December 01, 2021

Of the Old School


Of the Old School

“Let's revive the Soviet school of education. It was the best in the world, everyone has always recognized this, and this is what our legislative proposals should be aimed at. After all, the Unified State Exam is just some kind of torture for young people. To remove all these undergraduate programs, specialties – higher education, technical school, before that the secondary school, everything was fine and worked, and what kind of patriots we brought up, and what achievements we won in all spheres of life!”

– Chairman of Russia’s Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin

On November 24, host Konstantin Churikov discussed on the Russian television program Reflection discussed Bastrykin’s call to hearken back to the Soviet system of education with guests on his show. The cadre contemplated, as Bastrykin had suggested, canceling the Unified State Exam, among other topics. Every Russian student must pass this series of exams once they graduate from high school to enter university. The group ran an SMS poll to determine whether viewers supported canceling the exams; by the end of the program, 85% were for canceling the testing, while 15% voted for it to remain.

 

 

 

 

 

You Might Also Like

Petrov Goes Back to School
  • March 02, 2020

Petrov Goes Back to School

Guard duty sends an old villager back to school, and down a broad and dusty lane full of memories.
Spelling Out the Rules
  • November 19, 2021

Spelling Out the Rules

Bad news for Russian language students: it looks like there might soon be some new spelling rules to memorize.   
iTeacher
  • May 31, 2021

iTeacher

After a year of education through computer screens and the internet, one Russian school looks to bring the screens back into the physical classroom with a robotic teacher. 
Internet Writing 101
  • June 02, 2021

Internet Writing 101

Get ready for workout videos, dance clips, and photos of avocado toast: Russia's Ministry of Education is considering adding blogging to some curricula.
Unified Exams and Import Supply Chains
  • April 08, 2020

Unified Exams and Import Supply Chains

"Because of the coronavirus, I voiced the idea of considering the possibility of not conducting the Unified State Exam this year…” - Oleg Smolin, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

Russian Rules
November 16, 2011

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.

Little Golden Calf
February 01, 2010

Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

White Magic
June 01, 2021

White Magic

The thirteen tales in this volume – all written by Russian émigrés, writers who fled their native country in the early twentieth century – contain a fair dose of magic and mysticism, of terror and the supernatural. There are Petersburg revenants, grief-stricken avengers, Lithuanian vampires, flying skeletons, murders and duels, and even a ghostly Edgar Allen Poe.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955