Primary education in Russia has failed to adapt to the needs of post-Soviet society, and is still based on rote learning and memorization instead of learning through discovery and learning to use and apply what is learned.

Human capital and the ability to innovate and to adapt to the demands of modernization are closely linked with levels of education, and especially of involvement in continuous education. A study of the situation in Russia suggests that for the immediate future it is more important for Russia's modernization development to give priority to catching…

Russia's future is put in jeopardy by a decline in both the size of the population and its health and human capital. There is an urgent need for policies to deal with this problem.