I'm pretty sure that all your quesitons were already answered in one way or another.
Visit travel and tourism section as well as Russian cities and browse through the topics.
As of 2010 there was about 73% of urban population:

Russian population consists roughly of Russians although there are about 150 different ethnic groups.

Generally, life standards are lower in rural areas and get higher in local towns, then even higher in regional centers upto the highest in St. Petersburgh and Moscow.
There are 3 levels of education: School, Professional college and University.
Schools are mandatory and there is usually a school of sorts in any place any noticeable group of people live. Of course education quality is higher in bigger cities although there is a common educational standard.
Many rural areas vere literally depopulated after the collapse of the Soviet Union. People moved to cities where jobs were.
I don't think CPRF has great support in rural areas. Rurals quite often support Putin and everything associated with him (United Russia party). There are some supporters but not very many of them. Rurals being 'redder' is a myth.
Alcoholism IS a problem in areas where there are no jobs, no money, etc.

P.S. Lampada: I think this topic should be moved out of 'Politics'