Thesis advisor: Gerald Easter / This is a study of education policy and practice in Russia and the Soviet Union during periods of revolutionary social and political change. It begins with the late tsarist era and moves through the Soviet era into the modern Russia state, a period of time spanning from the late 19th century through to the present period of educational reform. The modern educational system of Russia is still adapting to the post-Soviet world in many ways. Modern Russia inherited a confusing and contradictory educational tradition marked by high standards of learning and achievement along with ineffective traditions of student uniformity and standardization. The attempt at democratization, decentralization, and individualization seen in the immediate post-Soviet period was derailed by an absence of regional or local administrative infrastructure and a deep and scarring economic crisis. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Political Science.