This document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1,500 words) of the draft of new elementary school programs in Russian language, arithmetic, and natural history. Elementary Russian courses are regarded as an organic part of the entire course at the eight-year school. Such courses as phonetics and morphology figure in the draft program for grades one through three as the first stage in the studies of the appropriate sections of the systematic and Russian language courses in grades four through seven. In the elementary mathematics courses, the material is redistributed over grades and complemented with new themes related to the children's mathematical development. The teaching of natural history, which in the draft program is singled out as an individual subject from the first grade onwards, plays an important role in fullfilling the cognitive and affective aims of elementary education. The principle of local studies is applied to natural science, being the theory of beginning with materials around the home, neighborhood, and community. The draft programs emphasize hard work and team spirit. The new elementary school programs have been drafted following the recommendations of education specialists and teachers. (Author/GDB)