by a strict unification of curricula and priority given to engineering education, often at the expense of other areas, for the sake of training specialists for the defense complex. Though the number of graduating students was steadily growing, the level of education did not adequately meet the demands of the country and its regions. Absence of choice within the programs and prevalence of courses indoctrinating Communist ideology in the curricula resulted in low motivation, inability to make independent decisions, and social apathy.

The reform of higher education, which started in the USSR in the late 1980s, continued in the Russian Federation after it had become an independent state in 1991. It was aimed at the development of a uniform federal policy in higher education, democratization, establishment of self-government, and diversification of curricula. The Federal Law on Higher and Post-Graduate Professional Education of 1996 outlined the structure of the educational system and defined its priorities. Though the period of transition to a market economy caused a number of serious problems for professors and graduates (insufficient financing, low salaries, problems with finding jobs), the popularity of higher education continued to grow. By 1998-1999 there were 584 state higher educational institutions with more than 3,300,000 students and 334 non-state institutions with 250,700 students.

The generic term VUZ (Russian acronym for "higher educational institution") is used to denote all types of higher schools, including: Universities (which provide graduate and post-graduate education in a wide variety of specialties, carry out fundamental and applied research in different areas of knowledge, are leading scholarly and methodological centers in the spheres of their activities); Academies (which also give graduate and post-graduate degrees, but in a particular area of knowledge); and Institutes (which are similar to academies, but do not necessarily have post-graduate programs; they can function either independently or as part of a university).

VUZs are administered by the Academic Council, an elected organ, which makes fundamental decisions about the institution's policy, teaching process, and future development. The Rector, chief administrative officer and head of the Council, is elected by secret ballot at a general meeting or conference for a period of five years and approved by a supervising administrative organ. The Rector must be under sixty-five years of age at the time of the election, and the period of the work in this position can be legally extended until the age of seventy. Heads of higher educational institutions are members of the Union of Rectors of the Russian Federation. Prorectors who are responsible for particular areas (academic affairs, research, international contacts) are not elected, but have contract positions.

Approximately the same structure is repeated on the level of faculties, or schools (facul'tety), organized in accordance with areas of knowledge and including both professors and students. Each facul'tet is headed by a Dean (dekan), head of the faculty council on which students are also represented. The Dean, together with Associate Deans, is in charge of academic work, student and faculty research, curricula, schedule, and extracurricular activities. Professors are organized in departments (kafedry) according to the discipline they are teaching. There is no tenure, and they have to be reelected every five years by the faculty council. The procedure of reelection or election to a higher position requires the proof of active academic activities, research, publications, and extracurricular work.

Since specialization in Russian VUZs starts at the freshmen level, applicants must make an early decision about the major area of study and their future profession. A prerequisite for admission is the Certificate of Secondary Education. Students are selected on the basis of entrance examinations. Educational institutions have the right to decide which examinations to offer, but they have to choose the subjects from the list worked out on the federal level: Russian language (mandatory for all in the form of an essay), literature, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, history of Russia, social science, and a foreign language. The would-be students have the right to answer the exam in Russian or a titular language of a republic. Theoretically, the examinations have to be based on the material covered in secondary school, but due to keen competition to particular VUZs, there is a gap between the school and university entrance requirements. In order to enter a university that is much sought after young people have to study with individual tutors for a year or two before they apply. There was a time when the average secondary school grade was taken into account during the entry procedures, but in 1984 this practice was relinquished.

Students with gold and silver medals are exempt from all the entrance examinations, except the profile one (English for the School of Foreign Languages) and are admitted if they receive an excellent grade. Among all those who have successfully passed the exams, preference is given to orphans, individuals left without proper parental care, physically handicapped, people demobilized from the army service, and war participants. Other benefits exist for the winners of national and international Olympiads (competitions) in school subjects. A certain number of places can be allotted to rural school graduates, whose level of training does not allow them to compete with their urban peers, due to the rural/city divide in the quality of secondary school training. The total number of male and female applicants is about equal. Women usually predominate in humanitarian departments, whereas men are more numerous in technical schools. Since VUZs have acquired more freedom, they are trying to regulate the stream of applicants and search for ways to control their enrollment. If competitive schools offer highly demanding entrance tests, in less popular schools examinations can be substituted by an interview.

Final examinations in secondary school followed by entrance exams to a VUZ are a double stress for the young people. VUZs do not trust the school transcripts, because they fear that teachers can give their students good grades under the parents' pressure. On the other hand, bribery and nepotism in admissions to higher educational institutions have soared to an unprecedented level. In order to solve the problem, the Ministry of Education has come up with the idea of introducing a national examination (analogous to the SAT in the United States). It has set up a special council, headed by the Minister of Education, to supervise the project. The system of centralized testing has existed since the mid-1990s, but it is voluntary for the applicants as well as VUZs, the latter can decide whether to accept the results or not. Therefore this form of testing embraces only a limited number of students. During the first stage of the project the system will be tried out in several provincial towns. The tests will be then sent to Moscow to be graded by independent specialists.

The project managers will also have to deal with emerging problems, such as non-sanctioned teachers' assistance at schools, informational security, and imbalance in enrollment between different VUZs, organization, and curricula. Upon entrance, freshmen are divided into permanent groups of 20 to 25 people and stay as a group until they graduate. In regards to foreign language classes and other subjects, which require more individualized approach, they are further distributed into subgroups of about ten people.

The academic year lasts from September 1 until the middle or end of June (depending on the year of study) and is divided into two semesters. There are two weeks of vacations in late January, early February and two months in the summer. Classes take place five or six days a week in the form of lectures (for 50 to 100 students), seminars (20 to 30 students), and practical or laboratory work (10 to 12 students). The period lasts from 80 to 90 minutes. The schedule is made for the whole group. Elective and optional courses are usually scheduled at the same time, and students can choose a subject as a group or individually.

The principles of the curricula organization are similar to those used at the secondary school level. All the disciplines are divided into several categories: general humanitarian and socioeconomic subjects, mathematics and sciences, general professional subjects, and specialized subjects. Each of the categories includes the federal component (70 percent of the curriculum), that is defined by the central authorities; a national and regional component reflecting the needs and peculiarities of a particular territory or ethnic group; and a VUZ component established by a particular institution. This arrangement ensures uniform requirements on the national scale and at the same time allows for innovative approaches and diversification of the VUZ programs. Legally students can study as many subjects offered by the institution as they wish, but because of the heavy workload they seldom attend classes outside their main curriculum. In order to graduate, students have to write and defend a thesis and take final state examinations. Most of them are oral and taken in front of a panel, which consists of university professors and is headed by a colleague invited from a different institution.

Students who graduate with honors receive a red certificate. Most of the higher educational institutions are concentrated in big cities, whereas suburban campuses are uncommon. In 1998, a total of 63.4 percent students studied full-time, 6.9 percent in part-time night, and 29.7 percent in extension-correspondence divisions. Other forms of education offered by VUZs comprise training and retraining programs, short-term courses, and professional development seminars. A form gaining popularity is second higher education, when part of the subjects studied previously is counted towards the second degree.

Current assessment of the students work is done throughout the semester. Unlike in secondary schools, numerical grades are seldom used. Examinations sessions take place at the end of each semester, and the grades are verbal: excellent, good, satisfactory, and unsatisfactory (failure) or pass/fail. All the examination grades are recorded in the students credit book colloquially called zachotka. Some VUZs are developing assessment approaches for example rating systems, which employ percentage or cumulative grades. Evaluation is done openly, and public opinion is supposed to stimulate the students' performance. Full-time students who successfully fulfill all the requirements receive a small stipend.

Academic degrees were introduced in Russia in the nineteenth century. Beginning with 1803 it was decided to award three types of degrees in philosophical and law university departments: Kandidat, Master, and Doktor. The system developed mainly under the influence of European standards. After the Revolution of 1917 the degrees were eliminated. However, because of the necessity to differentiate between levels of qualification, the degrees of Kandidat and Doktor were restored correspondingly in 1934 and 1937 with a partially changed meaning. VAK (Supreme Attestation Commission) was instituted in 1934.

The state standard of professional higher education of the Russian Federation has stipulated three levels of study: Level 1 represents incomplete higher education, which is based on fundamental general subjects and lasts at least two years with the receipt of a corresponding certificate. Level 2 requires four years of study and leads to a Bachelor's degree. Level 3 is represented by two types of degrees: Certified Specialist earned upon completion of a five-year program, or Master, which entails six years of study. Individuals interested in advanced postgraduate research can enter aspirantura, leading to the degree of Kandidat nauk (literally Candidate of sciences), and subsequently doktorantura, culminating in the receipt of a Doktor's degree. Another track leading to advanced degrees is a part-time position of soiskatel (literally, seeker), which allows a scholar to do research without leaving the main job.

The degree of Kandidat nauk requires at least three years of study beyond the five- or six-year VUZ program, success in three Kandidat's examinations (major specialty, philosophy, and foreign language), and the defense of a dissertation. It is roughly equivalent to Ph.D. in the United States. Doktor nauk (Doctor of sciences) is the highest academic degree awarded in Russia and has no equivalent in the United States, as well as some other countries. The prerequisites comprise a well-established reputation in the chosen field, a considerable number of publications including a monograph, and experience in supervising undergraduate and graduate research. For the Doktorantura the main track leading to this degree is a three-year sabbatical with provision of a stipend and paid trips to conferences and central libraries.

Dissertation boards at VUZs are established by the Supreme Attestation Committee (VAK). In 1998 their total number was 1,868. According to the statute of 2000, VAK was formed of the leading specialists in science, technology, and culture. Its main functions encompassed attestation of scholars of the highest qualification; creation, coordination, and control of the activities of dissertation boards; and analysis of defended dissertations. Included in its competence were the decisions to confer the degree of a Doktor, approve the degree of a Kandidat, advance scholars to the rank of a Professor, and cancel academic degrees.

Contract faculty positions comprise (in order of importance): assistant, starshy prepodavatel (senior teacher), dotsent (usually for a holder of the Kandidat's degree), and professor (usually requiring the Doktor's degree). Academic ranks (zvaniya) are a form of expressing official appreciation of scholarly achievements and include Dotsent and Professor. The ranks are awarded to the scholars who have worked in the corresponding faculty position for at least a year, have post-defense publications, and who have answered a number of other criteria established by VAK. The highest honorable ranks conferred by Academies are Corresponding Academy Member and Full Academy Member. The four major research Academies in Russia are the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the Academy of Education.

Higher education has been affected by the economic crisis of the 1990s, like the rest of Russian society. Deteriorating buildings, limited access to modern equipment, as well as the poor state of libraries, cafeterias, and sports facilities are only some of the problems facing higher educational institutions. Since 1990 the financing of research has decreased over thirty times in comparable prices. Low salaries and lack of social protection have significantly influenced the prestige of the teaching profession. Due to the "brain drain," many talented scholars and university professors have left the country. There is a steady tendency towards the aging of faculty, including holders of advanced degrees. The attempt to shift the financial burden from the budget to non-budget funds, which contradicts the law, has become a common practice. It disturbed the socioeconomic balance in higher education, making it inaccessible for young people from low-income families.

The emergence of paid institutions and departments has opened the doors of VUZs to applicants, whose level of knowledge would not allow them to compete in the entrance examinations for free education. As a result, the level of students paying fees is usually lower, as compared to those who study for free. A number of non-state VUZs cannot recruit qualified faculty and therefore are unable to ensure an adequate quality of education.

The governmental program of the development of higher school has formulated the following goals, which combine the interests of individuals, different social groups, and the state in the sphere of education: to enhance the academic independence of VUZs; to reinforce the institutions responsibility for the results of their work; to provide broader access to professional education at the expense of the federal budget; to ensure gradual transition to the university system with the preservation of the strong sector of specialized institutions; to create and develop regional systems of higher education; to support the practice of teaching Russian abroad as a language of the UNO and other international organizations; to advance distance education; and to develop computer networks.

ADMINISTRATION, FINANCE, & EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Russian education functions under the jurisdiction of the federal (central), republic, regional, and local (municipal) administrative organs. Among other responsibilities, their competence includes the realization of federal and international programs, accreditation of institutions, attestation of staff members, direct financing and control of educational activities. The Law on Education regulates the distribution of powers between administrative organs of different levels. The competence of the federal organs includes the development and implementation of the educational policy, establishment, reorganization, and elimination of institutions, setting up educational standards, and formation of educational infrastructure. Republic, regional, and municipal organs make decisions relating to their territory, whereas federal powers have the right to control their activities.

Previously the system of administration consisted of specialized organs: Ministry of Education, Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education, and the State Committee of Vocational Technical Training. It reflected the necessity to regulate specific areas, but at the same time brought about a number of negative consequences. The educational process was torn between different agencies; schools were separated from VUZs and the network of secondary professional training. The Academy of Pedagogical Sciences was subordinated to the Ministry of Education; as a consequence, areas headed by other agencies were not adequately embraced by the research. The administration of VUZs was distributed between 70 ministries, which brought about disproportion in staffing, location of facilities, financing, and equipment. By the year 2000 the functions of different agencies had been combined under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation. The main features of the administrative reform were: democratization; elimination of the state monopoly in managing the system; decentralization through giving more powers to regional and municipal organs; more independence granted to institutions; multiple forms of property; and self-determination of national schools.

The educational sphere is financed as part of the national and municipal budget. In 1992 the share of expenses on education from the federal budget was 5.65 percent, in 1998 it dropped to 3.45 percent. Further data reflect some positive tendencies: 3.63 percent in 1999 to 3.75 percent in 2000. Yet, only one-fourth of the need for financing throughout the country was satisfied from the budget. Monetary problems included chronic nonpayment of salaries to school teachers, disconnection of educational institutions from electricity and heat, and lack of funds for maintenance of buildings and other facilities. One of the government's goals was to develop mechanisms, which would provide multichannel financing of education, both from the state and private sources. Educational institutions were exempt from all kinds of taxes. Other taxation benefits encouraged sponsorship, investments in the sphere of education, and renting buildings to educational institutions.

The Doctrine on Education, adopted in 2000, established three stages of gradual change in the financing: First stage (until 2004): the tempos of growth of the financing of the educational sphere will be faster than the general expenditure from the budget; additional funds will be received from non-budget sources and fees paid by families. In the Second stage (until 2010) financing will grow in accordance with the increase of the gross internal product, with additional funds coming from family budgets and enterprises. For the third stage (until 2025): the tempos of growth of the budget financing will be preserved; there will be a significant increase of funding from non-budget sources.

NONFORMAL EDUCATION

Nonformal education is represented by a network of more than 7,600 institutions of different types with 6,300,000 students engaged in technical work, tourism, biology, sports, music, art, and other activities. The economic and political reforms of the late 1980s to 1990s have freed the extracurricular programs of the ideological Communist influence, but have also brought about considerable reduction of financing of nonformal education. The Octobrist, Young Pioneer, and Komsomol (Young Communist League) organizations, which used to engage young people in all kinds of extracurricular activities, were disbanded in 1991 and have not been adequately replaced. The numbers of facilities and program participants have significantly decreased. Cultural and political education offerings for adults, which were widely spread in the USSR, have largely become the things of the past. The remaining institutions are learning to survive under new socioeconomic conditions.

Due to the long-established tradition and high value of all-rounded education in Russia, parents regard additional education for their children as a priority and are willing to pay for it. Former Young Pioneer palaces and houses, which have been transformed into children centers, Young Naturalist stations, technical stations, youth clubs, and vacation camps continue to provide both educational and recreational activities. Part-time music, art, and sports schools are reorganized on new principles. Emerging types of institutions include multifunctional children centers, teenage clubs, ecological and health centers, schools of folk culture and crafts, religion-related schools, as well as institutions of Noble Young Ladies trying to revive pre-revolutionary values. Aerobic classes and foreign language courses are very popular with teenagers and adults. In big cities, especially Moscow and St. Petersburg, numerous courses prepare young people for study abroad. Another widely spread form of nonformal education, which is a major expense for families with teenage children, is private tuition mostly used to coach secondary school students for higher education entrance exams.

The plans for the improvement of nonformal education were aimed at the development of its legal basis, extension of the network, and introduction of new organizational forms and services. Adult education, which was largely ignored in the late 1980s to 1990s, also needed improvement. In 1997 the heads of the CIS governments signed an "Agreement on Operation in the Field of Disseminating Knowledge and Education for Adults" and established an Interstate Committee for the realization of the program. It was aimed at solving both educational and social problems (unemployment, and training of specialists for new areas of knowledge).

TEACHING PROFESSION

In 1998-1999 teachers were trained at 670 educational institutions, including 81 pedagogical universities and institutes, 61 classical universities, 22 other VUZs, 183 pedagogical colleges, 163 pedagogical secondary schools, as well as 96 institutions of advanced training and professional retraining. The number of teachers employed in secondary education exceeded 2,000,000. Out of 1,700,000 teachers working at state schools, 75 percent had a higher education. The share of teachers with specialized secondary education was 23.0 percent in general secondary education and 72.5 percent in preschools.

The secondary professional level of teacher training is represented by pedagogical schools (uchilishcha) and pedagogical colleges, the latter usually affiliated with higher educational institutions. Uchilishcha and colleges train preprimary, primary, and incomplete secondary school teachers. The length of study is two or three years. The specialization may be in labor, art, technical drawing, music, singing, or physical training. An important part in the curricula belongs to the subjects of the psychological and pedagogical cycle: anatomy, physiology, hygiene, psychology, and methods of teaching. Great attention is also devoted to the profile disciplines, which provide the necessary professional level in a particular area. This kind of education is regarded as the initial stage of teacher training. Graduates can go on to study at higher educational institutions. Joint programs established between VUZs and secondary pedagogical schools or colleges (complexes of continuing education: school, VUZ, or pedagogical college VUZ) allow students to proceed directly to the second or third year of the institute or university.

The second stage, higher pedagogical education, exists either as the traditional five-year model, or the new multilevel model (four plus two years), which consists of module-blocks, rather than traditional subject cycles. The six areas of knowledge constituting the curricula include: "Natural Sciences," "Socioeconomic Issues," "Humanitarian Issues," "Professional Training," "Pedagogy," and "Art." Students are regularly required to engage in teaching practice, which lasts several weeks. Most of the teachers are trained in two specialties, but only 30 percent of them use their minor in practice. The teachers' usual workload is 18 hours a week. They receive extra pay for the work done above this norm or for additional responsibilities (acting as class academic director).

Every five years teachers have to participate in advanced training organized by specialized institutes or departments. Some 78 teacher training VUZs have postgraduate programs in 14 areas of knowledge (more than 80 specialties with 3,000 students). Schools usually maintain close contacts with local methodological councils and institutes of advanced training. The latter offer traditional short-term courses, a combination of full-time and part-time studies, independent work, individual consultations, and problem solving seminars. Teachers also take part in professional development seminars and conferences, attend lectures delivered by university professors, and discuss their colleagues' demonstration classes. State social organizations, such as the Council for Teacher Training Education, the Association of Pedagogical Universities and Institutes, and local councils of directors of secondary pedagogical institutions, play an important part in the unfolding of an effective teachers' network. Participation in advanced training is counted in the process of attestation.

In 1992 the Ministry of Education developed unified principles for the attestation of primary and secondary school teachers. It established twelve qualification groups and four categories that would reflect the teacher's professional level. The teacher's qualification is assessed every five years by special commissions and involves two stages: a qualification test in the form of an examination, interview, report, or defense of a project; and an analysis of the teacher's lessons; testing the students' knowledge; colleague, parent, and student evaluation of the teacher's work. The first category is the highest and requires significant teaching experience, excellent knowledge of the subject, use of innovative methods and materials, leadership, creativity, and active participation in extracurricular events. The salary depends on the assigned category.

There is no special training for university professors. They are usually recruited from capable graduates with good research potential. Their total annual workload, including all kinds of activities (teaching, research, methodological and extracurricular work) is 1,550 hours. The decision about the number of classroom hours (from 150 to 900) is made individually for each faculty member. University professors also have to upgrade their qualification once every five years. They can take a sabbatical (from one to twelve months long) in order to study the experience of their colleagues at other universities, consult with senior scholars, or do research of their own. Aspirantura and doktorantura are also considered to be forms of advanced training. After five years of work in a particular faculty position, university teachers have to go through a competition process. In reality, it is not so much a competition, but rather a report on the previous five years of work with recommendations for the future made by immediate supervisors and colleagues.

The most influential research institution is the Russian Academy of Education (RAO). It was established in 1991, upon the disintegration of the Soviet Union, on the basis of the USSR Academy of Pedagogical Science. RAO has five regional branches: Siberian (Krasnoyarsk), North-Western (St. Petersburg), Southern (Rostov), Central (Moscow), and Volga Region (Kazan). The staff of the Academy is engaged in fundamental research, which deals with the history and theory of education and upbringing, the development of methodological aspects and basic principles of schooling, and other issues.

Limited resources in the educational sphere, nonpayment of salaries, and distrust of the official promises to improve the state of schools have significantly injured the reputation of the teaching profession. Consequently, more than 11 percent of teaching positions in preschool and general secondary education (89,100 spaces) is vacant. The situation is especially bad in rural areas, where only 40 percent of schools and 19.5 percent preschools have enough teachers (in the city correspondingly 59.0 percent and 80.5 percent). In the late 1990s the teachers' trade union organized a number of strikes to demand the payment of salaries from the government. The teachers, traditionally used to the role of the conscience of society, detested the idea of going on strike, but for many of them it was the last resort in the struggle for the right to be paid for their work. Another problem is the lack of male influence in secondary schools, because teaching has become predominantly a female occupation; in 1998-1999 more than 80 percent of teachers were women.

Because of the development of personality-oriented pedagogy, teacher training institutions are increasingly