The Ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation was established on March, 9, 2004, by the Order of the President of the Russian Federation N314.

       The Ministry of education and science of Russia is a federal body of executive power, which carries out functions on elaborating state policy and normative-lawful regulation in the sphere of education, scientific, scientific-technical and innovative activity, nanotechnologies, intellectual property, and also in the sphere of upbringing, social support and social protection of schoolchildren and pupils of educational institutions.

       The Ministry's activity - its mission - is directed at realization and development of intellectual potential of the nation - a key component of stable and dynamic development of Russia.

       Aims of the Ministry of education and science of Russia are defined, starting from importance and necessity of satisfying the needs of population in education, of providing with accessibility of a qualitative education, of filling economics with qualified personnel, integration of education and scientific-technical achievements, reforming scientific sphere and stimulating innovative activity as key sources of stable economic growth and increase of prosperity in society.

       To the aims of the Ministry of education and science belong the following ones:

       1. Ensuring the accessibility of qualitative education for all groups of population as the base of social mobility and lowering social-economic differentiation in the society.

       2. Ensuring actual and perspective requirements of economics and social sphere in professional personnel of necessary qualification, creating conditions for development of continuous education.

       3. Creating conditions for active involvement of children, schoolchildren (pupils) of educational institutions into economic, social-political and cultural life of society.

       4. Creating conditions for development and efficient usage of scientific-technical potential.

       5. Creating conditions for energizing of innovative activity.

       The Ministry of education and science of Russia on the basis and in pursuance of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the federal constitutional laws, federal laws, bills of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation independently carries out legal regulation, and also elaborates and brings in the bills of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation on the following questions:

       a) education, including preschool and general education, primary, secondary, higher, post-graduate and additional professional education, social support and social protection of schoolchildren and pupils of educational institutions, scientific, scientific-technical and innovative activity, intellectual property (except issues of copyright and allied rights, referred to the sphere of maintenance of the Ministry of culture of the Russian Federation);

       b) forming priority directions of development of education, science, technologies and technique, list of critical technologies and priorities of innovative activity of the Russian Federation;

       c) coordination of scientific researches and elaborations, which are financed at the expense of means of the federal budget, and also means of joint-stock companies, the control stock of which is in the state property;

       d) elaboration and approval of state standards of preschool and general education, primary, secondary, higher, post-graduate and additional professional education;

       e) activity of the Higher attestation commission;

       f) development of information technologies in the sphere of education and science.

       The Ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation carries out coordination and control of the activity of the Federal service for surveillance in education and science, which is under its jurisdiction.