I disagree. I lived in Russia for a couple of years in the early 90s right after the fall of the USSR and found the average person to be quite well educated, not only in math, but also science and literature (Russian literature of course), more so than I found the average person in the US to be. The level of education in Russia post-USSR has declined substantially--one factor being brain-drain that began once the doors for emigration were cast open.

This isn't to say that the USSR had a better system than the West--it did not, and its collapse is testament to that. But strictly in terms of education in math, literature, science, it did quite well. Similarly, Cuba did a _much_ better job at educating its population than its Caribbean neighbors.