Russia has lost nearly half of its schools during Vladimir Putin's rule, according to a Euronews analysis by Dimitri Kavalerov published on Sept 28. Figures cited from a 2026 journal paper, based on Rosstat data, put the school count at 69,700 in 1990 versus 39,500 in 2024 — a 43% drop.

The closures were driven by per-pupil funding rules that made smaller rural schools economically unviable. That funding pressure closed schools far faster than pure demographic decline, the analysis says.

A separate Russian military-affairs outlet cites more than 68,800 schools in 1994 versus no more than 40,000 educational institutions today, a figure broadly consistent with the analysis. Since 2022, all remaining Russian schools have held mandatory weekly classes on Russian 'traditional values' and the Kremlin's version of the war in Ukraine.

Children born during Russia's birth decline reach school age six to seven years later, so first-grade numbers reflect older policies — 1.5 million first-graders entered school in 2025, down from 2 million in 2020. The analysis suggests the school system's long contraction will shape Russian education for years to come.