In the article the development of the soviet didactic acquired in the past sixty years is being characterised and its contribution to the successful practice of the socialist school in USSR and other socialist countries as well as its significance for the development of the world didactic thinking is being evaluated. So far the general theoretical and methodological problems explored by soviet research-workers in past years are concerned, some questions concerning the establishing the aims and content of the general education and the problems of increasing the effectivity of the educational and instructional process in the socialist school are dealt with in the second part of the article.