Anytime that education is modernized, a number of problems come up. These problems include the following: (1) The problem on retaining what is positive in the system as it stands; (2) If something that was useful to society has been lost in education in the preceding years, it will have to be brought back; and (3) The problem on bringing the system of education into conformity with the needs of society. In this article, the authors take a look at the modernization of education in Russia. They focus on four aspects that related to the general education schools: (1) Renovation of the "content of education" and improvement of the mechanisms for monitoring its quality; (2) Formulation and adoption of state standards of general education and "reduction of the load" of the content of education; (3) Adoption of the unified state exam; and (4) Introduction of profile instruction in the upper grades of the general education schools. They also take a look at the Russians' arguments for and against the modernization of the system of education in Russia. (Contains 3 notes.)