Abstract. The article deals with power relations in education. The author analyses the issues of education in contemporary Russia from the point of view of the clash of the two power relations patterns – authoritarian and constructive democratic, which are manifested at all educational levels and set up contradictions. These ideas are grounded in Foucault’s power concepts. The article also examines the features of contemporary sociocultural situation, which has been influenced by globalisation and post-modern fragmentation. In order to improve education, it is necessary to work out a new pattern of power relations that meets the challenges of the modern world.