ITALIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION

The article examines two main political eras of Russian policy in the sphere of education starting with post World War II: the Soviet and the post-Soviet periods. These eras are different not only in terms of educational policy: The Soviet system of education developed in isolation from the rest of the world, behind the Iron Curtain, under the total control of the state and Communist ideology, within a centralised planned economy. The post-Soviet Russia is economically, politically, and socially a different state. The post-Soviet Russian system of education is developing in a globalised world, within a market economy state. The article gives a detailed account and analyses the goals and shifts in educational policies within each of the eras.