The article analyzes the latest steps taken by Russian authorities in reforming the system of education, and substantiates society's strongly felt need for the reforms to be liberated from bureaucratic dictatorship and secrecy. It demonstrates the close connection between the reform of education and the rapidly dropping quality of education, emphasizing that the scale of higher professional education in Russia does not correspond to the pace of the country's social and economic development. It argues that the degree of freedom offered to teachers in the performance of their professional functions constitutes the actual indicator of the degree of democracy of the social structure. [This article was translated by Kim Braithwaite.]