The main stage of the Unified State Exam (USE) started in Russia last week: in 2024, it will be held from May 23 to July 1. For the first time, in six regions, the exam is being conducted using software adapted for domestic operating systems (OS) based on Linux.
Previously, the software for taking exams in Russia only worked on Windows OS from the American company Microsoft. However, several years ago, the authorities began to think about how to replace it with domestic alternatives, and Russian companies began developing software in this direction. By the time anti-Russian sanctions were tightened and Microsoft's first announcement in the fall of 2023 about refusing to renew licenses for Russian users for its products, the first alternatives for education were already ready.
In March 2024, the company announced that it was leaving Russia for good, and users needed to take care of transferring all their data to other services. In mid-May, Microsoft unlocked access to Windows and Office updates, and they could be downloaded without using a VPN. However, Russia has already set a course for digital sovereignty and the abandonment of foreign programs in key areas, including education.
It's not just about supporting domestic producers and import independence, but also about the fact that Russian products are expected to be more resistant to cyber threats.
Who will replace Microsoft?
According to the Kommersant newspaper, in the education sector, the authors of the first domestic complex for assembling software from "Basalt SPO", the "Astra" group, "Red Soft", and "STC IT ROSA" are working to replace imported software. Rosobrnadzor, with the controlled Federal Testing Center (FTC), is already testing ideas from these developers in pilot Leningrad, Murmansk, and Vladimir regions, as well as in the territories of Komi, Mordovia, and Sevastopol.
As the manufacturers themselves note in a conversation with "Ъ", the transition to domestic products carries not only potential commercial interest. The new generation of Russians at school desks is being instilled with the habit of using Linux in the future. Their teachers are also being taught this.
The main goal is to form a student's habit of using a domestic OS based on Linux, so that in the future everyone can use it, both in the public sector and in the commercial sector.
For example, it is already possible to take the Unified State Exam in mathematics on a domestic OS. By 2025, the FTC plans to master funds from the federal budget for finalizing software for conducting the Unified State Exam in computer science and foreign languages.
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