Decree on the Special Status of Teachers Establishes Social and Professional Support Measures for Educators
President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin has signed a decree aimed at raising the prestige of the teaching profession and creating favorable conditions for pedagogical work. The document establishes a special status for teachers at the state level. This represents official recognition of the public significance of the profession, which ensures the preservation and development of the country's intellectual, moral, and cultural potential.
"We are doing a great deal of work to strengthen the status of teachers in the public eye. The national project 'Youth and Children' plays a special role in this, with large-scale support and professional development programs for teachers already launched under it. And we are already seeing growing competition for pedagogical universities. The number of applications to pedagogical universities currently stands at nearly 585,000, exceeding the 2025 figure of 455,000. I am confident that the adoption of the Presidential decree allows us to reach a completely new level: scaling up best practices across the country, strengthening systematic work with teaching staff, and establishing unified federal support standards", noted Minister of Education of the Russian Federation Sergey Kravtsov.
The new decree guarantees continuous professional development for teachers throughout their careers, including additional education and ongoing methodological support. For teachers beginning their careers, a mandatory mentoring system of at least one year will be introduced.
Additionally, teachers will receive free access to electronic educational resources, teaching materials, and digital libraries created from the budget. Important new provisions include the right to be awarded the title "Veteran of Labour" upon reaching at least 25 years of total teaching experience, as well as the right to free admission to state and municipal museums at least once a month. Teachers will also be entitled to free legal assistance on issues related to teaching activities and the exercise of labor rights, and will receive state protection from threats to their life and health. Regional authorities are recommended to provide priority admission to kindergartens for teachers' children.
The Government of the Russian Federation has been tasked with establishing a uniform certificate confirming a teacher's status, improving requirements for working hours and teaching load, and making necessary amendments to legislation. Regional governors are instructed to ensure teachers are informed about available support measures, while being empowered to establish additional regional benefits. The provision of new support measures will not result in a reduction in the volume or level of existing regional support measures financed from budget allocations.
The document comes into force on the date of its signing.