This is how things stand generally with school librarianship in Russia today. However, with a shift in government policy toward decentralization and devolution, there has been some positive change in recent years. Admittedly, it is sporadic but it does occur. Thanks to the support of the government of Moscow, school libraries in the capital city are better provided for in terms of collection development. They generally face no problems with school textbooks and can receive new fiction and popular-science books, at least within the school curriculum.
Several schools run or plan library-based computerized databases, mediatheques, or Internet classes.
Problems do exist, but the apparent concern for school libraries shown by the current Moscow government plus the potential of a metropolitan city give hope of their eventual resolution. Schools in other Russian cities give examples of some innovatory approaches. Of course, a free comprehensive school like this could not possibly be what it is without the support of local authorities. Applicants to make it to the third round of the competition come to Moscow to defend their projects. The winning projects are awarded the status of a Federal Test Ground, a school whose project is important for educational development nationwide.