RetiredF4,
A readback of the altitude could have shown that the crew was following a wrong altimeter indication, and corrective action could have been implemented. So the question is, why did ATC not ask for the altitude, if it were that important?
According to a former commander of the Polish vip transport unit, when he was flying, the second time in the row he forgot to readback the altitude as answer to the distance information from the controller, it was a GA without further questions.
It was just a tv interview, and I have not found so far any actual Russian military regulations to back it up.
Regarding the controllers professional experience you were asking, you can find it in the tables, starting page 22 of the English MAK report.
One more thing. The controllers were not from XUBS, but were dispatched to Smolensk from Tver.
This seems to me to satisfy the facts in the report, and to conclude that the accident was caused by "a scud run gone bad" because of the terrain that was different than thought/expected by the crew.
According to the transcript shown last Tuesdey by the Polish Investigators (some new elements), the crew knew about the terrain.
Arrakis