Published on: 2026-09-01
Source: Government of the Russian Federation –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
On Knowledge Day, 1.5 million first-graders will sit at school desks. In September – October, they will study three lessons a day, with physical education allowed as an additional fourth lesson once a week. In November – December, the number of lessons will increase to four, with physical education allowed as the fifth lesson once a week. The maximum workload for the children will be 21 academic hours during a five-day school week.
“In the new academic year, 1.5 million first-graders across the country will begin their school journey. As our President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin notes, ‘school should not only provide the most advanced knowledge and skills but also enlighten, educate, help a young person find a solid value foundation in life, and become a harmonious personality.’ I am confident that thanks to the measures of the national project ‘Youth and Children,’ the responsible work of teachers, and the support of parents, children will be able to receive all these opportunities and use them to realize their potential. And the warm memories of the first days at school will remain with the children for a lifetime,” said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.
The schedule will be created taking into account the difficulty of academic subjects. Special attention will be paid to extracurricular activities. One hour per week will be allocated for classes from the “Conversations about Important Things” series and events from the program for developing social activity among younger students, “Eaglets of Russia.”
“In the first year of schooling, it is important for the child to gradually get used to the new routine, the team, and the school’s requirements. Therefore, special conditions are provided for first graders. Teachers will not assign homework, give grades, or conduct tests. In September and October, the children will have three 35-minute lessons per day, in November and December – four, and from January the duration of lessons will increase to 40 minutes. We understand that starting school is an important stage not only for the child but for the whole family, so our goal is to make this transition as comfortable as possible. I would like to remind that in the first months it is especially important to support the first grader’s interest in studying, give them time to adapt, learn to communicate with peers, and feel confident in a new environment for them,” commented the Minister of Education, Sergey Kravtsov.
It should be noted that starting from September 1, behavior of schoolchildren will be assessed in several schools in each region of the country. This experiment does not apply to first graders.
In the new school year, first-graders will be able to rest five times during the holidays. Under the quarter-based system of education, the holidays will last from October 26 to November 3, from December 31 to January 10, from February 15 to 21, from March 27 to April 4, and from May 27 to August 31.
The educational program of literary reading includes works such as “Let’s Sit in Silence” by Elena Blaginina, “My Imaginary Land” by Boris Zakhoder, “Why I Love Mom” by Anatoly Mityaev, “One Hundred Fantasies” by Yunna Moritz, “Three Comrades” by Valentina Oseeva, “Hedgehog” by Mikhail Prishvin, “The Little Ship” and “Under the Mushroom” by Vladimir Suteev, “Bone” by Lev Tolstoy, “The Rooster and the Dog” and “Woe to Him Who Does No Good to Anyone” by Konstantin Ushinsky, as well as Russian folk tales “The Fox and the Black Grouse” and “The Fox and the Crab,” among others.
In addition, in 2026, the Ministry of Education has prepared a list of extracurricular reading literature. Students in grades 1–4 are recommended to read fairy tales, as well as stories and short novels about nature, family, and adventures. Children can get acquainted with works such as “The Flower with Seven Colors” by Valentin Katayev, “The Golden Key, or the Adventures of Buratino” by Alexei Tolstoy, “Gena the Crocodile and His Friends” by Eduard Uspensky. Among the books by foreign authors are “Winnie-the-Pooh and All, All, All” by A. A. Milne, “The Wonderful Adventures of Nils” by Selma Lagerlöf, and others.
You can learn more about the list of literature on the agency’s website.
Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the information source. It represents an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.