In Russia, the state provides most education services regulating education through the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. Regional authorities regulate education within their jurisdictions within the prevailing framework of federal laws. Russia's expenditure on education has grown from 2.7% of the GDP in 2005 to 4.7% in 2018 but remains below the OECD average of 4.9%.
Before 1990 the course of school training in the Soviet Union lasted 10 years, but at the end of 1990, an 11-year course officially came into operation. Education in state-owned secondary schools is free; first tertiary (university level) education is free with reservations: a substantial number of students enrol on full pay. Male and female students have equal shares in all stages of education,Education for all by 2015, p. 82 and underlying data tables except in tertiary education where women lead with 57%.Education for all by 2015, p. 316
A 2015 estimate by the United States Central Intelligence Agency puts the literacy rate in Russia at 99.7% (99.7% for men, 99.6% for women)."Country Comparison to the World of Literacy Rate" According to a 2016 OECD estimate, 54% of Russia's adults (25- to 64-year-olds) have attained tertiary education, giving Russia the second-highest attainment of tertiary education among 35 OECD member countries. 47.7% have completed secondary education (the full 11-year course); 26.5% have completed middle school (9 years) and 8.1% have primary education (at least 4 years). The highest rates of tertiary education (24.7%) are recorded among women aged 35 to 39 years (compared to 19.5% for men of the same age bracket).
Compared with other OECD countries, Russia has close to average class sizes and some of the shortest instruction hours per year.
In 2014 the Pearson/Economist Intelligence Unit rated Russia's education as the 8th-best in Europe and the 13th-best in the world;Top 20 Education Systems BBC. Source: Pearson/Economist Intelligence Unit. Russia's educational attainment was rated as the 21st-highest in the world, and the students' cognitive skills as the 9th-highest.Index – Which countries have the best schools? Source: Pearson
In 2015 the OECD ranked Russian students' mathematics and science skills as the 34th-best in the world, between Sweden and Iceland.Asia tops biggest global school rankings BBC. Source: OECD.
In 2016 the US company Bloomberg rated Russia's higher education as the third-best in the world, measuring the percentage of high-school graduates who go on to attend college, the annual science and engineering graduates as a percentage of all college graduates, and science and engineering graduates as a percentage of the labor force.These Are the World's Most Innovative Economies Source: Bloomberg Business.
In 2014 Russia ranked as the 6th most popular destination for international students.
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative finds that Russia is fulfilling 86.8% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to education, based on its level of income.
In 2025, Russia continued to maintain a large higher-education system, with more than 1,200 universities and over 619,000 state-funded higher-education places available for new students. The Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education also reported that more than 395,000 international students were studying at Russian universities within the country, with the government aiming to increase the number of international students to at least 500,000 by 2030.
Levels of education According to the law, the educational system of Russia includes 2 types of education: general and professional.
General education has the following levels: Preschool education (level 0 according to the ISCED) Primary general education (level 1 according to the ISCED) – the duration of study is 4 years Basic general education (level 2 according to the ISCED) – the duration of study is 5 years Secondary general education (level 3 according to the ISCED) – the duration of study is 2 years Furthermore, there is also an additional general education (school-based study groups and clubs).
Professional education has the following levels: Training for professions – it is available on the basis of primary general education; the duration of study depends on the particular profession, as a rule, not exceeding several months Vocational education – it is available on the basis of basic general education or secondary general education; the duration of study is 3 years (on the basis of secondary general education) or 4 years (on the basis of basic general education; in this case the program includes secondary general education) Higher education: Bachelor's degree – it is available on the basis of secondary general education; the duration of study is 4 years Specialist degree – it is available on the basis of secondary general education and only for certain medical and engineering specialties; the duration of study is from 5 to 6 years depending on the particular academic major Master's degree – it is available for persons who have any academic degree; the duration of study is 2 years Postgraduate education (graduate school, residency in medicine, assistantship in the field of art, adjunctura in the field of military science) – it is available for persons who have a specialist degree or master's degree; the duration of study is from 2 to 4 years depending on academic discipline Furthermore, there is also an additional professional education. It is available for graduates of institutions of vocational or higher education.
Preschool and primary school
According to the 2002 census, 68% of children (78% urban and 47% rural) aged 5 were enrolled in kindergartens. According to UNESCO data, enrolment in any kind of pre-school programme increased from 67% in 1999 to 84% in 2005.Education for all by 2015, pp. 39, 268–269
Kindergartens, unlike schools, are regulated by regional and local authorities. The Ministry of Education and Science regulates only a brief preschool preparation programme for 5–6-year-old children. In 2004 the government attempted to charge the full cost of kindergartens to the parents; widespread public opposition caused a reversal of policy. Currently, local authorities can legally charge the parents not more than 20% of costs. Twins, children of university students, refugees, Chernobyl veterans, and other protected social groups are entitled to free service.
Pre-school (or Kindergarten) begins at the age of eighteen months old to six years old.
The Soviet system provided for nearly universal primary (nursery, age 1 to 3) and kindergarten (age 3 to 7) service in urban areas, relieving working mothers from daytime childcare needs. By the 1980s, there were 88,000 preschool institutions; as the secondary-education study load increased and moved from the ten to eleven-year standard, the kindergarten programmes shifted from training basic social skills, or physical abilities, to preparation for entering the school level. After the collapse of the Soviet Union the number decreased to 46,000; kindergarten buildings were sold as real estate, irreversibly rebuilt and converted for office use. At the same time, a minority share of successful state-owned kindergartens, regarded as a vertical lift to quality schooling, flourished throughout the 1990s. Privately owned kindergartens, although in high demand, did not gain a significant share due to administrative pressure; share of children enrolled in private kindergartens dropped from 7% in 1999 to 1% in 2005.Education for all by 2015, p. 269
The improvement of the economy after the 1998 crisis, coupled with historical demographic peak, resulted in an increase in birth rate, first recorded in 2005. Large cities encountered shortage of kindergarten vacancies earlier, in 2002. Moscow's kindergarten waiting list included 15,000 children; in the much smaller city of Tomsk (population 488,000) it reached 12,000. The city of Moscow instituted specialised kindergarten commissions that are tasked with locating empty slots for the children; parents sign their children on the waiting list as soon as they are born. The degree of the problem varies between districts, e.g. Moscow's Fili-Davydkovo District (population 78,000) has lost all of its kindergartens (residents have to compete for kindergarten slots elsewhere) while Zelenograd claims to have short queue. Independent authors assert that bribes or "donations" for admission to kindergartens compete in amount with university admissions while authorities refute the accusation.
The number of Russian children enrolled in preschool institutions reached 7.44 million in 2020, marking a decrease from the previous year. The birth rate saw a decrease from 2020,Russia: crude birth rate 1840–2020 after growing in the late 2000s and the early 2010s.
Secondary school
General framework There were 59,260 general education schools in 2007–2008 school year, an increase from 58,503 in the previous year. However, prior to 2005–2006, the number of schools was steadily decreasing from 65,899 in 2000–2001. The 2007–2008 number includes 4,965 advanced learning schools specializing in foreign languages, mathematics etc.; 2,347 advanced general-purpose schools,Those identified as , gymnasiums and lycaeums. and 1,884 schools for all categories of disabled children; it does not include vocational technical school and technicums. Private schools accounted for 0.3% of primary school enrolment in 2005 and 0.5% in 2005.Education for all by 2015, p. 284
According to a 2005 UNESCO report, 96% of the adult population has completed lower secondary schooling and most of them also have an upper secondary education.EDUCATION TRENDS IN PERSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE WORLD EDUCATION INDICATORS 2005 Edition UNESCO Retrieved on July 2, 2009
Nine-year secondary education in Russia is compulsory since September 1, 2007. Until 2007, it was limited to nine years with years 10–11 optional; federal subjects of Russia could enforce higher compulsory standard through local legislation within the eleven–year federal programme. Moscow enacted compulsory eleven–year education in 2005, similar legislation existed in Altai Krai, Sakha and Tyumen Oblast. A student of 15 to 18 years of age may drop out of school with the approval of their guardian and local authorities,Federal law of Russia "On education", article 19.6 and without their consent upon reaching age of 18.Federal law of Russia "On education", article 19.4 Expulsion from school for multiple violations disrupting school life is possible starting at the age of 15.Federal law of Russia "On education", article 19.7
The eleven-year school term is split into primary (years 1–4), middle (years 5–9), and senior (years 10–11) classes. The absolute majority of children attend full programme schools providing eleven-year education; schools limited to primary or primary and middle classes typically exist in rural areas. Of all the 59,260 schools in Russia, 36,248 provide the full eleven-year programme, 10,833 offer nine-year "basic" (primary and middle) education, and 10,198 only offer primary education. Their number is disproportionately large compared to their share of students due to lesser class sizes in rural schools. In areas where school capacity is insufficient to teach all students on a normal, morning-to-afternoon, schedule, authorities resort to double-shift schools, where two streams of students (morning shift and evening shift) share the same facility. There were 13,100 double-shift and 75 triple-shift schools in 2007–2008, compared to 19,201 and 235 in 2000–2001.