The visit by members of the Moscow School of Political Studies was a unique and informative opportunity to exchange information of interest to both the delegates and the CHS students and staff.

On April 28, CHS faculty, staff, and students were given the privilege of meeting with delegates from the Moscow School of Political Studies, which facilitates seminars about various social and political issues for professionals from Russia and around the world.
The delegation, which included heads of departments from various Russian universities, visited CHS and other sites in the St. Louis area to understand differences in local governance, education, and other cultural and political aspects of cities in America compared to those in Russia.
During the seminar at CHS, the delegates were interested in the range of the class size, the subjects that students study, and the prestige associated with teaching in the United States. In return, they answered students’ questions about similar issues related to education.
In Russia, many schools have grades from first to eleventh, and the class size is usually between twenty and thirty students. A typical school week in Russia is six days, and some schools have two shifts during which students can attend classes.
Most secondary schools, which include eleventh and twelfth grade, have a single special focus, which is often math, physics or biology, and has a strong influence on students’ future educational or career plans.
According to the delegates, students don’t have much flexibility when choosing classes, and they don’t have the same classes every day.
Unlike the American college application process, the Russian college application process is based on the requirement that students decide to pursue a set field in advance. One of the translators said, “A university [in Russia] doesn’t have a variety of things; it’s a university of ‘something’.”
While there is no Russian equivalent of the standardized testing such as the SAT or the ACT, Russia recently started a system in which students have to pass a state exam in the required areas of Russian language and math in order to graduate from secondary school. Students may take an additional five subject tests in other subjects.
The subject exams which students choose to take depend on the focus of the college that students wish to attend. The result of this nationwide exam gives students the privilege to apply to a university. Russian students may be entitled to scholarships if they receive high scores on the exam, just as American students are.
Toward the middle of the discussion, the topic turned to politics. The delegates said that while United Russia is the ruling political party, three other major parties are the Liberal Democrats, the Social Party, and the Communist Party, which still has a number of adherents.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the delegates have noticed a trend of young people planning their futures in economics and law because of significantly reduced government control in those areas.
The delegates shared similar perceptions of America.  Some of the most frequently mentioned terms included “competition,” “high level of economic development,” “a very powerful military,” and “mother of the global economic crisis.”
The images the delegates held of American politicians are highly dependent on propaganda. During the 2008 election, most Russians received a stronger message from Obama.
Though the time allotted for the visit only allowed us to discuss two main topics, the visit by members of the Moscow School of Political Studies was a unique and informative opportunity to bring interesting information to both the delegates and the CHS students and staff.