Course & grade structure
Assessment in all courses is graded. The grading system is a scale of 5 to 2, where 5 is “excellent”, “4” is “good”, “3” is satisfactory, and 2 is failing. Some tests (“zachet”) are graded just as pass/fail.
The primary degree awarded is Bachelor or Specialist. After that, there are two-year Master Degree programs, and PhD-similar programs, which in Russia lead to the degree of “Candidate of Science” after the defense of a dissertation.
Be aware that you’re required to attend lectures, and, especially, seminars.