Ben, Look at this link,
http://www.sv-agency.udm.ru/sv/school_sistem.htm
I know nothing about the schools there except what I've read and talked about with Russians. I chat with a teacher in Izhevsk, she stays up late preparing lessons, and seem dedicated to her job... Just like an American teacher, she is underpaid, but takes on tutoring jobs.

To the Russians, Americans go to school from age 5 (kindergarten) though 12th grade. The day is 7 hours long including a lunch break. Electives (cooking, woodworking, Band etc.) were an everyday event. In grades 6-8 everyone took printing/drafting, shop, cooking and sewing, boys and girls alike, so they would all get at least a basic clue. In high-school, I took cooking every morning 1st period. I'd get a bit to eat, a cup of coffee, lots of girls in the class and the teacher would let us go outside to sneak a quick cigarette. My father had a woodworking buisness then, so it was pointless to listen to a guy with 7 and a half fingers tell me about shop safety.