In the educational policy of Russia, considerable space is devoted to questions of how to bring the professional and qualification structure of cadre training on the different levels of professional education into conformity with the needs of the labor market. To accomplish these tasks it will be necessary, as is pointed out in the "Report on the Results and Basic Areas of Activity for 2010-12," by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, "to improve the mechanisms of the interaction of professional education with the labor market, employers, and their associations; to simplify graduates' search for employment and accordingly reduce the amount of time spent looking for work, through the adoption of up-to-date forms, methods, and mechanisms for the job placement of graduates of institutions of professional education". Data on patterns of employment for graduates of Russian higher educational institutions show the extent to which the Soviet system of education-to-work practices is to a large extent still operating. Universities need to be more flexible in designing specialties of study that fit the profiles that employers need. (Contains 6 figures and 4 tables.) [This article was translated by Kim Braithwaite.]